from Jim Rutherford at the Players' Tribune,

I was standing at the blue line with our coaching staff in San Jose on June 12 when the gentlemen in the white gloves brought out the Stanley Cup. This was a moment I had been chasing for 10 years, since I first won the Cup as the GM of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006.

Our captain, Sidney Crosby, lifted the Cup over his head, and I felt great for him, knowing all the hard work he put in to lead us to this point. But I felt even better for the guy Sid handed the Cup to next.

Trevor Daley had hobbled out onto the ice for the celebration with a broken ankle. He had changed into his uniform and was still sporting a full playoff beard. Sid skated right over to him, said a few words and handed him the Stanley Cup.

It was one of the more emotional moments I’ve had in my 30-plus years as a general manager.

A lot of people probably thought Trevor was the captain’s choice because he was a 32-year-old veteran who had sacrificed his body for the team and had just won his first Stanley Cup.

But there was a much more important reason. Trevor’s mother, Trudy, was watching on TV from her hospital bed in Toronto, where she was battling cancer.

Trevor’s mother had made him a promise, and he was holding up his end of the deal.

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