Makar, O'Connor take the Stanley Cup for a float on the Bow
It's been to Niagara Falls, the Kentucky Derby, tossed off a balcony and guest starred on Howard Stern.
It's even been to Innisfail.
But Tuesday around 6 p.m., the Cup had a truly Calgarian experience when it floated down the Bow River.
And it wasn't even drunk!
The Bow visit was a last-minute event hastily orchestrated by a combination of the Calgary Fire Department's Water Rescue Unit and Calgary's contribution to the Colorado Avalanche, namely Logan O'Connor and the team's superstar defenceman Cale Makar.
Those two haven't even had their Cup day yet – O'Connor gets it Wednesday, and Makar Thursday – but as word spread from a post on Makar's Instagram page, fans began to gather at the banks of the river.
Around 125 people gathered around the area where the cup, Makar, O'Connor and a Calgary Fire Department employee boarded a water rescue boat to patrol the Bow, and hundreds more lined the river as the sight of a Stanley Cup floating down a river through the city began to sink in.
Before they floated the Bow with Lord Stanley, CTV News spoke to both O'Connor and Makar.
"It's gonna be pretty crazy," O'Connor said. "This plan came together sort of last minute but it'll be nice to share in the city a little bit. Hopefully we'll get some good people out there to watch it."
Makar, who won the Conn Smythe award as the most valuable player of the playoffs, appeared to be pumped up to be taking the Stanley Cup out for a float on the Bow.
Cale Makar in Calgary prior to taking Stanley Cup on Bow River, Tuesday Aug.9, 2022
"It's amazing," he said. "We're very fortunate to be able to be here with the fire station today and have their help on the river and know that we'll definitely be making a great charitable donation, probably the burn unit for them and it should be a fun one."
With files from Bill Macfarlane
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.