George Vecsey Handshake Quotations

Certain Stanley Cup traditions remain intact, including the handshake line between players who had been belting one another for a couple of weeks.

Hockey historians say the handshake dates to English settlers in Canada, who preached an upper-class version of sportsmanship in the 19th century. Soon, tough kids in urban and prairie rinks began imitating imagined dukes and earls of the old country.