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Stanley Cup


The Stanley Cup is inscribed with the names of all the players on the teams that have won it. When they run out of space, a new "section" is added to the trophy

The first playoff game for the Stanley Cup started on March 22, 1894. The Stanley Cup was originally donated in 1892 by Sir Frederick Arthur Stanley, 1st Baron Stanley of Preston, Governor General of Canada and the son of the Earl of Derby, who had become enamoured with hockey. It was originally used as the trophy given out to the top amateur hockey team in Canada, decided by the acceptance of a challenge from another team by the Cup holders and trustees. In 1910, professional teams started competing for the trophy, and in 1926, the NHL got exclusive use of the Stanley Cup.

The cup has been awarded every year since 1893, except for 1919 when the finals were cancelled after five games after a spanish influenza epidemic in Montreal and Seattle. The deadly disease claimed the life of one player, and incapacitated several others. The series was abandoned, and remained tied at 2-2-1.

Since its first presentation, the Cup has undergone many alterations, with new levels being added and old bands being removed and preserved in the Hockey Hall of Fame (Toronto, Ontario, Canada). This is mainly due to the fact the Stanley Cup is the only trophy in professional sports that has the name of every member of the winning team engraved upon it. It stands at three feet tall and weighs almost 35 pounds.

The Montreal Canadiens have won the most Stanley Cups, capturing the Cup 24 times. The Toronto Maple Leafs come in second with 13 Cup wins. The highest-ranking American team is the Detroit Red Wings with 10 wins.

Often touted as the most difficult trophy to win in professional sports, each member of the winning Stanley Cup team gets to take possession of the trophy for 24 hours. This has resulted in a number of stories about the treatment of the trophy itself: A member of the 1905 Ottawa club drop kicked onto a frozen canal, retrieving it the next day; the 1924 Canadiens left it by a roadside after repairing a flat tire and both the 1991 Pittsburgh Penguins and 1993 Habs tested its buoyancy properties in players' swimming pools. "The Stanley Cup", Guy Carbonneau observed, "does not float".

The trophy has also been misplaced. In the end of July 2003 the Stanley Cup was to have been transported for display by Jiri Bicek in his native Slovakia. Instead it never left the departing point of Toronto's Pearson International Airport.

