The Stanley Cup is the most prestigious club hockey award, which is awarded annually to the winners of the National Hockey League. Interestingly, the original cup was called the Hockey Challenge Cup. It is a 90-cm vase with a cylinder-shaped base.
How did the trophy come about?
The very first Stanley Cup was completely different. He was acquired in London by the Governor General of Canada by the name of Frederick Arthur Stanley for 10 guineas (the equivalent of about 50 dollars). It was a decorative bowl, which was awarded to the winner of the amateur championship team of Canada.
In this case, Lord Stanley has established several important rules for the presentation of this award. Among them, several main ones can be distinguished:
- The cup is not the property of the winning team.
- Applicants for his possession must become the winners of the championship of his league.
- As a result of a series of matches, the trophy goes to one, two or three victories by agreement between the applicants.
- The Stanley Cup holder is required to return it without damage, as soon as the organizers require it.
- The champion can add a commemorative inscription symbolizing the victory in the cup.
In our years, some of these rules are still respected, and some have undergone major changes.
First Cup Winner
For the first time in history, the Montreal AAA team became the Stanley Cup holder. This happened in 1893. She won the championship of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada, which at that time was considered the strongest in the world. It is noteworthy that the playoff stage was not held then, because the triumphs defeated everyone else during the main championship.
The playoffs first took place in 1894. In the final, “Montreal AAA” met with the Ottawa Generals club and won with a score of 3: 1, since the cup was played until one victory, the Montreal hockey players became Stanley Cup winners for the second time.
Format change
Since 1915, the NHL champion began to fight for the right to have a Stanley Cup with the winner of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association.
The fight was fought in a series of up to three victories. In the first such confrontation, the teams Vancouver Millionaires and Ottawa Senators came together. The club from Vancouver won a landslide victory in the series with a score of 3: 0.
Interestingly, it was not always possible to determine the winner. So, in 1919, the series between the Montreal Canadiens and the Seattle Metropolitan teams was canceled with the score 2: 2 due to the flu epidemic. It was then that the world had to deal with the so-called Spanish flu. This was the most massive flu epidemic in human history when about 500 million people, or almost a third of the world's population, were infected, according to various estimates, between 50 and 100 million people died.
NHL Winner Modern Cup
Today, this trophy has undergone great changes. Now players are getting a copy that was made in 1964 by Karl Peterson. On a modern trophy, a copy of the original bowl is depicted on top. Its weight is 15 and a half kilograms, and a height of almost 90 centimeters.
In the 70s, the list of NHL participants was expanded to 16 teams, the series began to be held up to 4 victories. Until 1993, there was a system where teams were divided into 4 divisions, each of which played five to six clubs. Thus, the division champion was first determined, then the best team of the conference. At the next stage, the Stanley Cup itself was already being played.
In the mid-90s, the league was expanded again. 6 divisions appeared, 8 clubs from each conference began to play in the playoff stage. Interestingly, in 2012, the NHL again returned to the scheme of 4 divisions.
Record teams
Among the teams that have won the Stanley Cup the most times, the sole leader is Montreal Canadiens. This team played 33 times in the finals, having won the trophy 24 times. True, the last time they became the best for a long time, in 1993. Since then, never having played even in the final.
In second place in this honorary ranking is Detroit Red Wings. They first won the cup in 1936, since then they have become the winners of the NHL 10 more times and 13 times lost in the final series. The last time they celebrated success in 2008.
The third place is occupied by the Toronto Maple Leafs club, they won the cup more often than Detroit (13 times), but took part in the finals following only 21 seasons. In addition, their successes in the distant past, they have not become winners of the National Hockey League since 1967.
In the last final at the moment in 2017, the “Pittsburgh Penguins” and “Nashville Predators” met. In a series of up to 4 victories, “Pittsubg” began with two home victories with a score of 5: 3 and 4: 1. Once in his field, “Nashville” seized the initiative, equalizing in the series (5: 1 and 4: 1). The fifth match of the team went again to play in Pittsburgh, where the hosts won more than confidently - 6-0.
The chance to equalize the score in the series at “Nashville” appeared on his field. The game turned out to be very stubborn, until the third period the score was never opened. Only 59 minutes forward, “Pittsburgh” Swede Patrick Hernqvist scored the first goal in the match. “Nashville” immediately replaced the goalkeeper with a sixth field player to equalize, but instead received a second goal into the empty net, another Swede Karl Hagelin distinguished himself.
For “Pittsburgh, ” this victory was the fifth in history, and the second in a row.
