Even though I have posted a lot about the NHL lock-out, I honestly had lost a lot of interest in the league over the last couple of years. The lock-out and season cancellation is nothing but a continuation of my slackening interest. However, the fine point of the trust that administers the Stanley Cup is fairly interesting from a legal point of view. I came across this position on the subject this lunch from the AHL:
According to the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Stanley Cup is no longer a challenge cup; since 1947, its trustees have had an agreement with the National Hockey League to "determine and amend competition for the Stanley Cup." The agreement is in force as long as the NHL is the world's leading professional hockey league. If the NHL dissolved or terminated, the Cup would revert to the custody of the trustees. The NHL may not be playing in 2004-05, but the league still exists, and still owns custody of the Stanley Cup. Regardless of the NHL's situation, the American Hockey League has no interest in competing for the Stanley Cup. Our players and teams have their own coveted trophy to compete for, a Calder Cup that has nearly seven decades of history itself. Again, thank you for writing, and for your support of the AHL.Trusts and agreements binding the trustees are interesting things. It would be interesting to read the trust agreement setting up the trust originally as well as the 1947 agreement between that trust and the NHL. A trust is a separate legal entity arising from the medieval law of equity and it is never as clean and clear as some might hope.Jason Chaimovitch Vice President, Communications American Hockey League info@theahl.com
The most common example of a trust is a will with the executor as trustee and the people who are to receive the value in the will as beneficiary and courts set many of the rules which govern all the inter-relationships within a trust. A trustee, for example, cannot do things that are to the detriment of the beneficiary of the trust. So who are the beneficiaries under the original trust? Can an eternal designation of an inoperative or scabby poor NHL be still "the world's leading professional hockey league" in a 1947 agreement overcome any circumstances affecting the original trust? If the quoted text is language from the original trust could the beneficiaries seek a court order determining the extend of the trust's ability to determine if this is acceptable and whether the 1947 agreement can continue?
Maybe I will try to dig for something of the original language tonight. Helping elves would be welcome, too.
Comments
Alan - February 22, 2005 6:29 PM
Here is a .pdf of a legal opinion on the terms and conditions under which the Cup is administered. One interesting paragraph can be found be found at page 11:<blockquote class="smalltext">In our opinion, the Memorandum of Agreement entered into between the league and the Trustees on June 30th, 1947 is not only voidable but void. <i>Delegatus non potest delegare.</i> The simple fact the trustees sought to relieve themselves of the duty of custody as to who should compete for the Stanley Cup is not, in our view, sufficient to suggest that the NHL has control over the trophy. The trustees are not entitled to delegate their powers and discretion in this matter and the agreement, as such, is not valid at law. Moreover, the present trustees have a duty, in our view, to set aside the agreement and restore the terms of the trust.</blockquote>It is interesting that at the end of the letter the lawyer providing the opinion indicates that a provincial or federal government might be able to bring a case and, indeed, even under the proper circumstances a challenging team might bring a case asking a court to enforce the terms of the original trust. Ontario has apparently reviewed the legal status of the trust but is not taking the case. Could the NHLPA?
Stephen - February 22, 2005 6:46 PM
Hey Alan, care to form a team and challenge the Lightning for the Cup?
Fun fact: Queen's University was the original challenger of Lord Stanley's Cup (they lost).
We could start a tournament and invite any team to challenge.
Alan - February 22, 2005 7:14 PM
I think we would be well advised to put together a credible team and, as I have not really mastered the snow-plow stop, I really should hope that others will be better suited to be suited. That being said, a group of NHLPA players could probably make a credible argument if they organize themselves into a barnstorming <i>ad hoc</i> league next year.