NHL Champions: A History Of Stanley Cup Winners

The Stanley Cup as perhaps the richest history of all the professional sports trophies that have ever existed in North America. It came into existence in 1892, and is named after the Governor General of Canada, Lord Stanley of Preston. Of course, a lot has changed since then to create the Cup as we know it today.

First, there was the situation created between the National Hockey Association and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, where the two leagues had their best team challenge one another for the right to keep the trophy for one year. Of course, over the years the various leagues and teams merged and we ended up with one league that has the ultimate goal of being NHL Champion and Stanley Cup Winner.

The rich history of the trophy exists right on it's own surface, with all members of the winning organization each year are engraved onto the cups bands permanently. The trophy therefore grew, but now when it becomes full the oldest band is removed and taken to the Hockey Hall of Fame, while a new band is built onto the bottom so that more teams can be added. This just highlights the rich tradition of the cup and also allows for another unique situation to take place, which is that nobody ever owns their own trophy like in the NBA or NFL. They are simply granted the right to hold onto the cup until the next years championship takes place.

• The teams with the most Stanley Cup losses are the Detroit Red Wings and the Boston Bruins who each have 13 losses.
• The first Stanley Cups Champions of the modern era were the Montreal Canadiens in 1916.
• The most appearances without a win is 3, held by the St. Louis Blues and the Vancouver Canucks.

Since the modern 'Stanley Cup Finals Era' began in 1915, here are the ten most successful teams in terms of being NHL Champions.

1. Montreal Canadiens - 24 wins in 34 appearances
2. Detroit Red Wings - 11 wins in 24 appearances
3. Toronto Maple Leafs - 13 wins in 21 appearances
4. Boston Bruins - 6 wins in 19 appearances
5. Chicago Blackhawks - 5 wins in 12 appearances
6. Edmonton Oilers - 5 wins in 7 appearances
7. New York Rangers - 4 wins in 10 appearances
8. New York Islanders - 4 wins in 5 appearances
9. New Jersey Devils - 3 wins in 5 appearances
10. Pittsburgh Penguins - 3 wins in 4 appearances

• Henri Richards holds the record for most Stanley Cup wins as a player, with 11. He played for the Montreal Canadiens.
• Scotty Bowman, also of Montreal owns the record for most Stanley Cup Appearances by a non-player.
• The Stanley Cup trophy stands just over 35 inches tall and is around 35 lbs in weight.
• There are actually three 'Stanley Cups' in existence right now, one of which is the old trophy, one that sits at the Hockey Hall of Fame, and the one that is given to the winning team each year.
• Apparently, two babies have been baptized in the Stanley Cup. I'll let you look up the details of that yourselves!