What NHL Teams Have The Most Stanley Cup Wins?

Since it was first awarded during the 1892-1893 season, the Stanley Cup has been the trophy given to the championship winner at the end of each National Hockey League (NHL) season. It is also the oldest trophy that can be won by any professional athlete or team in all of North America. Listed below are the three NHL teams with the most Stanley Cup wins.

Which NHL Teams Have Won The Most Stanley Cups?

1. Montreal Canadiens - 24 Wins
2. Toronto Maple Leafs - 13 Wins
3. Detroit Red Wings - 11 Wins
4. Boston Bruins - 6 Wins
5. Chicago Blackhawks - 6 Wins
6. Edmonton Oilers - 5 Wins
7. Pittsburgh Penguins - 5 Wins
8. New York Islanders - 4 Wins
9. New York Rangers - 4 Wins

Montreal Canadiens

• Founded: 1909
• Stanley Cup Appearances: 34
• Stanley Cup Wins: 24

The Montreal Canadiens are not only the oldest continually operating team in the history of the NHL, but they have also won the most Stanley Cup titles in the sport’s history. In the 1915-1916 North American ice hockey season, the Canadiens won their first Stanley Cup as a member of the National Hockey Association (NHA). The following year, 1916, the NHL was founded.

The Canadien’s championship win in the 1923-1924 season was their first official NHL Stanley Cup win. Since then, the Canadiens have won at least one championship in every decade until their last in the 1992-1993 season, the last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup. Thanks to their 23 total championships since the founding of the NHL (and one Stanley Cup win before the NHL’s creation), they are the most successful franchise in league history.

Toronto Maple Leafs

• Founded: 1917
• Stanley Cup Appearances: 21
• Stanley Cup Wins: 13

The NHL franchise with the second-most Stanley Cup wins is the Toronto Maple Leafs, having won the championship 13 times. During the 1917-1918 season, the first under the official NHL ownership, the Maple Leafs won the first formal NHL Stanley Cup against the Vancouver Millionaires.

Though their name would eventually be changed to the Maple Leafs, the team won their first championship title as the Toronto Arenas. Over the next fifty years, the franchise won 10 more championships. They have yet to win another Stanley Cup since their last win at the end of the 1966-1967 season, though they have made it to the playoffs 31 times in the years following.

Detroit Red Wings

• Founded: 1926
• Stanley Cup Appearances: 24
• Stanley Cup Wins: 11

The NHL franchise with the third-most Stanley Cup wins is the Detroit Red Wings, having won the championship 11 times. They won their first Stanley Cup at the end of the 1935-1936 season against the Maple Leafs. They won 10 more championships over the next seven decades, with a continuous streak of playoff appearances from 1990-1991 to the 2015-2016 season.

The Red Wings’ 25-year streak was the longest active streak of postseason appearances in all of North American professional sports. With their 11th Stanley Cup win in 2008, the Red Wings have won the most Stanley Cup championships of any NHL franchise based in the United States.

Boston Bruins

• Founded: 1924
• Stanley Cup Appearances: 20
• Stanley Cup Wins: 6

Though the Boston Bruins’ Stanley Cup victories don’t come anywhere close to the 24 of the Canadiens, their six wins put them only slightly below the Red Wings for fourth place, and on par with the Chicago Blackhawks. The Bruins won their first Stanley Cup in the 1928-1929 season, defeating the Rangers. After this, they experienced a championship drought of ten years, returning to Stanley Cup victory in the 1938-1939 season. They achieved their third win much quicker, in 1940-1941, but after this win, their fortunes fell off, and they did not win another Stanley Cup until the 1969-1970 season.

After this win, they once again experienced a quick turnaround, winning their fifth championship in the 1971-1972 season. This victory was followed by Boston’s longest drought yet, a 39-year span in which they won no championships. The Bruins finally broke their dry spell in the 2010-2011 season, taking home their sixth and most recent Stanley Cup.

Chicago Blackhawks

• Founded: 1926
• Stanley Cup Appearances: 13
• Stanley Cup Wins: 6

Tied with the Bruins for fourth-most Stanley Cups, the Chicago Blackhawks also have six titles to their name. Their first three victories occurred across the span of three decades, between 1930 and 1960. Their first victory, in the 1933-1934 season, was against the Detroit Red Wings. After this, the Blackhawks took home the Stanley Cup in the 1937-1938 season, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs. Their third victory came 23 years later, during the 1960-1961 season, again against the Red Wings.

