It's Cup season in the hockey world, which is why the ECHL was in a predicament.
On a sports radio show Friday, former ECHL commissioner Patrick Kelly (who the championship trophy is named after) claimed that the league had a replica Cup made because the Colorado Eagles wouldn't give the original back.
The Eagles won back-to-back Kelly Cups in 2017-18 in their final two seasons in the ECHL before moving up to the AHL this season.
"I don't know if I should say this or not, but Colorado kept the trophy if you can believe it," Kelly said on the 'Fox Morning Blitz' on 1230 Toledo. "They still have it. This is a new trophy."
The Kelly Cup is still in Colorado, but the team denies the claim that they refused to give it back.
Eagles president Martin Lind released the following statement regarding the matter:
"The management of the ECHL has full knowledge of the situation with the Kelly Cup. We have made numerous attempts to return it. They have chosen to ignore our requests, therefore the Kelly Cup remains in Colorado. This is all that will be released regarding this matter."
The Newfoundland Growlers and Toledo Walleye are currently playing in this year's Kelly Cup Finals.