Winning the Stanley Cup was just the beginning. Each member of the Anaheim Ducks earned the right to have his name engraved on the most revered trophy in sports and each to celebrate with it for one day this summer. To document how some took this to heart, Times photographer Robert Gauthier traveled across the U.S., to Sweden, Finland, Russia and Canada. It’s a rare look inside one of sports’ greatest traditions and proved once more, the lure of the Cup is like no other.
Judges said: A sports photograph usually happens in 1/500th of a second. Robert Gauthier’s documentation of the Stanley Cup’s journey to the winning players’ homes took a summer.
The photographs are individually excellent. As a package, the photographs tell a wonderful story of the Anaheim Ducks’ NHL victory.
The real winners were the readers of the Los Angeles Times, who were able to see, enjoy, laugh and learn from the pictures.