After their victory in 1960, the Blackhawks experienced a lengthy drought, failing to recapture the Stanley Cup until the 2009-2010 season, in which they outlasted the Philadelphia Flyers. Since 2009, the Blackhawks have had a streak of Stanley Cup successes, taking home two more titles to round out their six. These were won in the 2012-2013 season, against the Boston Bruins, and the 2014-2015 season, against the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

Edmonton Oilers

• Founded: 1971
• Stanley Cup Appearances: 7
• Stanley Cup Wins: 5

Tied for fifth place in Stanley Cup wins with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Edmonton Oilers have five Stanley Cup titles as a team, a solid number for a team founded in 1971, only a few years after the Penguins. However, the Oilers are unique among Stanley Cup victors in that their championships formed an incredible, almost-consecutive five-year dynasty during the 1980s, after which they have failed to return to Stanley Cup glory. The Oilers began their incredible series of wins with back-to-back Stanley Cups in the 1983-1984 and 1984-1985 seasons, defeating the Islanders and Flyers, respectively.

After their first two victories, the Oilers missed out on the 1985-1986 Finals; however, they returned with a vengeance the year afterward, earning an impressive three Stanley Cups in the 1986–1987, 1987–1988, and 1989–1990 seasons. Their 1986–1987 victory was again against the Flyers. Their win in 1987–1988 came against the Bruins. Finally, their 1989–1990 championship was again against the Bruins.

Pittsburgh Penguins

• Founded: 1967
• Stanley Cup Appearances: 6
• Stanley Cup Wins: 5

The Pittsburgh Penguins have five Stanley Cup wins, which is impressive, as the team was only founded in 1967. The team have made six appearances, for an impressive win percentage in the Stanley Cup Finals. It was over 20 years after their founding that the Penguins first made the Finals, in the 1990-1991 season. They impressively defended their title the next season for a second Stanley Cup win, but dropped in the second round of the playoffs to the Islanders the following season.

The Penguins’ next Stanley Cup win came in the 2008-2009 season, thanks to the leadership of superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Their fourth and fifth wins were again back-to-back, in the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 seasons. Following their fourth win, over San Jose, Crosby was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy.

New York Islanders

• Founded: 1972
• Stanley Cup Appearances: 6
• Stanley Cup Wins: 4

The New York Islanders have won four Stanley Cups in six finals. Founded in 1972, the Islanders found success early on but have had spectacular success followed by an incredible drought. Thanks to coach Al Arbour’s leadership and general manager Bill Torrey’s forward-thinking draft strategy, the Islanders transformed into Stanley Cup winners by the 1979-1980 season.

Incredibly, the Islanders defended their title for the next three seasons, setting the record for the last time a major American professional sports team has won four championships in a row. Five legendary players who were on all four teams, Mike Bossy, Clark Gillies, Denis Potvin, Billy Smith, Bryan Trottier, were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In the 1983-1984 season, the Islanders lost in the Finals to Edmonton. Decades of poor management followed and the team did not win another playoff series again until 2016.

New York Rangers

• Founded: 1926
• Stanley Cup Appearances: 11
• Stanley Cup Wins: 4

Of their 11 Stanley Cup appearances, the New York Rangers have only won four times. The Rangers are one of the Original Six teams that initially formed the NHL in 1926. The team found early success in the playoffs, winning their first Stanley Cup in the 1927-28 season. After dropping Games 1 and 3 in the five-game Finals, the Rangers rallied to beat the Montreal Maroons in the final two games.

The Rangers recaptured the title only a few years later, winning the Stanley Cup in the 1932-1933 season and again in 1939-1940. The team then struggled through the 1960s, until they made the Finals two times, in 1972 and 1979, losing both times. After a rebuilding during the 1980s and 90s, the Rangers finally won their fourth title in the 1993-1994 season, led by star players Adam Graves, Brian Leetch, Mark Messier, and Mike Richter. The last time the Rangers have been to the Finals was in 2013-2014, where they lost to the Kings in five games.

Honorable Mentions

• St. Louis Eagles - 4 wins
• Colorado Avalanche - 3 wins
• New Jersey Devils - 3 wins
• Tampa Bay Lightning - 3 wins

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