List of Stanley Cup champions This is a list of Stanley Cup champions , including the finalists / challengers . Originally , it was referred to as the " Challenge Cup " ; the champions held onto the Cup until they either lost their league title to another club , or a champion from another league issued a formal challenge and subsequently defeated the reigning Cup champion in a special game or series . The playoff format for each challenge varied depending on what the two competing clubs agreed to . Prior to 1912 , challenges could take place at any time , given the appropriate rink conditions , and it was common for teams to defend the Cup numerous times during the year . In 1912 , the Cup ' s trustees declared that the Cup was only to be defended at the end of the champion team ' s regular season . Also during the Cup ' s challenge era , all of the leagues that played for the trophy had no annual formal playoff system to decide their own respective championships ; whoever finished in first place after the regular season won the league title . Thus , a few league championship games or series were held just to break first place ties and determine who would keep the Cup . These league title games have historically been listed along with the regular inter - league Cup challenges . In 1915 , an agreement between the National Hockey Association ( NHA ) and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association ( PCHA ) was reached in which their respective champions would face each other for the Cup . The NHA dissolved in 1917 , and the National Hockey League ( NHL ) took its place . Then after the Western Canada Hockey League ( WCHL ) was born in 1921 , it was agreed that all three league champions would play for the Cup . The PCHA and the WCHL merged in 1924 , and became the Western Hockey League ( WHL ) in 1925 . Since the demise of the WHL in 1926 , the Cup has been awarded to the NHL champions . Stanley Cup champions by year . Challenge Cup . The origins of the Challenge era come from the method of play of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada prior to 1893 . From 1887 to 1893 , the league did not play a round - robin format , but rather challenges between teams of the association that year , with the winner of the series being the ' interim ' champion , with the final challenge winner being the champions for the year . The Stanley Cup kept the tradition going , but added that the winner of the current champion ' s league would then inherit the Cup , if it was not the current champion . The ' Chronology ' sections lists the complete series of league championships and challenges during the period , and the ' Season - by - Season ' record lists the winners after the final challenge of the hockey season , as well as challenge winners during the season , if they are different teams . Full Chronology . This table lists the outcome of all Stanley Cup wins , including successful victories and defenses in challenges , and league championships for the challenge era . " ( * ) Note : Although the Montreal Victorias won the AHA title in 1895 , the Stanley Cup trustees had already accepted a challenge from the 1894 Cup champion Montreal HC and Queen ' s University . As a compromise , the trustees decided that if the Montreal HC won the challenge match , the Victorias would become the Stanley Cup champions . The Montreals eventually won the game , 5 - 1 , and their crosstown rivals were awarded the Cup . " " ( * * ) Note : For most of 1904 , the Ottawa Senators was not affiliated with any league . " boob " ( * * * ) Note : The Montreal Wanderers were disqualified as the result of a dispute . After Game 1 ended tied at the end of regulation , 5 - 5 , the Wanderers refused to play overtime with the current referee , and then subsequently refused to play the next game of the series in Ottawa . " " † Note : January 29 game was completed on January 31 , because January 29 game was tied at midnight , January 30th and the Mayor of Westmount refused to allow play to continue on the Sunday . " Season - by - Season Record . This table lists the winners of Stanley Cups per hockey season , ( which does not have official dates as rinks were natural ice , so the season roughly corresponds to winter ) for the ' challenge era . ' The leagues typically started close to the beginning of the calendar year and ended in early March . Stanley Cup Finals era ( since 1915 ) . Active teams . Unless marked otherwise , teams played in the NHL exclusively at the time they competed for the Stanley Cup . A bolded year denotes a Stanley Cup win . Six active teams have yet to make a Stanley Cup Finals appearance . Four teams have remained " intact " since their inceptions : The other two teams had previously relocated and never made the Finals in either location : Five relocated teams that have won the Stanley Cup in their current locations never appeared in the Finals in their former locations : Defunct teams . Listed after the team name is the name of the affiliated league ( s ) when the team competed for the Stanley Cup . A bold year denotes a Stanley Cup win .