The Montreal Victoire’s Walter Cup championship trophy, which went missing during shipment, has been located and returned to the team, as announced by the Professional Women’s Hockey League on Monday. The PWHL expressed gratitude to those involved in the search and to fans for their support, while providing limited details on the recovery.
Last week, the trophy disappeared en route to Lethbridge, Alberta, where it was intended to be with Victoire forward Dara Greig. Although a container arrived, it did not contain the trophy that the PWHL had dispatched.
The league humorously remarked that even the prestigious Walter Cup can have its own off-season escapade and eagerly anticipates the Victoire’s continued celebrations with the cup. The circumstances surrounding the trophy’s disappearance and subsequent recovery remain unclear, with the PWHL attributing it to being “lost in shipment.” Efforts were made by the league in collaboration with the shipping company to trace the trophy.
The missing trophy was not the official championship trophy presented to teams upon victory, as that remains permanently housed at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. Instead, the lost item was the team’s replica “keeper” cup, a substantial likeness of the original sterling silver Tiffany & Co.-designed Walter Cup, weighing approximately 16 kilograms and standing at about 61 centimeters tall.
Montreal earned the cup by defeating Ottawa in a decisive Game 4 of a best-of-five series in May, securing their place as the PWHL’s inaugural Canadian champions after Minnesota claimed the league’s first two titles. The trophy is named in honor of PWHL founder and major benefactor Mark Walter and his wife, Kimbra. Notably, Walter is the owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and recently reached an agreement to divest his majority ownership in the Los Angeles Lakers.