Behind the scenes with the Cup

DETROIT ? It took a while to get Thursday's Stanley Cup party started in the Detroit dressing room, but the Red Wings quickly made up for lost time.

Brendan Shanahan, who scored two goals in Thursday's 3-1 win in Game 5 against Carolina, was the first player off the ice, pressed into duty to do television interviews.

He entered a deserted room with all the makings of a great party. Crates of champagne, cases of beer and soda were arrayed around the dressing room, waiting for the players and their special quest, the Stanley Cup.

Before meeting his media obligations, Shanahan stripped out of his equipment, grabbed an electric razor and heading for the bathroom, intent to remove the accumulation of two months of facial hair, the traditional playoff beard.

"My wife will kiss me tonight," Shanahan said with a smile.

There was a lot of kissing going on Thursday night in the bowels of Joe Louis Arena. As the players streamed in one by one, they were met by family and friends, finding embraces everywhere they turned.

It was a scene Sergei Fedorov was eagerly awaiting, despite already having two Stanley Cups to his credit. Trundling into the room just minutes after Shanahan, Fedorov took in the empty room and smiled.

"Where are all my friends?" Fedorov said to nobody in particular, passing on the proffered champagne for a can of Diet Coke. "I want to share this with them."

Finally, most of the players trailed in, finished sharing the triumphant moment with the 20,058 fans who packed "The Joe" Thursday and made the building shake all night long.

Vladimir Konstantinov, the legendary defenseman who was partially paralyzed in a tragic automobile accident in the days following Detroit's 1997 Stanley Cup victory was ushered to his locker, left vacant by the team since his accident.

Once he was situated, it was time to turn the fun up a notch. Kid Rock, a Detroit native, was banging through the speakers as the players started to dance and the champagne started to flow.

"I don't even know where I'm sitting," Brett Hull laughed as he looked for his locker. "It's the best feeling in the world".

"This is special at this point in my career and I want to celebrate this with my family. It's almost like I have a second life here." -Chris Chelios
Detroit's alternate captain, defenseman Chris Chelios, had experienced a similar party to Thursday's when he won the Cup with Montreal in 1986. As he stood on the raised podium spraying champagne all around, his eyes drank in the chaos breaking out all around him.

For 16 years, the 40-year-old Chelios waited for another opportunity to experience the gamut of emotions that washed over him again on Thursday night. He vowed -- right then and there -- that he would not forget the scenes playing out before his misty eyes.

"[Sixteen] years ago, I acted my age," Chelios said, admitting he behaved like a carefree young adult in the weeks following his first experience with hockey's ultimate trophy. "This is something this time around that I want to enjoy with my wife and my kids. I want to remember all of this. This is special at this point in my career and I want to celebrate this with my family. It's almost like I have a second life here."

The whole Detroit Red Wings family, from owner Mike Ilitch, to GM Ken Holland, to the star players, to the healthy scratches, seemed inclined to join Chelios in that celebration.

It was a party that started with a whimper in the minutes following the Stanley Cup presentation, but one that promised to rage throughout the summer in Detroit.