Canadians deem 2011, '67 and '93 top Stanley Cup® Championship years: Molson Coors survey

Molson Coors introduces The Stanley Cup Collection ^TM to let hockey fans re-live their favourite hockey years with a chance to win a trip to the 2012 Stanley Cup Final

TORONTO, March 22, 2012 /CNW/ - Since 1918, the Stanley Cup® has been awarded on 92 separate occasions, and every hockey fan has a perspective on which year was most memorable. To celebrate each of those 92 occasions, Molson Coors introduces The Stanley Cup Collection ^TM, a series of commemorative cards now available across Canada, as well as results from a cross-Canada survey that asked "which Stanley Cup year do you remember most".

While the 2011 Stanley Cup Final between the Vancouver Canucks® and Boston Bruins® is still fresh in the minds of Canadians (37% ranked it among the top three years), almost one-quarter (22%) cite the Montreal Canadiens® victory of 1993 as among the most memorable Stanley Cup® Championships, and almost one in five (17%) maintain the Toronto Maple Leafs'® victory in 1967 still ranks in the top three. No matter what year they chose, it can live on with The Stanley Cup Collection cards, featuring every year of Lord Stanley's 92-year reign as the ultimate trophy in all of sports.

"I'm not surprised to see the '67 and '93 seasons rise to the top of the results, I think even non-fans have heard hockey lovers talk enough about those two seasons," says Reid Black, Brand Manager, Molson Canadian. "This program had us working closely with the NHL to find a meaningful way that fans of beer and hockey could celebrate their Stanley Cup memories, while earning the unique chance to create new ones."

Throughout the 2012 Stanley Cup® Playoffs, specially-marked cases of Molson Canadian, Molson Export and Coors Light will include commemorative cards, which highlight the championship season of every Stanley Cup® winner since 1918. The program will also see limited edition Stanley Cup 473ml cans for all three brands, a milestone for a partner of the NHL to have the Stanley Cup featured on pack.

"Combining the Stanley Cup Playoffs and Molson creates a union of two great brands that symbolize excellence," said Kyle McMann, Vice President Partnership Marketing, NHL.  "Molson Coors' iconic brands Molson Canadian, Coors Light and Molson Export are leading beers in Canada and the Stanley Cup is the most iconic trophy in sports.  By placing the Cup on the packaging of all three of its brands throughout the Playoffs, Molson not only elevates awareness of the Playoffs and demonstrates its passion for the game of hockey, but also gives fans another way to celebrate the most exciting part of the NHL season."

Home is where the heart is: where Canadians reside dictates favourite moments

• More than half (55%) of people from Quebec rank Montreal's 1993 Cup Championship amongst their favourite Stanley Cup Finals moments
• More than one-quarter (27%) of Albertans cite the Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup Championship of 1984 amongst their most memorable
• Residents of Ontario (38%) and Atlantic (25%) had longer memories than other regions, with the highest percentage of preferred Stanley Cup years pre-1970
• Almost one-third of Atlantic respondents cited a US team as their favourite Stanley Cup Champion, led by the Boston Bruins (11%), Pittsburgh Penguins® (7%) Chicago Blackhawks® and Detroit Red Wings (5%)
• In Saskatchewan and Manitoba 32% of respondents cited the Montreal Canadiens (32%) as their favourite Stanley Cup Championship team, followed by the Calgary Flames'® (12%) and Toronto Maple Leafs (10%)
• Last year's run by the Vancouver Canucks led to 70% of residents of British Columbia citing 2011 as their favourite Stanley Cup year, more than twice the national average (23%)
• Respondents aged 55+ (25%) were more than ten times more likely to cite 1967 as the top year for the Stanley Cup than those ages 18-34 (2%).
• Favourite team is the deciding factor in determining most Canadian's favourite Stanley Cup year, with two thirds (65%) of Canadians replying either "My favourite team won the Stanley Cup", or "Although they didn't win, my favourite team made a great run at the Cup", to describe their top choice

About the Program:

For each commemorative PIN card collected, Canadians can enter online for the chance to win a trip to the Stanley Cup Final and other great prizes. Molson Coors has also launched the Molson Trading Centre app on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/MolsonCanadian/app_201259066616843), accessible on the English and French pages for all three of the participating brands. Fans can also organize their collection, and connect with other fans to collect, trade and score cards online to build Stanley Cup Champion team sets for a chance to win Collector Prizing.

"The online Molson Trading Centre offers NHL fans a new meeting place to talk about hockey - both past and present," says Black. "For two-thirds of hockey fans, their most memorable years are marked by how well their favourite team performed, and the Molson Trading App lets fans re-live their teams' golden moments, and so much more."

About Molson Coors Canada

Molson Coors Canada is the Canadian division of Molson Coors Brewing Company, a global brewer with operations in Canada, the U.S., U.K and Asia. The Company proudly offers some of the most popular brands in Canada with an award-winning brand portfolio which includes Molson Canadian, Coors Light, Molson Export, Molson Dry, Rickard's and Molson M. Molson also partners with other leading brewers to offer such global brands as Heineken, Corona, Miller Genuine Draft, and Foster's Lager. Molson Coors Canada employs 3,000 Canadians, operates seven breweries, including boutique breweries Creemore and Granville Island, and invests in communities from coast-to-coast through its various charitable initiatives and sports and entertainment sponsorships. Molson Coors Canada is committed to promoting its products and events in a responsible manner as part of an active, healthy lifestyle.

