Trophy Found After Going Missing During Shipment

The Montreal Victoire’s Walter Cup championship trophy has been found and reunited with the team, the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) announced Monday. The trophy had gone missing during shipment last week, according to multiple reports.

The PWHL provided few details about the recovery but thanked "everyone who helped track it down and to our fans for their concern and support" in a statement carried by several outlets. The league also said, "Turns out, even the Walter Cup can have a little offseason adventure," and expressed anticipation for the Victoire to continue their celebrations alongside the cup.

The trophy was originally scheduled to spend Thursday in Lethbridge, Alberta, with Victoire forward Dara Greig. However, it failed to arrive as expected. A container did reach Lethbridge, but not the one containing the trophy. The PWHL said it was working with its shipping company to locate the trophy, and reports indicate that the league does not have a person dedicated to traveling with the trophy, unlike the NHL and the Stanley Cup.

It remains unclear where the trophy was found or how it went missing. The PWHL said the cup was "lost in shipment."

The missing trophy was not the original Walter Cup presented to teams on the ice after winning the championship. That trophy is permanently housed at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. Instead, what went missing was the team’s "keeper" cup, a replica of the original sterling silver Tiffany & Co.-designed trophy. The keeper cup weighs about 35 pounds (16 kilograms) and stands about 24 inches (61 centimeters) tall. Additional details about the cup’s design, including its width and decorative elements, were reported by one outlet.

Background: Montreal’s Championship and the Trophy’s Namesake

The Montreal Victoire won the Walter Cup in May, defeating Ottawa in Game 4 of a best-of-five series to become the PWHL’s first Canadian champion. Minnesota won the league’s first two titles.

The trophy is named after PWHL founder and primary financier Mark Walter and his wife, Kimbra. Walter also owns the Los Angeles Dodgers and recently agreed to sell his controlling stake in the Los Angeles Lakers.