Lord Stanley's Cup is the oldest trophy in North American professional sports, having been donated by the Governor General of Canada, Lord Stanley Preston, all the way back in 1892. It initially served as the award for amateur ice hockey clubs before the NHA (now NHL) and PCHA agreed to make it the trophy for the winner of a championship bout between their respective champions.
It wasn't until 1926 that the Stanley Cup became the championship trophy for NHL teams following the folding of the WHL. Between 1915 and 1926, the Stanley Cup trophy was awarded to the winner of the NHL and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, before the NHL took full ownership of it after the 1925-26 season. Today, it's the most prestigious trophy in professional ice hockey.
Since 1915, no team has won more Stanley Cups than the Montreal Canadiens, who have 23 titles in franchise history. The Toronto Maple Leafs have 13 and are the second winningest organization in the NHL, followed by the Detroit Red Wings with 11. The Original Six teams have dominated ownership of the trophy throughout its history.
The two winningest teams in history are both Canadian, but teams from Canada are enduring a staggeringly long drought without winning the Stanley Cup. The last time a Canadian team won it was the Canadiens in 1993, more than three decades ago.
The most recent winner of the Stanley Cup is the Florida Panthers, who defeated the Edmonton Oilers in a seven-game series to win their first-ever title.
Full List of Stanley Cup Winners
*There were no Stanley Cup winners in 1919, due to the Spanish flu epidemic, and in 2005 due to the NHL lockout.
Legendary Stanley Cup Dynasties
No team has won more consecutive Stanley Cups than the Montreal Canadiens, who won each year from 1956 to 1960. During their five-year run, the team was led by Maurice Richard, after whom the Rocket Richard trophy was named, who scored 25 goals and tallied 44 points across 41 playoff games throughout that span.
The Canadiens enjoyed another legendary run from 1976 to '79, winning four straight Cups. Led by NHL legend Guy Lafleur, Montreal defeated the Flyers, Bruins (twice) and Rangers while dropping just three games in the Stanley Cup final throughout those four years.
That Canadiens team passed the torch to the NHL's next dynasty, the New York Islanders, who followed up Montreal's four-peat with four Stanley Cup finals wins of their own from 1980 to '83. They too only lost three games across their four-year run in the final, led by the likes of Bob Bourne and Mike Bossy, among others.
Since then, no team has managed to pull off a three-peat, let alone four straight Cup titles. The Oilers won five Cups in seven years from 1984 to '90, and multiple teams have won back-to-back championships, most recently the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and '21.
More on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as NHL Stanley Cup Winners: Full List & History.
