What trophy is awarded to the NHL champion?
Quick answer
The winner of the NHL playoffs is awarded the Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America. It was donated by Lord Stanley of Preston, Canada’s Governor General, and first awarded in 1893. Unlike most trophies, the names of the winning players and staff are engraved on it.
Key facts
- Trophy
- Stanley Cup
- First awarded
- 1893
- Height and weight
- About 90 cm (35 in); about 15.5 kg (34.5 lb)
- Most titles
- Montreal Canadiens, 24
Lord Stanley’s bowl
In 1892, Lord Stanley bought a silver bowl in London for about 10 guineas and donated it as a prize for Canada’s top amateur hockey team. It became the professional NHL championship trophy in 1926. The original bowl was too fragile, so the one on top of today’s Cup is a replica made in 1963; the original is kept at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
Names on the Cup
Each winning team’s players, coaches and staff have their names engraved on the Cup’s rings. When the bands fill up, the oldest is removed and displayed at the Hall of Fame. Some names are misspelled, and a few errors have been corrected over the years.
Traditions
| Tradition | Details |
|---|---|
| A day with the Cup | Each member of the winning team gets to spend a day with it |
| Lifting it | The captain usually lifts it first on the ice |
| Don’t touch it | Many players won’t touch the Cup until they’ve won it |
| Keeper of the Cup | Hall of Fame staff travel with it at all times |
Players have used it to baptize children, eat cereal and visit hometowns from Sweden to Russia.
Most Stanley Cups
| Team | Titles |
|---|---|
| Montreal Canadiens | 24 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 13 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 11 |
| Boston Bruins | 6 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 6 |
The Maple Leafs’ last title came in 1967, one of the longest droughts in the league.
Other championship trophies
| League | Trophy |
|---|---|
| NHL | Stanley Cup |
| NFL | Vince Lombardi Trophy |
| NBA | Larry O’Brien Trophy |
| MLB | Commissioner’s Trophy |
Hockey is Canada’s national winter sport. For a different kind of sporting trophy, see who won the 2022 World Cup.
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