After another season of intriguing twists and turns, ups and downs, we've reached the Stanley Cup Finals to determine the championship winner who will lift North America's oldest professional sports prize, the Stanley Cup.
In 1892, the huge trophy – originally known as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup – was donated by Lord Stanley of Preston to be used as the award for Canada's top-ranking amateur hockey club. Much like championship belts in boxing, a team would retain the cup until they lost their league title to another. From 1906, professional teams were permitted to challenge for the Stanley Cup, and from 1915 the cup was competed for by the National Hockey Association (NHA) champion and the Pacific Coast Hockey League (PCHA) champion. Once the NHL was established and was the only remaining league vying for the trophy, it became the championship prize for the NHL in 1926.
Much like the earlier rounds of the NHL playoffs, the Stanley Cup Finals are played as a best-of-7 series so that the first team to 4 wins in the 7 games is crowned the champion. The Finals are contested by the champions of the Eastern and Western Conferences: who will lift the trophy in 2026?!
