The Stanley Cup was brought to Afghanistan on Wednesday in an effort to boost troop morale, after Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier said some troops are "pissed off" about the attention given to detainee abuse allegations.

"Let me just come out very frankly here: I met a variety of soldiers who are pissed off," Hillier told reporters. "They're angry that these allegations have detracted from the overall mission here."

Hillier said the sentiments didn't apply to him because he never gets "pissed off."

He addressed the issue after arriving in Kandahar with a group of former NHL players and the Stanley Cup in a show of support for Canadian troops.

It was the first time the Stanley Cup has ever been taken to a war zone.

Enforcers Bob Probert and Dave (Tiger) Williams, goaltender Ron Tugnutt and former Montreal Canadiens stars Rejean Houle and Yvon Lambert were some of the former hockey greats who made the trip to Kandahar.

The hockey legends were as eager to meet the troops as soldiers were anxious to have their pictures taken with the famous trophy.

"I just want to sit down and hear some of their stories," said Probert.

Meanwhile, Hillier remains at the centre of controversy over a prisoner handover agreement he signed back in 2005.

The agreement has been criticized because it has no clause to allow Canada to follow up on the treatment of detainees handed over to the Afghan government.

On Wednesday, The Globe and Mail reported that Hillier did not consult with the Department of Foreign Affairs before striking the deal.

"We were not consulted," one senior government source told the paper.

Another senior foreign-service officer told The Globe that "Hillier went to Kabul thinking of them (the detainees) as 'scumbags' and made the deal. Hillier wanted to sign it; he insisted on signing it," he said. "Defence took the file and messed it up."

Hillier said Wednesday that he doesn't respond to articles that use unnamed sources but explained the circumstances surrounded the agreement in question.

"I'll tell you that in our country, the Department of Foreign Affairs handles agreements and policies with other countries," he said.

"In the case of the agreement that I was a part of, that I signed on behalf of Canada, the Department of National Defence articulated that agreement with the Department of Foreign Affairs who had the lead, they shaped the agreement, I signed it."

In the report, the Foreign Affairs source said the department did have concerns about the agreement.

"Check the comparative assurances that the Dutch, for example, had compared to what we had. They had a higher level of oversight," he told The Globe.

The Dutch agreement allows for both Dutch diplomats and military officers unlimited access to follow-up on the treatment of transferred prisoners.

Hillier said he felt at the time that the agreement was sufficient.

"As in any agreement, nothing lasts forever and if that gets amended or supplemented by anything else that makes it more effective than that's excellent," he said.

Question period

Prime Minister Stephen Harper told the House of Commons, in response to a question from NDP Leader Jack Layton, that "the information I have would indicate General Hillier is correct and The Globe and Mail is wrong."

Harper said -- in response to questions from Michael Ignatieff, the Liberals' deputy leader -- that the agreement was signed in December 2005 by the previous Liberal government.

"My understanding is that the agreement would have required the approval of the Liberal cabinet of the day," Harper said.

Helena Guergis, the secretary of state for foreign affairs, read out remarks she attributed to Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh made in December 2005 that praised the detainee transfer agreement.

Liberal MP Lucienne Robillard asked about whether any transferred detainees have been asked whether they'd been tortured.

"This is an operational matter. We do not discuss details of detainees," said Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor.

With a report by CTV's Lisa LaFlamme in Kandahar and files from The Canadian Press