The Stanley Cup is a trophy awarded annually to the playoff champion club of the National Hockey League (NHL). It was donated by the Governor General of Canada Lord Stanley of Preston in 1892, and is the oldest professional sports trophy in North America. Inscribed the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, the trophy was first awarded to Canada's amateur ice hockey clubs who won the trophy as the result of challenge games and league play. Professional clubs came to dominate the competition in the early years of the twentieth century, and in 1913 the two major professional ice hockey organizations, the National Hockey Association (NHA), forerunner of the NHL, and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), reached a gentlemen's agreement in which their respective champions would face each other in an annual series for the Stanley Cup. After a series of league mergers and folds, it became the de facto championship trophy of the NHL in 1926, though it was nominally still subject to external challenge. After 1947, the Cup became the de jure NHL championship prize.
From 1915 to the end of the 2024–25 season, the trophy has been won 109 times. 27 teams have won the cup, 22 of which are still active in the NHL. Prior to that, the challenge cup was held by nine teams. The Montreal Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup 24 times and made the Final an additional 11 times. There were two years when the Stanley Cup was not awarded: 1919, because of the Spanish flu pandemic, and 2005, because of the 2004–05 NHL lockout.
The most recent Stanley Cup champions are the Carolina Hurricanes, who won the trophy in 2026.
Challenge Cup era (1893–1914)
The origins of the Challenge era come from the method of play of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada prior to 1893. From 1887 to 1893, the league did not play a round-robin format, but rather challenges between teams of the association that year, with the winner of the series being the 'interim' champion, with the final challenge winner becoming the league champion for the year. The Stanley Cup kept the tradition going, but added league championships as another way that a team could win the trophy. If a team in the same league as the current champion won the league championship, it would then inherit the Cup, without a challenge. The only time this rule was not followed was in 1904, when the Ottawa Senators club withdrew from its league, the CAHL. The trustees ruled that the Cup stayed with Ottawa, instead of the CAHL league champion.
During the challenge cup period, none of the leagues that played for the trophy had a formal playoff system to decide their respective champions; whichever team finished in first place after the regular season won the league title. A playoff would only be played if teams tied for first-place in their leagues at the end of the regular season. Challenge games were played until 1912 at any time during hockey season by challenges approved or ordered by the Stanley Cup trustees. In 1912, Cup trustees declared that it was only to be defended at the end of the champion team's regular season.
In 1908, the Allan Cup was introduced as the trophy for Canada's amateurs, as the Stanley Cup became a symbol of professional hockey supremacy.
This table lists the outcome of all Stanley Cup wins, including successful victories and defenses in challenges, and league championships for the challenge era.
