Cup tour reaches pause point

After a two-month journey all over the planet, the Stanley Cup has settled back in Southern California for a while. The tour, during which every Kings player, coach, management and staff member got at least part of a day with the Cup, started in July in Russia and Slovenia and eventually made its way through 16 U.S. states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin) and six Canadian provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan).

The Stanley Cup tracker map has been updated with stops and pictures — link here — and based on all the trips, the Cup traveled at least 38,230 miles in July and August. That’s strictly counting the direct miles from one city to another, and doesn’t take into account any longer routes, side trips, etc., but that’s still an impressive number, given that the circumference of Earth is approximately 25,000 miles.

The Cup is back in Southern California now, for this week’s rink tour and a few more “days” with staff members who live in the area. Before long, though, it will head East again, to visit with Luc Robitaille and a couple scouts, make an appearance in New Hampshire (state No. 17) with the Manchester Monarchs and then the big day in Montreal, when all of the names get engraved onto the Stanley Cup. Louise St. Jacques, who does the engraving by hand, can probably take her time. The NHL’s players and owners have no negotiations scheduled, as the clock ticks toward a Sept. 15 lockout.