Howe, Richard, Mikita, Hull To Have Names Removed From Stanley Cup

No, that headline is not a farce. 

Soon the Stanley Cup will no longer feature the names of many of the game's all time greats, including Gordie Howe, Rocket Richard, Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull.

When the 2017 Pittsburgh Penguins have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup, they will be the last team to be placed on the bottom ring of the Stanley Cup. In order to make more room for the next champion, the highest removable ring with come off, and a new ring will be added on the bottom.

That means the ring featuring the champions from 1954 to 1965 will be retired forever to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

While fans can see the stretched out ring on the walls of the Hall of Fame's famous bank vault, they will never again see the 342 players and builders featured during this time period. 

And that includes Howe, Richard, Mikita and Hull - arguably four of the top ten players of all time. 

Other names to disappear will be Ted Lindsay, Pierre Pilote, Glenn Hall, Jacques Plante, Doug Harvey, Butch Bouchard, Boom Boom Geoffrion, Dickie Moore, Bert Olmstead and Frank Selke. 

While they may no longer have their names on the actual Stanley Cup, they will forever be Stanley Cup legends, along with all of their teammates.

And just think: one day the Stanley Cup will no longer include Wayne Gretzky, Patrick Roy, Steve Yzerman, Jonathan Toews or Sidney Crosby.

And if the Toronto Maple Leafs Stanley Cup drought continues another 13 years, they will not have their team name on the Stanley Cup at all anymore!