"Just part of the job," said Pritchard. "Trust me, this isn't the first time."
Pritchard says he has seen the Cup used in countless crimes or unspeakable acts of debauchery.
"If I wanted to, I could destroy the reputation of every player who has won the Cup in the past decade," he said. "I've witnessed things … stuff I can't even bear to talk about. But here's one tame example. Nick Lidstrom? People say how great of a guy he is? Check Swedish police records for June of 2009. You'll find some guy was stealing cats and skinning them? Lidstrom did it on a whim. He said he wanted to make the Stanley Cup a coat."
While Pritchard makes only $45,000 a year in his job as Keeper of the Cup, he says he earns in upwards of $3 million annually due to hush money from players.
"I don't even ask for it," he said. "But after they wake up after a night of drinking and partying and there's a dead girl on the floor, and her head is in the Cup and they see me cleaning up, their only option is to buy my silence."
Despite his tight lips, Pritchard says he has been questioned several times by Canadian police officials.
"But the investigations never go anywhere," he said. "The last thing any person in authority in Canada wants to do is give hockey a black eye. In fact, a lot of people think being killed, raped or assaulted in view of the Stanley Cup would be a great honor. I've ever heard some victims say so in their dying breaths."
