Where's The Blackhawks' Stanley Cup-Winning Puck?
When the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup last year, it ended a 49-year drought for the city. But one historic piece from that victory is still missing almost a year later: the game-winning puck. Theories have percolated over the past year about where the puck had gone, and now the Chicago Tribune has found photos showing that a linesman for the game was the last known person to touch the puck. Michele Norris speaks with reporter Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune about the mystery of the missing puck — and what the new photos show.
MICHELE NORRIS, host:
Now to the case of the missing hockey puck. In last year's Stanley Cup Finals, the Chicago Blackhawks scored an overtime goal against the Philadelphia Flyers, giving Chicago its first Stanley Cup in 49 years.
Unidentified Man #1: And now, it's in the net. They score. It's (unintelligible). The Hawks win the Stanley Cup.
NORRIS: While there's no doubt that the puck went into the net, where it went after that is the mystery. The Blackhawks and their fans have been searching for an answer. Over the past year, amateur sleuths have combined grainy photos and shaky video footage to back a theory that one of the officials, a linesman, Steve Miller, was the last known person to touch the puck. For example, there's this video narrated by one of those sleuths.
Unidentified Man #2: Now, here's a video from YouTube. We're going to see a linesman, Steve Miller, come in the frame and during a flash bulb, unfortunately, bends over and appears to pick something up. Now, when we freeze frame it...
NORRIS: Notice the music in that YouTube video. Well, for more on the mystery of the hockey puck we're joined by a professional sleuth, Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune. He joins us via Skype. Welcome to the program.
Mr. CHRIS KUC (Chicago Tribune): Thank you very much.
NORRIS: Now, today you and your colleagues at the Chicago Tribune published photos that without a doubt Steve Miller picked up the puck. What exactly do we see in those pictures? Walk us through that.
Mr. KUC: Well, we had a camera mounted above the goal and we had, I guess, took thousands of images. And we finally went back in the archives and discovered what we had just recently and led to today's story in the Tribune. It shows Patrick Kane showing the goal. It shows Steve Miller, the linesmen, go into the net, search for the puck, lift the net up and then the puck drops down. And then, of course, the Blackhawks are really celebrating at that point.
It also shows Steve Miller picked the puck up and skate away with, which contradicts things he said earlier in an ESPN report that said he'd never seen the puck, he'd never touched the puck; he repeated that over and over.
So, my colleague Jared Hopkins and I went to Boston where Steve Miller's currently officiating the Stanley Cup Finals. And we confronted him and said, hey, we've got evidence now showing that you've got this puck in your hand. What do you have to say? And now he's changed his story to I don't remember what I did with the puck.
NORRIS: So, he's saying I don't remember what I did with the puck now, but he's been interrogated several times about this. He's had many opportunities to explain what happened.
Mr. KUC: Yeah, it's been a year now. He's had a year to come up the story or at least come up with what he did with that puck. And he just doesn't have it. He just said I don't remember. He just repeated to me several times that I pick up a hundred pucks a game; I handle a thousand pucks a week. I don't remember what I did with this puck. Why would I care what about this puck?
And, of course, I pointed out that it's a very historic hockey puck, especially in Chicago where it's been 49 years since the Blackhawks have won a Stanley Cup. So, there's a lot of clamor for it, a lot of collectors want to see it, the Blackhawks want it, the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto wants it. So, for him to think that it's just a normal puck is kind of mindboggling.
I think that's kind of where his story falls apart a little bit. You have to know if you're any kind of hockey historian or involved in the game, that game-winning goal to win a Stanley Cup is going to be valuable.
NORRIS: What's the reaction from the NHL?
Mr. KUC: NHL has investigated this. They've talked to Steve Miller and their official line is they believe Steve Miller and they don't know where the puck is. They're pretty much not looking for it anymore. They said we talked to the last guy that we figured had it; he said he doesn't have it. We're back again.
NORRIS: Now, you've reported that the FBI is involved in this. Are they making themselves available or is this an official investigation?
Mr. KUC: It's not an official investigation. There's an FBI office located not from United Center where the Chicago Blackhawks plays. And a Chicago restaurateur, Grant DePorter, who is a collector of Chicago sports memorabilia and he displays it in one of his restaurants, went to them and they agreed to donate their time and use of equipment, which is pretty sophisticated photographic evidence. They can look at every single mark and nick on a puck and they'd be able to determine whether it is that puck.
NORRIS: Well when they find that puck you'll have to come back and talk to us again.
Mr. KUC: Absolutely. Any time.
NORRIS: All right. Chris Kuc, thanks so much.
Mr. KUC: You're welcome.
NORRIS: Chris Kuc covers the Blackhawks for the Chicago Tribune. We were speaking with him about the mystery of what happened to the game-winning puck from last year's Stanley Cup Finals.
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