The Stanley Cup is the most prestigious club hockey award given annually to the winners of the National Hockey League. Interestingly, the cup was originally called the "Hockey Challenge Cup". It is a 90 cm vase with a cylindrical base.
How did the trophy come about?
The very first Stanley Cup was completely different. It was purchased in London by the Governor General of Canada named Frederick Arthur Stanley for 10 guineas (equivalent to about $50). It was a decorative bowl given to the Canadian amateur championship winner.
At the same time, Lord Stanley has already established several important rules for presenting this award. Among them, there are several main ones:
- The cup is not the property of the winning team.
- Applicants for its possession must become the winners of the championship of their league.
- The trophy is awarded as a result of a series of matches up to one, two or three victories by agreement between the contenders.
- The owner of the Stanley Cup is obliged to return it without damage,as soon as requested by the organizers.
- Champion can add a commemorative inscription symbolizing victory in the cup.
In our years, some of these rules are still observed, and some have undergone major changes.
First cup winner
For the first time ever, the Montreal AAA team won the Stanley Cup. 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 victors defeated everyone during the main championship.
The playoffs were first held 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 up to one victory, the hockey players from Montreal became the winners of the Stanley Cup for the second time.
Format change
Since 1915, the NHL champion began to fight for the right to possess the Stanley Cup with the winner of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association.
The fight was fought in a series of up to three victories. The Vancouver Millionaires and the Ottawa Senators clashed in the first such confrontation. The Vancouver club won the series with a landslide 3-0.
It is interesting that it was not always possible to determine the winner. So, in 1919, the series between the Montreal Canadiens and the Seattle Metropolitans was canceled with a score of 2: 2because of the flu epidemic. It was then that the world had to face the so-called Spanish flu. It became the most massive influenza epidemic in the history of mankind, 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.
Modern cup for the NHL winner
This trophy has undergone a lot of changes these days. Players now receive a copy that was made in 1964 by Carl Peterson. The modern trophy features a replica of the original bowl on top. Its weight is 15 and a half kilograms, and its height is 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 when the teams were divided into 4 divisions, each of which had five or six clubs. Thus, first the division champion was determined, then the best team in the conference. At the next stage, the Stanley Cup itself was already played.
In the mid-90s, the league was expanded once again. 6 divisions appeared, 8 clubs from each conference began to play in the playoff stage. Interestingly, in 2012, the NHL returned to the 4 division scheme again.
Record-breaking teams
Among the teams that have won the Stanley Cup the most times, the sole leader is the Montreal Canadiens. This team has played in the finals 33 times, winning the trophy 24 times. True, the last time theybecame the best for a long time, in 1993. Since then, never played even in the finals.
In second place in this honorary ranking of the Detroit Red Wings. They first won the Cup in 1936, since then they have won the NHL 10 more times and lost 13 times in the final series. They last celebrated their success in 2008.
Third place is occupied by the Toronto Maple Leafs club, they won the cup even more often than Detroit (13 times), but took part in the finals following only 21 seasons. In addition, their successes are in the distant past, they have not become the winners of the National Hockey League since 1967.
The Pittsburgh Penguins took on the Nashville Predators in the most recent final in 2017. In the best-of-four series, Pittsburgh started with two home wins, 5-3 and 4-1. Once in his field, “Nashville” seized the initiative, equalizing the score in the series (5:1 and 4:1). The fifth match of the team went to play again in Pittsburgh, where the hosts won more than confidently - 6:0.
Chance to equalize in the series in the “Nashville” appeared in his field. The game turned out to be very stubborn, until the third period the score was never opened. Only in the 59th minute, Pittsburgh forward Patrick Hernkvist scored the first goal of the game. Nashville promptly replaced the go altender with a sixth outfielder to tie the game, but got a second empty net instead, scored by another Swede, Carl Hagelin.
For "Pittsburgh" this victory was the fifthin history, and the second in a row.
Record players
Among the hockey players who won the Stanley Cup, the sole leader is the legendary Canadian Henri Richard. He won this trophy as many as 11 times. This happened for the first time in 1956, and for the last time in 1973. Richard was short (only 170 centimeters), for which he received the nickname Pocket Rocket. He won all of his 11 titles with the Montreal Canadiens.
He ended his career in 1975 at the age of 39. By that time, he had played 1,256 games in which he scored 1,046 points, scored 358 goals and gave 688 assists. As a token of gratitude for their dedication to the club and their huge contribution to team success, the Canadiens have retired Richard's jersey.
Among Russian hockey players, several players won the Stanley Cup 3 times at once. These are Sergei Fedorov, Igor Larionov, Sergei Brylin and Evgeni Malkin, whose career with Pittsburgh is still ongoing, so he can break this record. It should be noted the achievement of Vyacheslav Fetisov, who won the Cup twice as a player in the Detroit Red Wings, and in 2000 won as a coach of the New Jersey Devils team.
