The Stanley Cup as we once knew it was devoured by a corporate oligarchy. They took over a once proud game, based on a genuine regional culture, and turned it into a gladiatorial spectacle. They expanded the number of teams and clubs until the game lost all relevance as a cultural expression and became merely another form of mass entertainment. The Stanley Cup lost its soul sometime in the 1970's and has become an empty symbol of something that once was real, but is no longer.