DENVER (Stacker) — Lord Stanley’s Cup is over 130 years old. During its storied years, the oldest trophy in North American professional sports took several physical forms from punch bowl to stovepipe-shaped. The current 35.25-inch trophy— often called “The Holy Grail”—weighs 34.5 pounds.
Before 1906, the trophy went to the top amateur team in Canada. The National Hockey Association took possession of the cup in 1910. The NHA competed at that time against the Pacific Coast Hockey Association. The National Hockey League, which came into existence in 1917, had its best team facing off with teams from variations of the western professional league for the Stanley Cup. Since 1926, the trophy has gone solely to the best professional team in the NHL.
Winning teams engrave the names of players and coaches into the trophy. Since 1993, each player on the winning team traditionally spends a day taking the trophy wherever they choose.
BestOdds, an online resource for sportsbook comparison, ranked the players who have won the most Stanley Cups using data from the NHL website. The data set also includes each player’s position, teams, and the seasons of their first and last Stanley Cup victories.
The Montreal Canadiens dominate this list. Eight of the top nine players won Stanley Cups with the Canadiens. The franchise owns 23 Stanley Cups won throughout their history.
Seven players tie for the most Stanley Cups won by an active player. Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, and Evgeni Malkin are some of the notable current players tied for the lead, with three over their careers. No current players rank in the top 10 for the most Stanley Cups in NHL history.
#10. 15 players tied with 6 cups
– Bernie Geoffrion (Montreal Canadiens)
– Dickie Moore (Montreal Canadiens)
– Doug Harvey (Montreal Canadiens)
– Tom Johnson (Montreal Canadiens)
– Larry Hillman (Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens)
– Ralph Backstrom (Montreal Canadiens)
– Dick Duff (Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens)
– Frank Mahovlich (Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens)
– Jacques Laperriere (Montreal Canadiens)
– Guy Lapointe (Montreal Canadiens)
– Larry Robinson (Montreal Canadiens)
– Bryan Trottier (New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins)
– Glenn Anderson (Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers)
– Kevin Lowe (Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers)
– Mark Messier (Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers)
Fifteen players tied for the 10th most Stanley Cups. All skated for six Stanley Cup winning teams.
Montreal Canadiens players Bernie Geoffrion, Dickie Moore, Doug Harvey, and Tom Johnson won six Stanley Cups first. They all won one in 1953 and five straight from 1956 to 1960.
Larry Hillman won one cup with the Detroit Red Wings in 1955, four cups with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1962 to 1964 and 1967, then another cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1969.
Glenn Anderson, Kevin Lowe, and Mark Messier won four times in five seasons with the Edmonton Oilers from 1984 to 1988. They won another one in Edmonton in 1990 and one cup with the New York Rangers in 1994.
Bryan Trottier won four-straight cups with the New York Islanders between 1980 and 1983, and back-to-back cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and 1992.
Dick Duff won Stanley Cups with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1962 to 1963, and then with the Montreal Canadiens from 1965 to 1966 plus 1968 to 1969. Frank Mahovlich won four with the Leafs between 1962 and 1964 and in 1967, and two with the Canadiens in 1971 and 1973.
Jacques Laperriere from 1965 to 1966, 1968 to 1969, 1971 and 1973; Guy Lapointe in 1971 and 1973, and 1976 through 1979; and Larry Robinson in 1973, 1976 to 1979, and 1986, also won six Stanley Cups on different Montreal Canadiens teams.
#9. Jean-Guy Talbot
– Total cups won: 7
– Team: Montreal Canadiens
– Position: Defenseman
– First cup victory: 1955-56
– Last cup victory: 1965-66
Jean-Guy Talbot was a tough and physical player who won five Stanley Cup Championships from 1956 to 1960. Talbot won another two cups with the Canadiens as the steady veteran force in 1965 and 1966. He earned a reputation for brutal body checks and launching Montreal’s feared counterattack for 13 seasons.
Talbot finished his 17-year career with seven Stanley Cup wins. He is 18th all-time in games played with 1,066. The 5-foot-11 left-handed defenseman bounced around the NHL later in his career, before becoming a coach during the 1970s.
#5. Jacques Lemaire (tie)
– Total cups won: 8
– Team: Montreal Canadiens
– Position: Center
– First cup victory: 1967-68
– Last cup victory: 1978-79
Center Jacques Lemaire won eight Stanley Cup Championships in his 12-year NHL career. The two-way center won in both his first and last season with Montreal. Lemaire finished with 366 goals, 469 assists, and 835 points in 853 career games.
He is one of six players in NHL history to score two Stanley Cup-winning goals. Lemaire was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984. And he won a Championship as a coach with the Devils in 1994. Lemaire spent time as a head coach in the 2000s and as an assistant in 2015. NHL.com named Lemaire one the 100 Greatest Players.
#5. Maurice Richard (tie)
– Total cups won: 8
– Team: Montreal Canadiens
– Position: Right winger
– First cup victory: 1943-44
– Last cup victory: 1959-60
Maurice Richard won eight Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens before Lemaire achieved that feat. Richard finished with 544 goals, 422 assists, and 966 points in 978 career games. The trophy given to the NHL’s leading goal scorer is named after Richard.
