| History | |
The NHL played its first official season in 1917-18, but the league did not yet control the Cup. The NHL champions still had to face the champions of the old WCHL to determine the Cup winner. NHL teams won seven of the first eight championships under this format -- the lone exception being 1925, when Lester Patrick's Victoria Cougars upended the Canadiens 3-1 in a best-of-5 series.
As the most powerful professional league in North America, the NHL finally took full-time custody of the Cup in 1926, making it the centerpiece of its annual championship series.
