The Walter Cup trophy belonging to the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) champion Montreal Victoire has gone missing, the league told The Associated Press on Friday, as reported by infohub.kz.
In a statement, the PWHL said the trophy "did not arrive as expected at its latest stop" and that it is "working closely with the shipping company to locate it." The league did not provide further details but pledged to resolve the issue.
The trophy was supposed to be shipped to Lethbridge, Alberta, where Victoire forward Dara Greig had planned to spend a day with it. According to a source with knowledge of the plans, the container arrived, but the Walter Cup was not inside. As a result, Greig postponed her day with the trophy, including a public event at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
It is unclear where the Walter Cup was last seen. Unlike the NHL and the Stanley Cup, the PWHL does not have a dedicated person to travel with the trophy when it goes on the road with players.
The missing trophy is not the one presented to teams on the ice after winning the championship; that original is permanently housed at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. The missing version is a replica issued to championship-winning teams to keep.
The team's version, like the original, is made of sterling silver and designed by Tiffany & Co. It weighs about 35 pounds (16 kilograms) and measures about 24 inches (61 centimeters) in height and 13 inches (33 centimeters) in width. The cup rests on two rods resembling hockey sticks, and six "W"s are engraved on it, representing the league's six original franchises. The base of the cup represents a puck on which championship teams are etched.
Montreal clinched the title by defeating Ottawa in Game 4 of a best-of-five series in May, becoming the PWHL's first Canadian champion. Minnesota won the first two championships.
The trophy is named after PWHL founder and primary financier Mark Walter, owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and his wife Kimbra.