Created in 1893, by Lord Stanley of Preston, the Stanley Cup Trophy has become the most difficult prize to win in all of sports. Fans betting on the prize have experienced many highs and lows ever since the first trophy holders, the Montreal Hockey Club, won the Stanley Cup in 1894. In the early years of the Cups establishment, it was easier for fans betting, to wager on which team would win the cup as there were fewer teams to choose from. Presently, the Stanley Cup is vied for by 30 teams, making it much more difficult to accurately wager on which club will win the trophy.

Although the Stanley Cup was officially created in 1893, the idea for a hockey trophy was thought of a year earlier by Lord Stanley, as along with his family, they fell in love with the game of hockey in 1889 after attending a winter festival in Montreal. Stanley believed that a championship cup trophy should be played for annually, with the top team having the honour of having their team name, player’s names and ownership engraved on the trophy.

Some of the traditions regarding the Stanley Cup, along with engraving ones name on it after winning, also include the championship being playing in a series in the beginning of June, as well as the winning team being allotted 100 days to keep the Cup. As noted above the winning club has their names engraved on the cup to prove that they were the champions of the specific year they won. Secondly, the Stanley Cup is awarded to the winning team in the beginning of June after two month playoff tournament, between the top 16 teams in the league who qualified after the regular season. Thirdly, after the Stanley Cup is won, players from the winning team are given 100 days to hold onto the trophy and display it to family and friends in their hometowns. After the 100 days are up, the following season begins with the defending Stanley Cup champions competing against the other teams for another chance to win the most prestigious trophy.