Date Winning team Coach Losing team Playoff format Score Winning goal March 17, 1893 Montreal Hockey Club Harry Shaw 1893 AHAC champions, no challengers March 22, 1894 Montreal Hockey Club Ottawa Hockey Club Single-elimination 3–1 Billy Barlow March 9, 1895Montreal Hockey Club Queen's University Single-elimination5–1 March 9, 1895 Montreal Victorias Mike Grant 1895 AHAC Champion February 14, 1896 Winnipeg Victorias Jack Armytage Montreal Victorias Single-elimination 2–0 Jack Armytage February 29, 1896 1896 MHA champion December 30, 1896 Montreal Victorias Mike Grant Winnipeg Victorias Single-elimination 6–5 Ernie McLea March 6, 1897 1897 AHAC Champion December 27, 1897 Ottawa Capitals Single-elimination 15–2 March 5, 1898 Frank Richardson-playing 1898 AHAC Champion February 15–18, 1899 Montreal Victorias Winnipeg Victorias Two-game total goals 5–3 Robert MacDougall March 4, 1899 Montreal Shamrocks Barney Dunphy 1899 CAHL Champion March 14, 1899 Queen's University Single-elimination 6–2 Harry Trihey February 12–15, 1900 Winnipeg Victorias Best-of-three 2–1 Harry Trihey March 7, 1900 Halifax Crescents 2–0 (10–2, 11–0) March 10, 1900 1900 CAHL Champion January 29–31, 1901 Winnipeg Victorias Dan Bain Montreal Shamrocks Best-of-three 2–0 Dan Bain February 19, 1901 Winnipeg Hockey Club Single-elimination 4–3 January 21–23, 1902 Toronto Wellingtons Best-of-three 2–0 Fred Scanlan March 1902 1902 MHA Champion March 13–17, 1902 Montreal Hockey Club Clarence McKerrow Winnipeg Victorias Best-of-three 2–1 Jack Marshall January 29–31,February 2–4, 1903 Desse Browne Winnipeg Victorias Best-of-three 2–1 Tom Phillips March 7–10, 1903 Ottawa Silver Seven Alf Smith Montreal Victorias Two-game total goals 9–1 Suddy Gilmour March 12–14, 1903 Rat Portage Thistles Two-game total goals 10–4 Frank McGee December 30, 1903, January 1–4, 1904 Alf Smith-playing Winnipeg Rowing Club Best-of-three 2–1 Frank McGee February 23–25, 1904 Ottawa Silver Seven Toronto Marlboros 2–0 Arthur Moore March 2, 1904 Montreal Wanderers Two-game total goals March 9–11, 1904 Brandon Wheat City Best-of-three 2–0 Frank McGee January 13–16, 1905 Ottawa Silver Seven Dawson City Nuggets 2–0 Harry Westwick March 3, 1905 1905 FAHL Champion March 7–9–11, 1905 Rat Portage Thistles Best-of-three 2–1 Frank McGee February 27–28, 1906 Queen's University 2–0 Harvey Pulford March 6–8, 1906 Smiths Falls Hockey Club 2–0 Frank McGee March 14–17, 1906 Montreal Wanderers Cecil Blachford-playing Ottawa Silver Seven Two-game total goals 12–10 Lester Patrick December 27–29, 1906 New Glasgow Cubs Two-game total goals 17–5 January 21–23, 1907 Kenora Thistles James Link Montreal Wanderers 12–8 Roxy Beaudro March 16–18, 1907 Brandon Wheat City Best-of-three 2–0 Fred Whitcroft March 23–25, 1907 Montreal Wanderers Lester Patrick Kenora Thistles Two-game total goals 12–8 Ernest "Moose" Johnson January 9–13, 1908 Cecil Blachford Ottawa Victorias 22–4 Frank Glass March 7, 1908 1908 ECAHA Champions March 10–12, 1908 Winnipeg Maple Leafs Two-game total goals 20–8 March 14, 1908 Toronto Pros Single-elimination 6–4 Ernest "Moose" Johnson December 28–30, 1908 Edmonton HC Two-game total goals 13–10 Walter Smaill March 6, 1909 Ottawa Hockey Club Pete Green 1909 ECHA champions January 5–7, 1910 Galt Hockey Club Two-game total goals 15–4 Hamby Shore January 18–20, 1910 Edmonton HC 21–11 Bruce Stuart March 9, 1910 Montreal Wanderers Frank Glass 1910 NHA Champion March 12, 1910 Berlin Dutchmen Single-elimination 7–3 Harry Hyland March 10, 1911 Ottawa Senators Pete Green 1911 NHA Champions March 13, 1911 Galt Hockey Club Single-elimination 7–4 Marty Walsh March 16, 1911 Port Arthur Bearcats 13–4 Marty Walsh March 5, 1912 Quebec Bulldogs Charles Nolan 1912 NHA Champions March 11–13, 1912 Moncton Victorias Best-of-three 2–0 Joe Malone March 5, 1913 Joe Malone 1913 NHA Champions March 8–10, 1913 Sydney Millionaires Two-game total goals 20–5 Tommy Smith March 7–11, 1914 Toronto Hockey Club Jack Marshall Montreal Canadiens Two-game total goals 6–2 Scotty Davidson March 14–17–19, 1914 Toronto Hockey Club Jack Marshall Victoria Aristocrats Best-of-five 3–0 Harry Cameron
Notes A. Although the Montreal Victorias won the AHAC title in 1895, the Stanley Cup trustees had already accepted a challenge from the 1894 Cup champion Montreal HC and Queen's University. As a compromise, the trustees decided that if the Montreal HC won the challenge match, the Victorias would become the Stanley Cup champions. The Montreals eventually won the game, 5–1, and their crosstown rivals were awarded the Cup.