Stanley Cup Winners

Year Winner Finalist Games
2003 New Jersey Devils Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 4-3
2002 Detroit Red Wings Carolina Hurricanes 4-1
2001 Colorado Avalanche New Jersey Devils 4-3
2000 New Jersey Devils Dallas Stars 4-2
1999 Dallas Stars Buffalo Sabres 4-2
1998 Detroit Red Wings Washington Capitals 4-0
1997 Detroit Red Wings Philadelphia Flyers 4-0
1996 Colorado Avalanche Florida Panthers 4-0
1995 New Jersey Devils Detroit Red Wings 4-0
1994 New York Rangers Vancouver Canucks 4-3
1993 Montreal Canadiens Los Angeles Kings 4-1
1992 Pittsburgh Penguins Chicago Blackhawks 4-0
1991 Pittsburgh Penguins Minnesota North Stars 4-2
1990 Edmonton Oilers Boston Bruins 4-1
1989 Calgary Flames Montreal Canadiens 4-2
1988 Edmonton Oilers Boston Bruins 4-0
1987 Edmonton Oilers Philadelphia Flyers 4-3
1986 Montreal Canadiens Calgary Flames 4-1
1985 Edmonton Oilers Philadelphia Flyers 4-1
1984 Edmonton Oilers New York Islanders 4-1
1983 New York Islanders Edmonton Oilers 4-0
1982 New York Islanders Vancouver Canucks 4-0
1981 New York Islanders Minnesota North Stars 4-1
1980 New York Islanders Philadelphia Flyers 4-2
1979 Montreal Canadiens New York Rangers 4-1
1978 Montreal Canadiens Boston Bruins 4-2
1977 Montreal Canadiens Boston Bruins 4-0
1976 Montreal Canadiens Philadelphia Flyers 4-0
1975 Philadelphia Flyers Buffalo Sabres 4-2
1974 Philadelphia Flyers Boston Bruins 4-2
1973 Montreal Canadiens Chicago Blackhawks 4-2
1972 Boston Bruins New York Rangers 4-2
1971 Montreal Canadiens Chicago Blackhawks 4-3
1970 Boston Bruins St. Louis Blues 4-0
1969 Montreal Canadiens St. Louis Blues 4-0
1968 Montreal Canadiens St. Louis Blues 4-0
1967 Toronto Maple Leafs Montreal Canadiens 4-2
1966 Montreal Canadiens Detroit Red Wings 4-2
1965 Montreal Canadiens Chicago Blackhawks 4-3
1964 Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Red Wings 4-3
1963 Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Red Wings 4-1
1962 Toronto Maple Leafs Chicago Blackhawks 4-2
1961 Chicago Blackhawks Detroit Red Wings 4-2
1960 Montreal Canadiens Toronto Maple Leafs 4-0
1959 Montreal Canadiens Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1
1958 Montreal Canadiens Boston Bruins 4-2
1957 Montreal Canadiens Boston Bruins 4-1
1956 Montreal Canadiens Detroit Red Wings 4-1
1955 Detroit Red Wings Montreal Canadiens 4-3
1954 Detroit Red Wings Montreal Canadiens 4-3
1953 Montreal Canadiens Boston Bruins 4-1
1952 Detroit Red Wings Montreal Canadiens 4-0
1951 Toronto Maple Leafs Montreal Canadiens 4-1
1950 Detroit Red Wings New York Rangers 4-3
1949 Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Red Wings 4-0
1948 Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Red Wings 4-0
1947 Toronto Maple Leafs Montreal Canadiens 4-2
1946 Montreal Canadiens Boston Bruins 4-1
1945 Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Red Wings 4-3
1944 Montreal Canadiens Chicago Blackhawks 4-0
1943 Detroit Red Wings Boston Bruins 4-0
1942 Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Red Wings 4-3
1941 Boston Bruins Detroit Red Wings 4-0
1940 New York Rangers Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2
1939 Boston Bruins Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1
1938 Chicago Blackhawks Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1
1937 Detroit Red Wings New York Rangers 3-2
1936 Detroit Red Wings Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1
1935 Montreal Maroons Toronto Maple Leafs 3-0
1934 Chicago Blackhawks Detroit Red Wings 3-1
1933 New York Rangers Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1
1932 Toronto Maple Leafs New York Rangers 3-0
1931 Montreal Canadiens Chicago Blackhawks 3-2
1930 Montreal Canadiens Boston Bruins 2-0
1929 Boston Bruins New York Rangers 2-0
1928 New York Rangers Montreal Maroons 3-2
1927 Ottawa Senators Boston Bruins 2-0-2
1926 Montreal Maroons Victoria Cougars (WHL) 3-1
1925 Victoria Cougars (WHL) Montreal Canadiens 3-1
1924 Montreal Canadiens Vancouver Maroons (PCHA) 2-0
1923 Ottawa Senators Vancouver Maroons (PCHA) 3-1
1922 Toronto St. Patricks Vancouver Millionaires (PCHA) 3-2
1921 Ottawa Senators Vancouver Millionaires (PCHA) 3-2
1920 Ottawa Senators Seattle Metropolitans (PCHA) 3-2
1919 cancelled
1918 Toronto Arenas Vancouver Millionaires(PCHA) 3-2
1917 Seattle Metropolitans (PCHA) Montreal Canadiens (NHA) 3-1
1916 Montreal Canadiens (NHA) Portland Rosebuds (PCHA) 3-2
1915 Vancouver Millionaires(PCHA) Ottawa Senators (NHA) 3-0
1914 Toronto Blueshirts (NHA) Victoria Aristocrats (PCHA) 3-0
1913 Quebec Bulldogs (NHA)
1912 Quebec Bulldogs (NHA) Moncton Victorias (MPHL) 2-0
1911 Ottawa Senators (NHA)
1910 Montreal Wanderers (NHA)
1909 Ottawa Senators (ECAHA)
1908 Montreal Wanderers (ECAHA)
1907 Montreal Wanderers (ECAHA)
1907 Kenora Thistles (MPHL)
1906 Montreal Wanderers (ECAHL)
1906 Ottawa Silver Seven (ECAHL)
1905 Ottawa Silver Seven
1904 Ottawa Silver Seven
1903 Ottawa Silver Seven
1903 Montreal AAA (CAHL)
1902 Montreal AAA (CAHL)
1902 Winnipeg Victorias
1901 Winnipeg Victorias
1900 Montreal Shamrocks (CAHL)
1899 Montreal Shamrocks (CAHL)
1899 Montreal Victorias (CAHL)
1898 Montreal Victorias (AHA)
1897 Montreal Victorias (AHA)
1896 Montreal Victorias (AHA)
1896 Winnipeg Victorias
1895 Montreal Victorias (AHA)
1894 Montreal AAA (AHA)
1893 Montreal AAA (AHA)