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Cameron Gaunce Talks to PHN About Stolen Stanley Cup Rings

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Cameron Gaunce: Photo per Pittsburgh Penguins media release, 2017

Tuesday morning, the tweet made its rounds across the internet. Former Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Cameron Gaunce was the victim of a burglary, which included the theft of a safe containing his and his wife’s 2017 Stanley Cup championship rings.

Gaunce, 28, was a defenseman for the Penguins’ second of back-to-back championships. He played 12 games in the regular season with four points (1g, 3a) and 23 penalty minutes, but was a healthy scratch in the playoffs. He is currently playing in the Tampa Bay organization for the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL.

Tuesday afternoon, Gaunce spoke with Pittsburgh Hockey Now about the crime and what comes next. Despite the circumstance, Gaunce was in good spirits and kept his sense of humor.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now began the conversation with a blunt question, “What the hell, man?”

“Yeah, my reaction was about the same as yours. I got a phone call from my wife. She was on the way to her grandmother’s house for dinner. She said there was a break-in at her mother’s house,” Gaunce said. “Police looked through the house. A number of things were stolen, including the safe.”

It does not appear the thieves targeted the safe but merely stumbled into the treasure.

“No (the safe wasn’t the target). I don’t know how they could have known. I never talk about (the rings), I never post about them, and some of my family members didn’t even know they were there,” Gaunce said before explaining the location wasn’t a secret just not a topic of conversation. The last time he had the rings in public was at a cousin’s wedding in Halifax, last July.

Fortunately, the rings were insured.

“I’m a Gaunce. That’s what we do,” he said. His deprecating smirk was audible.

As the situation unfolds, Gaunce is unsure of the next steps. He isn’t sure if the insurance company will replace the ring or provide a monetary settlement. Though Gaunce’s phrasing revealed his decision if the insurance company writes a check–he will replace the rings.

“I don’t know if they’ll try to get the same ring, or they give us a monetary sum to replace it. We’ll have to wait to see the next steps with the police and the insurance company.”

Gaunce is enjoying his stint and having a career year in Syracuse. He has already set a career high in goals (7), and his 32 points are just five short of his career mark set with Portland in 2015-16. Pittsburgh Hockey Now advises anyone who sees a suspicious memorabilia sale which could be related to the theft to contact the Toronto police.

Editors Note: Pittsburgh Hockey Now incorrectly implied the home was located in the Syracuse area. The burglarized home was in the Toronto area. A correction has been made. We apologize for the error.Â