Kenora Thistles
Donated in 1892 by Lord Stanley of Preston, the Governor General of Canada, the Stanley Cup was originally awarded to the top amateur team in Canada, who would then accept challenges from the winners of other leagues. From its inception until 1912, the Cup was nearly always won by teams from Montreal, Winnipeg, and Ottawa. In 1903 Ottawa won the Cup, after finishing the season tied for first in the Canadian Amateur Hockey League with the Montreal Victorias. They played a two-game, total-goal series for the league championship. The Montreal Hockey Club, who had held the Cup, finished third in the league and therefore lost the right to keep it.
History of the Montreal Canadiens
Rookie goaltender Patrick Roy led the Canadiens to their 23rd Stanley Cup championship in over the Calgary Flames in the first all-Canadian Stanley Cup final since . The 1986 Canadiens were young and led by rookie head coach Jean Perron and forward Claude Lemieux, in addition to Roy, who became the youngest player in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe Trophy. Brian Skrudland, another rookie, scored the game-winning goal just nine seconds into overtime of the second game of the finals — the fastest overtime goal in NHL history. The two teams met again in the 1989 Stanley Cup Finals, the most recent all-Canadian Stanley Cup final, with the Flames emerging victorious in six games. It was the only time a visiting team defeated the Canadiens to win the Cup on Forum ice.