All Time Stanley Cup Winners
The first team to be awarded the Stanley Cup was Montreal AAA in1893. Until 1912, the trophy was known as the Dominion Challenge Cup and could be won by challenging and defeating the current holder. It was not uncommon for the Stanley Cup to change hands several times in any given year.
Starting in 1915, competition for the Stanley Cup occurred only once a year, and involved teams from various hockey associations and leagues. By 1926, the National Hockey League was the only major hockey association left in North America and the Stanley Cup has been won solely by NHL teams since 1927.
The Montreal Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup 24 times in 32 appearances in the finals, more than any other team. The Toronto Maple Leafs are second with 13 Cup wins. Montreal Canadiens great, Henri Richard has won the Stanley Cup the most times as a player with 11 wins, but his teammate, Jean Beliveau, has his name engraved on the Cup a record 17 times; 10 times as a player and 7 as management.
In the current alignment of teams in the NHL of 2006, the Eastern Conference has a decided edge in Stanley Cup wins over the Western Conference, 56 to 22. But most of the teams in the Western Conference have been in the NHL for less than 40 years.
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*The NHL assumed control of Stanley Cup competition after 1926