Stanley Cup Final

Did You Know?

• The NHL includes the Toronto Hockey Club (Toronto Arenas) 1918 win and the 1922 Toronto St. Patricks win in the Toronto Maple Leafs total.
• The Chicago Blackhawks were known as the Chicago Black Hawks before the 1986–87 season.
• The Montreal Canadiens totals include the 1919 Final that ended with a no-decision because of the Spanish flu epidemic.

History

The Stanley Cup was first awarded to the Montreal Hockey Club in 1893 after the team won the 1893 AHAC season. The club then had to defend its champion-title through league championships and challenge games organized by the Stanley Cup trustees. Until 1912, these challenges could occur before or during a league season; after 1912, the trustees ordered challenges only after all league games were completed. The last challenge, in 1914, inaugurated the first "World Series" of ice hockey, a pre-arranged series between the Stanley Cup and league champion Toronto Hockey Club of the National Hockey Association (NHA) and the Victoria Aristocrats, champions of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA).

The series was to be held in the NHA champion's city and alternate annually. Initially, the trustees questioned whether Victoria was a proper challenger, as the club had not formally applied. A letter from the trustees on March 17 indicated they would not let the Cup travel west, but trustee William Foran stated on March 18 that it was a misunderstanding. PCHA president Lester Patrick had not filed a challenge, expecting NHA president Emmett Quinn to handle arrangements, while the trustees felt ignored.

The challenge was accepted, and Toronto swept the best-of-five series in three games. In March 1914, Foran wrote to Quinn that the trustees were satisfied to let the three professional leagues make all arrangements for Cup matches.

Series format

The championship series began as an interleague "World Series" played in one city, alternating between a rink of the NHA (later NHL) and a rink of the PCHA (later WCHL/WHL). Only after the WHL's demise did the final series alternate games between the two finalists' home ice. Ties were allowed until 1928. Because the leagues differed, the series alternated using each league's rules; the PCHA used seven-man teams, so games alternated between six- and seven-man play.

After the NHL became the only league competing for the Cup, the trophy was awarded to the winner of the NHL's championship playoff round, first in 1927 between the Boston Bruins and the Ottawa Senators. That series was planned as best-of-three but allowed ties; it ended after four games when the Senators defeated the Bruins. The NHL has changed its playoff format several times since 1927. From 1929 to 1938, teams with identical division rankings faced each other, with the first-place series winner advancing directly to the final.

During the Original Six era, the top four teams made the playoffs, with first versus third and second versus fourth in semifinals. From 1975 to 1981, all playoff teams were seeded regardless of division or conference. From 1982 to 2020, the final pitted the two conference playoff champions. In 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the four division champions were re-seeded for semifinals, with winners advancing to the Final; the conference-based format returned in 2022.