'Elmer Lach Stanley Cup ring' is a replica, N.B. man says

A New Brunswick man says a recently discovered ring, thought to be Elmer Lach's 1946 Stanley Cup ring, is actually a replica.

Keith Coutange, of Campbellton, says he owned the replica and has pictures of himself wearing it at the Bell Centre in Montreal earlier this year.

He says he bought the ring for $90 from a man in Caraquet, who had bought it as a fake on eBay.

Coutange says he later loaned the ring to his friend, Kyle Mann, who lost it on the Restigouche River near Tide Head.

Earlier this month, Anthony Thériault, an eight-year-old beach treasure hunter in Tide Head, found an apparent Stanley Cup ring with Elmer Lach's name inscribed.

Lach, a former Montreal Canadien, helped lead the Habs to Stanley Cup victory three times in his career in the 1940s and '50s.

Thériault's father, Shawn Thériault, has been calling jewellers, trying to determine whether the ring is authentic, but speculated Lach may have lost the ring while fishing in the area.

The Restigouche River has been a favourite fishing hole for Canadian celebrities for years, including Lach's linemate, Maurice (the Rocket) Richard.

Together with fellow Canadien Toe Blake, the three made up the team's famous "Punch Line" that helped the Canadiens win the Stanley Cup in 1944 and 1946.

On Monday, Montreal Gazette sports columnist Dave Stubbs tweeted a photograph of himself with Lach, with the message, "Stanley Cup ring on hand of #Habs legend Elmer Lach just now. He tells me it's the only Cup ring he's ever owned."

Lach, 96, is the oldest living member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.