List of Stanley Cup champions facts for kids
The Stanley Cup is a famous trophy given out every year to the team that wins the National Hockey League (NHL) playoffs. It was first given by Lord Stanley of Preston, who was the Governor General of Canada, way back in 1892. This makes it the oldest professional sports trophy in North America!
At first, the Stanley Cup was for amateur ice hockey teams in Canada. They would win it through special challenge games or by winning their league. Over time, professional teams became the main competitors. By 1913, the two biggest professional hockey leagues, the National Hockey Association (NHA) and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), agreed that their champions would play each other every year for the Cup.
After some leagues merged and others stopped playing, the Stanley Cup officially became the NHL's championship trophy in 1947.
Since 1915, the trophy has been won 109 times. Twenty-seven different teams have won it, and 22 of those teams are still playing in the NHL today. The Montreal Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup more than any other team, with 24 victories. There were two years when the Cup was not awarded: in 1919 because of the Spanish flu pandemic, and in 2005 due to a player lockout in the NHL.
The most recent Stanley Cup champions are the Florida Panthers, who won the trophy in both 2024 and 2025.
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How the Stanley Cup Was First Won (1893–1914)
In the early days, winning the Stanley Cup was a bit different. Before 1893, hockey leagues didn't have regular season schedules like today. Teams would challenge each other, and the winner would be the champion. The Stanley Cup continued this tradition.
A team could win the Cup in two ways:
- Challenge Games: A team could challenge the current Cup holder to a series of games. If they won, they took the Cup.
- League Champions: If a team won its league championship and the Cup holder was in that same league, the league champion would automatically get the Cup.
In 1912, the rules changed. From then on, the Cup could only be defended at the very end of the champion team's regular season. This made the competition more organized.
Around this time, in 1908, the Allan Cup was created for amateur hockey teams. This meant the Stanley Cup became known as the top prize for professional hockey.
NHL vs. Other Leagues (1915–1926)
After 1914, the Stanley Cup became a championship played between the best teams from different professional leagues. The main leagues involved were the NHA (later the NHL) from the East and the PCHA from the West. They agreed to take turns hosting the finals and playing under each other's rules.
In 1914, an American team, the Portland Rosebuds, joined the PCHA. This led the Cup's organizers to announce that the trophy was now for the "best team in the world," not just in Canada. In 1917, the Seattle Metropolitans became the first American team to win the Cup.
A sad event happened in 1919. The Spanish flu epidemic caused the final series between the Montreal Canadiens and Seattle Metropolitans to be canceled. The Cup was not awarded that year.
In 1922, a new league, the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), joined the competition. This meant three leagues were now playing for the Cup, so a semi-final round was added. By 1925, the PCHA had folded, and the Victoria Cougars became the last team from outside the NHL to win the Stanley Cup. After 1926, only NHL teams competed for the Cup.
NHL Champions (Since 1927)
Since 1927, the Stanley Cup has been the official championship trophy of the NHL. The NHL made an agreement in 1947 to control the Cup, meaning only NHL teams would play for it.
The way teams reach the Stanley Cup Final has changed over the years.
- From 1942 to 1967, only the "Original Six" teams competed for the Cup.
- Later, teams played within divisions or conferences to decide who would go to the finals.
- From 1982 to 2020, the final was always between the champions of the league's two conferences (Eastern and Western).
- In 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic and travel rules, the league temporarily changed the playoff format. Teams played within four regional divisions, and the winners of those divisions played in the semifinals before the final.
- The league returned to the Eastern vs. Western Conference format in 2022.
Teams That Have Won the Stanley Cup
Here are the teams that have won the Stanley Cup since 1915, including active and defunct teams.
