No, Gary Bettman Will Not Award Stanley Cup To Himself

Hoping Phoenix wins the Stanley Cup so that we can see Gary Bettman give the cup to himself.

— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) April 30, 2012

Just did the math: There is now a 1 in 4 chance that #NHL commish Gary Bettman will present the Stanley Cup to #Coyotes owner Gary Bettman.

— BrahmResnik (@brahmresnik) May 8, 2012

Crossing my fingers for most awkward trophy presentation ever. Gary Bettman handing Stanley Cup to Coyotes owner.(Himself)

— Josh Kelman (@JoshKelman) May 8, 2012

Yes, the NHL owns the Phoenix Coyotes. No, these people have never watched a Stanley Cup trophy presentation before.

See, in hockey, things actually make sense. The Stanley Cup presentation is the best trophy presentation in sports because the players who actually fought for the thing are the one's who are directly presented with it. There's an argument to be made for presenting a trophy to the team owner -- as is done in the NBA, MLB and the NFL -- because hey, they did bankroll the entire operation.

But that's not an argument you'll ever sell me on. The Stanley Cup is the greatest trophy in sports, and the celebration of the Stanley Cup is the greatest in sports. It all starts with the hoisting of that Cup by the team captain, and it's passed off to each player before it ever gets to a coach or a front office suit. As it should be.

So no, Gary Bettman can't present the Stanley Cup to himself. Cute joke, though.

Photos via Getty