Everything you need to know about the Stanley Cup
30 Apr 2023 | eurohockey.com
There are hardly any sporting events that can compare to the sheer spectacle that is the annual Stanley Cup final series which draws in viewers from all across the globe as the best stars from the hockey scene look set to square off for a chance to lift one of most prestigious and iconic titles in all of professional sports.
The National Hockey League is one of the nation’s
largest and most popular sporting professions as it continues to draw in a
major sum of spectators from all across the globe to various US cities that
have since become the primary destinations for some of the sport’s most iconic
teams.
16 teams compete in the NHL every season across two
conferences and four individual divisions, with placements being solely
dependent on where each team is located across the US and Canada.
Every season, the top ranked teams from each
conference will compete against their neighboring rivals to earn a passage into
the next round of play, with the final two remaining teams then earning qualification
into the NHL’s final series of games, with the winner being awarded the fabled
Stanley Cup.
This is the greatest prize available for any athlete
competing in the sport of hockey with all games taking place across the two
home venues of which ever teams earn a passage to the finals, yet the team that
has the better record will have the opportunity to host the opening two games
and any future necessary games (which includes game five and the deciding game
seven), with fans now being able to view the latest Stanley Cup odds on the DraftKings sportsbook app.
For any newcomers to the ice hockey circuit looking to
gain an even greater insight into the history and overall prestige of this
event, there is plenty to digress when delving back to prior series that have
showcased their own factual input on all major professional sports, which
include some of the following statistics stated below:
·
Which team and player has won the most Stanley Cups?
From 1915 up until the present day, the Montreal
Canadians are the most successful NHL franchise in league history as they have
racked up an astonishing 24 Stanley Cup wins in the organizations preposterous legacy
as a sports club.
The most Stanley Cup wins for an individual player was
also a former Montreal Canadian superstar in the legendary Henri Richard, who
won eleven championship rings between the recorded years of 1955 and 1975.
·
Which current NHL teams have never won a Stanley Cup?
There are a total of 12 unfortunate teams who have
solely failed to complete the challenging feat of winning a Stanley Cup series
with these including the likes of the Vancouver Canucks, Buffalo Sabres,
Florida Panthers, Ottawa Senators, San Jose Sharks, Nashville Predators, Vegas
Golden Knights, Seattle Kraken, Winnipeg Jets, Columbus Blue Jackets, Minnesota
Wild and Arizona Coyotes.
Out of these teams, there are four individual organizations
who have failed to even make an appearance at a Stanley Cup event which includes
the aforementioned Arizona Coyotes and the Columbus Blue Jackets, with the
recent expansion teams in the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken also yet
to make an appearance at the event as both teams have only recently entered
into the league in 2017 and 2020 respectfully.
·
Which player has the most Stanley Cup MVPs?
The Conn Smythe trophy is handed out to the best
individual performer in every Stanley Cup series, with the renowned goaltender Patrick
Roy being the only player in NHL history to earn the
award on three separate occasions.
There are five other players that are tied for two
finals MVP awards which include Sidney Crosby, Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky,
Bernie Parent and finally Bobby Orr.
·
What is the most watched Stanley Cup series of
all-time?
Given that the Stanley Cup averages around 4.5 million
viewers per broadcast on a yearly basis, it is important to pinpoint which
individual games drew in the largest sum of television audiences.
The largest watched outing for an individual game of
the Stanley Cup came during the closing contest of the 1971 final series
between the Montreal Canadians and the Chicago Blackhawks, with the total
recorded viewership count being 12.41 million in viewers and 20.6 million in
ratings during its broadcast on CBS.
The Canadians would defeat the Blackhawks by three
goals to two which closed out a tremendous seven game series as Montreal would lift
their 17th championship in franchise history, with Ken Dryden
winning the MVP honors.
·
Who scored the most goals in a single Stanley Cup
finals game?
The most
goals that were ever recorded in a single Stanley Cup finals
game by a team is tied for nine as both the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and the
1936 Detroit Red Wings completed this feat which has yet to be replicated by
any other franchise.
There are four total players that are tied for the
most goals scored in an individual Stanley Cup finals game, which includes
Maurice Richard in 1957, Ted Lindsay in 1955, Babe Dye in 1922 and Newsy
Lalonde in 1919, all of whom netted four times in a singular contest.