Stanley Cup Finals

Stanley Cup Finals
The Stanley Cup, the trophy awarded annually to the winner of the Stanley Cup Finals
League	National Hockey League (1926–current)
First played	1914[note 1]
Most recently played	2023
Current champions	Vegas Golden Knights (2023) (1st title)
Most titles	Montreal Canadiens (24)

The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media,^{[note 2]} French: Finale de la Coupe Stanley) is the National Hockey League's (NHL) annual championship series. The winner is awarded the Stanley Cup, North America's oldest professional sports trophy,^[1] and one of the "most important championships available to the sport [of ice hockey]" according to the International Ice Hockey Federation.^[2]

Originally inscribed the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, the trophy was donated in 1892 by Lord Stanley of Preston, then–Governor General of Canada, initially as a "challenge trophy" for Canada's top-ranking amateur ice hockey club. 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 defeated the reigning Cup champion in a final game to claim their win.

Professional teams first became eligible to challenge for the Stanley Cup in 1906. Starting in 1915, the Cup was officially held between the champion of the National Hockey Association (NHA) and the champion of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA). After a series of league mergers and folds, it became the championship trophy of the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1926. Starting in 1982, the championship round of the NHL's playoffs has been a best-of-seven series played between the champions of the Eastern and Western Conferences. Western champions have won 21 times, while the Eastern champions have won 19 times.

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