B. Intended to be a best-of-three series, Ottawa Capitals withdrew their challenge after the first game.
C. The January 31 (a Saturday) game was tied 2–2 at midnight and the Mayor of Westmount refused to allow play to continue on Sunday. The game was played on February 2 (a Monday) and the January 31 game was considered to be void.
D. For most of 1904, the Ottawa Hockey Club was not affiliated with any league.
E. The Montreal Wanderers were disqualified as the result of a dispute. After game one ended tied at the end of regulation, 5–5, the Wanderers refused to play overtime with the current referee, and then subsequently refused to play the next game of the series in Ottawa.
F. During the series, it was revealed that the Victoria club had not filed a formal challenge. A letter arrived from the Stanley Cup trustees on March 17, stating that the trustees would not let the Stanley Cup travel west, as they did not consider Victoria a proper challenger because they had not formally notified the trustees. However, on March 18, Trustee William Foran stated that it was a misunderstanding. PCHA president Frank Patrick had not filed a challenge because he had expected Emmett Quinn, president of the NHA to make all of the arrangements in his role as hockey commissioner, whereas the trustees thought they were being deliberately ignored. In any case, all arrangements had been ironed out and the Victoria challenge was accepted.
Sources
Montreal Gazette Ottawa Citizen Ottawa Journal Winnipeg Tribune
NHA/NHL vs. PCHA/WCHL/WHL champions (1915–1926) Several days after the Victoria Aristocrats – Toronto Hockey Club series, Stanley Cup trustee William Foran wrote to NHA president Emmett Quinn that the trustees are "perfectly satisfied to allow the representatives of the three pro leagues (NHA, PCHA, and Maritime) to make all arrangements each season as to the series of matches to be played for the Cup." The Maritime league did not challenge for the Cup in 1914, and folded after the 1915 season. The Stanley Cup championship finals alternated between the East and the West each year, with games played alternately under NHA or PCHA rules. The Cup trustees agreed to this new arrangement, because after the Allan Cup became the highest prize for amateur hockey teams in Canada, the trustees had become dependent on the top two professional leagues to bolster the prominence of the trophy.
After the New Westminster Royals moved to Portland in the summer of 1914 becoming the Portland Rosebuds, an American-based team, the trustees issued a statement that the Cup was no longer for the best team in Canada, but now for the best team in the world. In March 1916, the Rosebuds became the first American team to play in the Stanley Cup championship final. In 1917, the Seattle Metropolitans became the first American team to win the Cup. After that season, the NHA suspended operations and the National Hockey League (NHL) took its place.
In 1919, the Spanish influenza epidemic forced the Montreal Canadiens and the Seattle Metropolitans to cancel their series tied at 2–2–1, marking the first time the Stanley Cup was not awarded.
The format for the Stanley Cup championship changed in 1922, with the creation of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). Now three leagues competed for the Cup and this necessitated a semi-final series between two league champions, with the third having a bye directly to the final. In 1924, the PCHA folded and only the Vancouver and Victoria teams entered the WCHL. With the loss of the PCHA, the championship reverted to a single series. After their win in 1925, the Victoria Cougars became the last team outside the NHL to win the Stanley Cup. For the 1925–26 season the WCHL was renamed the Western Hockey League (WHL). With the Victoria Cougars' loss in 1926, it would be the last time a non-NHL team competed for the Stanley Cup.