The Keeper of the Stanley Cup's role in shaping hockey lore - ESPN

The NHL postseason is steeped in tradition: playoff beards, post-game handshakes, and high-stick salutes to teams' loyal fans.

Yet there is one ritual that eclipses them all.

«You don't touch the Stanley Cup until you've earned it,» said Philip Pritchard, vice president and curator of the Hockey Hall of Fame. «It's an unwritten rule, but it's one of the best rules in sport.»

And it's a rule that he, too, follows as Keeper of the Cup.

Pritchard is responsible for ensuring the 132-year-old Stanley Cup remains intact — give or take a few dents — while it travels from charity appearances to championship celebrations. But whenever he touches the treasured trophy, he does so wearing white gloves.

In true hockey fashion, Pritchard's signature accessory has now become yet another layer of Stanley Cup lore.

LIKE MANY CANADIANS, Pritchard grew up playing hockey, with dreams of hoisting the Stanley Cup in victory. When he was a kid, he and his dad visited the Canadian National Exhibition to admire the trophy on display.

«I didn't touch it the first time I saw it either,» he said.

Pritchard soon realized he didn't have the skills to win the Cup, so he went after the next best thing. In 1988, at age 27, he started working at the Hockey Hall of Fame, cataloging the facts and fables of the sport. But it wasn't long before he had a hand in making hockey history of his own.

In 1993, Pritchard joined a call with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to discuss ideas for improving the Stanley Cup presentation. «We thought, 'How do we do this in a way that even elevates what the Stanley Cup means?'» Pritchard said. After Bettman suggested a red carpet, Pritchard introduced the concept of the white gloves. The commissioner was intrigued.

«He had