Avalanche’s Stanley Cup celebration got off to an ominous start

On his way to the team photo, Avalanche right winger Nicolas Aube-Kubel took a tumble – and brought the Stanley Cup with him.

The Avalanche took down the back-to-back champion Lightning, 2-1, in Game 6 to clinch the Stanley Cup victory Sunday night.

The Stanley Cup got caught up in the ensuing chaos. As Aube-Kubel went in for the team championship photo, he lost his footing and consequently slammed the trophy into the ice with him. There was a visible dent in the bottom of the trophy as he sat up for the photo.

It was the Avalanche’s first championship since 2001 and they became the 13th NHL franchise to win three Stanley Cups.

Phil Pritchard, the “Keeper of the Cup” who works for the Hockey Hall of Fame, confirmed the dent happened just five minutes after the Avalanche got the Cup.

“I guess we have a little chat with them soon and go through the process of how we’re gonna repair it, but the Stanley Cup tour will go on,” Pritchard said in a video posted to the NHL’s social media accounts.

Pritchard said five minutes is a “new record” and added this was the first time the Cup had been damaged on the ice.

“More importantly, hopefully that’s the only damaged part that happens this summer on it,” Pritchard said.

The Avalanche steamrolled their way through this year’s playoffs, finishing the playoffs with a 16-4 record. Much of the credit goes to Joe Sakic, the Avalanche’s GM and former player who has now been involved in all three of the team’s championships.