About the Molson Coors Survey

The Molson Coors survey was conducted by Ipsos Reid poll between March 5 and 12, 2012. For this survey, a sample of 1,046 adults from Ipsos' online panel was interviewed online. A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100% response rate would have an estimated margin of error of +/-2.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

NHL, the NHL Shield and the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup are registered trademarks and The Stanley Cup Collection word mark and logo are trademarks of the National Hockey League.  NHL and NHL team marks are the property of the NHL and its teams.  © NHL 2012.  All Rights Reserved.

Video with caption: "Sneak peek at Molson Canadian's upcoming Rituals TV spots, which will run across Canada during the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs". Video available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/cgi-bin/playback.cgi?file=20120322_C6778_VIDEO_EN_11449.mp4&posterurl=http://photos.newswire.ca/images/20120322_C6778_PHOTO_EN_11449.jpg&clientName=Molson%20Coors%20Canada&caption=Sneak%20peek%20at%20Molson%20Canadian%27s%20upcoming%20Rituals%20TV%20spots%2C%20which%20will%20run%0D%0Aacross%20Canada%20during%20the%202012%20Stanley%20Cup%20Playoffs&title=MOLSON%20COORS%20CANADA%20%2D%20Canadians%20deem%202011%2C%20%2767%20and%20%2793%20top%20Stanley%20Cup%26%23174%3B%20Championship%20years%3A%20Molson%20Coors%20survey&headline=Canadians%20deem%202011%2C%20%2767%20and%20%2793%20top%20Stanley%20Cup%26%23174%3B%20Championship%20years%3A%20Molson%20Coors%20survey

Video with caption: "Sneak peek at Molson Canadian's upcoming Rituals TV spots, which will run across Canada during the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs". Video available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/cgi-bin/playback.cgi?file=20120322_C6778_VIDEO_EN_11450.mp4&posterurl=http://photos.newswire.ca/images/20120322_C6778_PHOTO_EN_11450.jpg&clientName=Molson%20Coors%20Canada&caption=Sneak%20peek%20at%20Molson%20Canadian%27s%20upcoming%20Rituals%20TV%20spots%2C%20which%20will%20run%20across%20Canada%20during%20the%202012%20Stanley%20Cup%20Playoffs&title=MOLSON%20COORS%20CANADA%20%2D%20Canadians%20deem%202011%2C%20%2767%20and%20%2793%20top%20Stanley%20Cup%26%23174%3B%20Championship%20years%3A%20Molson%20Coors%20survey&headline=Canadians%20deem%202011%2C%20%2767%20and%20%2793%20top%20Stanley%20Cup%26%23174%3B%20Championship%20years%3A%20Molson%20Coors%20survey

Video with caption: "Sneak peek at Molson Canadian's upcoming Rituals TV spots, which will run across Canada during the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs". Video available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/cgi-bin/playback.cgi?file=20120322_C6778_VIDEO_EN_11451.mp4&posterurl=http://photos.newswire.ca/images/20120322_C6778_PHOTO_EN_11451.jpg&clientName=Molson%20Coors%20Canada&caption=Sneak%20peek%20at%20Molson%20Canadian%27s%20upcoming%20Rituals%20TV%20spots%2C%20which%20will%20run%0D%0Aacross%20Canada%20during%20the%202012%20Stanley%20Cup%20Playoffs&title=MOLSON%20COORS%20CANADA%20%2D%20Canadians%20deem%202011%2C%20%2767%20and%20%2793%20top%20Stanley%20Cup%26%23174%3B%20Championship%20years%3A%20Molson%20Coors%20survey&headline=Canadians%20deem%202011%2C%20%2767%20and%20%2793%20top%20Stanley%20Cup%26%23174%3B%20Championship%20years%3A%20Molson%20Coors%20survey

Image with caption: "A sample of the commemorative PIN cards, available in specially-marked cases throughout the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs (CNW Group/Molson Coors Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120322_C6778_PHOTO_EN_11442.jpg

Image with caption: "A sample of the commemorative PIN cards, available in specially-marked cases throughout the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs (CNW Group/Molson Coors Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120322_C6778_PHOTO_EN_11443.jpg

Image with caption: "A sample of the commemorative PIN cards, available in specially-marked cases throughout the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs (CNW Group/Molson Coors Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120322_C6778_PHOTO_EN_11444.jpg

Image with caption: "A sample of the commemorative PIN cards, available in specially-marked cases throughout the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs (CNW Group/Molson Coors Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120322_C6778_PHOTO_EN_11445.jpg

Image with caption: "A sample of the commemorative PIN cards, available in specially-marked cases throughout the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs (CNW Group/Molson Coors Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120322_C6778_PHOTO_EN_11446.jpg

Image with caption: "A sample of the commemorative PIN cards, available in specially-marked cases throughout the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs (CNW Group/Molson Coors Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120322_C6778_PHOTO_EN_11447.jpg

Image with caption: "Artwork from the limited edition Stanley Cup 473ml cans of Molson Canadian, Coors Light and Molson Export. (CNW Group/Molson Coors Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20120322_C6778_PHOTO_EN_11448.jpg

Steve Presant / Gina Kohn
Paradigm Public Relations
[email protected] / [email protected] 
416-203-2223      

Forest Kenney
Molson Coors Canada
[email protected]
416-679-5493