Pacific Coast Hockey Association The Pacific Coast Hockey Association ( PCHA ) was a professional men ' s ice hockey league in western Canada , which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League ( WCHL ) . The PCHA was considered to be a ' major ' league of ice hockey . The league was started by the Patrick family , professional hockey players from Montreal , building new arenas in Vancouver and Victoria , British Columbia . After a few years of play , the league was accepted by the Stanley Cup trustees as being of a high enough standard that teams from its league were accepted for Stanley Cup challenges . Starting in 1915 , the league entered into an agreement where the Stanley Cup was to be contested between the National Hockey Association and the PCHA after the regular seasons were finished . The league struggled to make money , and various teams moved into different cities in an attempt to be successful financially . Eventually , the league , to survive , merged with the WCHL in 1924 . History . The PCHA was founded on December 7 , 1911 by Frank Patrick and Lester Patrick , brothers who were star hockey players in Quebec and Ontario . In the off - season they helped their father run a lumber business in British Columbia . The league began with three teams : the New Westminster Royals , the Victoria Aristocrats , and the Vancouver Millionaires , which played in the flagship Vancouver Arena with a seating capacity of 10 , 500 . The league owned all the teams and held all the player contracts , and played under the seven - man rules that had been abandoned in the National Hockey Association . Frank Patrick managed and played for the Vancouver team , while Lester Patrick managed and played in Victoria . The Patricks raided the NHA for players , although with only three teams and no substitutes , the entire league only had 23 players under contract ( including two reserves in case of injury ) . In 1912 , the PCHA signed Cyclone Taylor , a marquee name whose arrival was a hit with west coast fans . The league did not challenge for the Stanley Cup the first year . In 1913 , the PCHA and the NHA came to an agreement where the champions of each league would face each other for the Stanley Cup . The leagues also agreed to recognize each other ' s player suspensions and reserve clauses . In the 1914 - 15 season , Vancouver defeated the Ottawa Senators in a best - of - five series to become the PCHA ' s first Stanley Cup champions . The league expanded into the United States in 1914 ( Portland , Oregon ) and again in 1915 ( Seattle , Washington ) . In 1916 , the Portland Rosebuds became the first American team to play for the Stanley Cup and the following year the Seattle Metropolitans became the first American team to win the Cup — forever changing the mandate of the Cup , which had initially been to recognize the top hockey club in Canada . Relations with the NHA turned sour in 1915 , with the Patricks accusing the league of reneging on their agreement . In retaliation , the PCHA again went on a raid for NHA players , particularly ones with the Toronto Blueshirts . Five players from Toronto became the core of the new Seattle team . In 1918 , the PCHA introduced playoffs for the first time . Until that year , the team with the best record over the season had been declared the champion and challenged for the Stanley Cup . With the creation of playoffs , it was the winner in the post - season who would be league champion . In 1921 , the Western Canada Hockey League , another western major league of hockey , was formed , and the Stanley Cup playoffs was modified to include teams from the WCHL . The following two years , which would turn out to be the last two years of the PCHA , the league played interleague games with the WCHL . In the last year of the PCHA , all three remaining teams finished with losing records . In 1924 , the Seattle Metropolitans folded , and the two remaining teams in Vancouver and Victoria joined the WCHL ( renamed the Western Hockey League ) , putting an end to the PCHA . The Victoria Cougars would win the Stanley Cup in 1925 , but this win would be the last by a non - NHL team , and the last by a team from the west for a long time . This new league would also not last long , as the WHL was unable to match the NHL ' s American expansion and its player salaries , which led the Patrick brothers to sell players or , in the case of the Portland Rosebuds and the Victoria Cougars , the team itself . The expansion Chicago Black Hawks bought the Rosebud players for a reported $ 15 , 000 , while the expansion Detroit team bought the Victoria players for $ 25 , 000 and named itself the Detroit Cougars ( NHL ) in tribute ; this team became the present - day Detroit Red Wings . Teams . † Stanley Cup Champions . ‡ League champion , but not considered Stanley Cup champion . ‡ ‡ Vancouver inscribed their name on the Cup for defeating Seattle , but lost in the Cup final to Toronto .