Active Teams
| Apps | Team | Wins | Losses | Win % | Season(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | Montreal Canadiens | 24 | 10 | .706 | 1916, 1917, 1919, 1924, 1925, 1930, 1931, 1944, 1946, 1947, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1986, 1989, 1993, 2021 |
| 24 | Detroit Red Wings | 11 | 13 | .458 | 1934, 1936, 1937, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2008, 2009 |
| 21 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 13 | 8 | .619 | 1918, 1922, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1936, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1967 |
| 20 | Boston Bruins | 6 | 14 | .300 | 1927, 1929, 1930, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1946, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1988, 1990, 2011, 2013, 2019 |
| 13 | Chicago Blackhawks | 6 | 7 | .462 | 1931, 1934, 1938, 1944, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1971, 1973, 1992, 2010, 2013, 2015 |
| 11 | New York Rangers | 4 | 7 | .364 | 1928, 1929, 1932, 1933, 1937, 1940, 1950, 1972, 1979, 1994, 2014 |
| 9 | Edmonton Oilers | 5 | 4 | .556 | 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 2006, 2024, 2025 |
| 8 | Philadelphia Flyers | 2 | 6 | .250 | 1974, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1985, 1987, 1997, 2010 |
| 6 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 5 | 1 | .833 | 1991, 1992, 2008, 2009, 2016, 2017 |
| 5 | New York Islanders | 4 | 1 | .800 | 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984 |
| 5 | New Jersey Devils | 3 | 2 | .600 | 1995, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2012 |
| 5 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 3 | 2 | .600 | 2004, 2015, 2020, 2021, 2022 |
| 5 | Dallas Stars | 1 | 4 | .200 | 1981, 1991, 1999, 2000, 2020 |
| 4 | Florida Panthers | 2 | 2 | .500 | 1996, 2023, 2024, 2025 |
| 4 | St. Louis Blues | 1 | 3 | .250 | 1968, 1969, 1970, 2019 |
| 3 | Colorado Avalanche | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | 1996, 2001, 2022 |
| 3 | Los Angeles Kings | 2 | 1 | .667 | 1993, 2012, 2014 |
| 3 | Calgary Flames | 1 | 2 | .333 | 1986, 1989, 2004 |
| 3 | Vancouver Canucks | 0 | 3 | Template:Win="0" loss="3" | 1982, 1994, 2011 |
| 2 | Anaheim Ducks | 1 | 1 | .500 | 2003, 2007 |
| 2 | Carolina Hurricanes | 1 | 1 | .500 | 2002, 2006 |
| 2 | Vegas Golden Knights | 1 | 1 | .500 | 2018, 2023 |
| 2 | Washington Capitals | 1 | 1 | .500 | 1998, 2018 |
| 2 | Buffalo Sabres | 0 | 2 | .000 | 1975, 1999 |
| 1 | Nashville Predators | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2017 |
| 1 | Ottawa Senators | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2007 |
| 1 | San Jose Sharks | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2016 |
Five active teams have not yet played in a Stanley Cup Final:
- Columbus Blue Jackets
- Minnesota Wild
- Seattle Kraken
- Utah Mammoth
- Winnipeg Jets (formerly the Atlanta Thrashers)
Defunct Teams
These teams no longer exist but once competed for the Stanley Cup.
| Apps | Team | Wins | Losses | Win % | Season(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Ottawa Senators (NHA/NHL) | 4 | 1 | .800 | 1915, 1920, 1921, 1923, 1927 |
| 4 | Vancouver Millionaires (PCHA/WCHL) | 1 | 3 | .250 | 1915, 1918, 1921, 1922 |
| 3 | Montreal Maroons (NHL) | 2 | 1 | .667 | 1926, 1928, 1935 |
| 3 | Seattle Metropolitans (PCHA) | 1 | 1 | .500 | 1917, 1919, 1920 |
| 2 | Victoria Cougars (WCHL/WHL) | 1 | 1 | .500 | 1925, 1926 |
| 1 | Portland Rosebuds (PCHA) | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1916 |
| 1 | Edmonton Eskimos (WCHL) | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1923 |
| 1 | Calgary Tigers (WCHL) | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1924 |
Images for kids
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The Stanley Cup