The left-shooting right wing earned the reputation as one of the best players in his generation and all-time. Richard retired in 1960 as the team captain coming off a string of five consecutive titles. He won the NHL’s Most Valuable Player award in 1947 and led the league in scoring five times. Richard joined the NHL Hall of Fame in 1961 after 17 years with the Canadiens. He was also named one of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players.
#5. Red Kelly (tie)
– Total cups won: 8
– Teams: Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs
– Position: Defenseman
– First cup victory: 1949-50
– Last cup victory: 1966-67
Red Kelly is also tied for the fifth-most Stanley Cups with eight over his career. Kelly won cups at the beginning as well as the conclusion of his career. He first won four Stanley Cup championships in six seasons with the Detroit Red Wings—1950,1952, 1954, and 1955.
He was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1960 and moved to center. Kelly again won four Stanley Cups in six seasons. This time he won three-consecutive with the Leafs from 1962 to 1964, and another in 1967. Kelly is the only non-Montreal Canadiens player to win eight or more Stanley Cup championships.
One of NHL’s 100 Greatest Players, Kelly scored 281 goals and 823 points in 1,316 games over 20 seasons. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame two years after he retired and spent 10 years as a head coach in the NHL.
#5. Serge Savard (tie)
– Total cups won: 8
– Team: Montreal Canadiens
– Position: Defenseman
– First cup victory: 1967-68
– Last cup victory: 1978-79
Montreal Canadiens defenseman Serge Savard won eight Stanley Cups in 12 seasons. Savard was a dominant defenseman and consummate team player for over 1,040 career games alongside Lemaire and other Canadiens Hall of Famers. He was the first defenseman to win the Conn Smythe Award with four goals and six assists in 14 games in 1969.
Savard missed most of the 1970 season with a shattered leg and the Canadiens missed the playoffs for the first time in 22 years. He battled injuries for a few seasons before helping the Canadiens return to glory. Savard spent two seasons in Montreal after his last Championship in 1979, before finishing his last two years with the Winnipeg Jets. He went into the Hall of Fame in 1986. Savard is also among the league’s 100 Greatest Players.
#4. Claude Provost
– Total cups won: 9
– Team: Montreal Canadiens
– Position: Right winger
– First cup victory: 1955-56
– Last cup victory: 1968-69
Right-winger Claude Provost played his entire career for the Montreal Canadiens. Provost holds the fourth spot having skated for nine Stanley Cups over his 15 years with the Canadiens. He cracked the lineup as a rookie in 1955 and spent the next 15 years keeping legends out of the score sheet.
Provost also set the record for fastest goal in a period and won the inaugural Bill Masterton Trophy. He often picked up on the offensive end when the Canadiens had bigger offensive threats. Provost is one of five players to have played over 1,000 games with Montreal. He finished with 254 points and 335 assists in his career.
#2. Jean Beliveau (tie)
– Total cups won: 10
– Team: Montreal Canadiens
– Position: Center
– First cup victory: 1955-56
– Last cup victory: 1970-71
Jean Beliveau won 10 Stanley Cups as a center with Montreal. Beliveau won the NHL’s Most Valuable Player award in 1956 and 1964.
It started with five consecutive Stanley Cup championships from 1956 to 1960. Beliveau also won the scoring title in 1956 and was MVP of the Playoffs in 1965. He only missed the playoffs once in his career, and spent 10 years as captain of one of the greatest NHL dynasties ever.
Beliveau joined the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972, only a year after retiring. He finished his career with 507 goals, 712 assists, and 1,219 points in 1,125 games. He also won seven more titles as an executive with the Canadiens. Beliveau is one of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players.
#2. Yvan Cournoyer (tie)
– Total cups won: 10
– Team: Montreal Canadiens
– Position: Right winger
– First cup victory: 1964-65
– Last cup victory: 1978-79
Right-winger Yvan Cournoyer played on 10 Stanley Cup championship teams during 15-plus seasons with the Canadiens. Cournoyer scored more than 25 goals for 11-consecutive seasons. This included four seasons with more than 40 goals. Cournoyer started his career almost exclusively playing as a power-play specialist in his first few years.
He earned a reputation for his speed on the ice, and later earned captain honors his last four seasons. Cournoyer finished his career with 428 goals, 435 assists, and 863 points in 968 career games. He joined the Hall of Fame in 1982. Cournoyer is one of the 100 Greatest Players in NHL history as well.
#1. Henri Richard
– Total cups won: 11
– Team: Montreal Canadiens
– Position: Center
– First cup victory: 1955-56
– Last cup victory: 1972-73
Henri Richard was 14 years younger and 3 inches shorter than his brother Maurice Richard. However, Henri Richard is the only player in history to skate for 11 Stanley Cup-winning teams. The younger Richard won the Stanley Cup his first five years in the NHL. He quickly proved himself by putting up 19 goals and 21 assists as a rookie.
Richard was also captain of the team that won in 1973. He scored the championship-clinching goal in Game 6 of the 1965 NHL Finals. Richard finished his career with 358 goals, 688 assists, and 1,046 points in 1,256 contests. Henri Richard went into the Hall of Fame in 1979.
The younger and smaller Richard finished with more seasons, games, and cups than his older brother Maurice. Both Richards are in the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players.
This story originally appeared on BestOdds and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
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