DENVER — Kit Karbler and Dmitri Rudenko were not expecting a delivery Monday afternoon.
“The guy came to the door, met the dog, shook our hands like he was supposed to be here,” said Karbler. “And I’m like, "Well, who are you?"”
They certainly weren’t expecting a delivery in a giant black case with a blue velvet lining.
“He acted like I was expecting it,” Karbler said. “He’s like, "Hi. We’re here." And I’m like, "Hi. Who are you? What do you have?"”
“They opened the trunk, it was afternoon and the sun was shining on it and I was in the kitchen – and the kitchen lit up,” Rudenko said. “And I was like, "What is happening?"”
The moment it showed up was caught by their security camera.
“I was working in the media room on the computer,” Karbler said.
“I was in the kitchen doing my thing,” Rudenko said. “And I saw the car pull in the driveway, and the trunk is opening and there’s two guys opening the chest. I recognized it from all the games — the black chest. And I just jokingly said, "What is that, the Stanley Cup?" And he goes, "Yeah! And I’m like, "Yeah, sure."”
Indeed, Lord Stanley had taken a wrong turn, bound for Avalanche team captain Gabriel Landeskog’s house, misrouted to the modest house down the lane instead.
“And here’s this sparkling thing in this box with this velvet cover. And I said, "Can I touch it?" And he said, "Sure." And I felt the rim because I saw it got dented the night before," Karbler said.
Karbler got just one photo — the one he posted on Nextdoor, listed under "Lost and Found."
“It never came to mind to take a selfie,” Karbler said. “A chance of a lifetime, and I took one photo. When things happen like that, you don’t think so fast as you would afterwards.”
If they didn’t know before, they know now that some of their neighbors are quite famous.
“Somebody named Landeskog,” Karbler said.
“Are you guys hockey fans?” asked Denver7’s Russell Haythorn.
“We are now! Wholeheartedly,” Karbler said.
“We did watch all the final games for sure,” Rudenko said. “It’s unbelievable. For me, it’s just like finding a treasure.”
“Our neighborhood is called Hilltop, but it’s going to be Hockeytop for us for awhile,” Karbler said.
