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The Stanley Cup has been awarded since 1893, before the formation of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Its origins are in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada when the former Governor General Frederick Arthur, Lord Stanley, the 16th Earl of Derby, proposed that hockey teams should challenge for an award, and to be known as the best hockey team within the Dominion of Canada. The award was originally known as the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, soon to be known after the name of its benefactor, Lord Stanley. At first, the cup was retained by the champion team until another team challeneged for the trophy and defeated the incumbent winner. During the first few years of the trophy's history, any amateur team could have a shot at winning the Stanley Cup. However, by the 1910-1911 season, it was decided that the award would be reserved for professional teams only.
When the NHL was established in 1917, the Stanley Cup, as it was known by then was awarded to the winner of the match between the the NHL champion and the champion of the western leagues (consisting of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and the West Coast Hockey League).
Since the western leagues folded in 1926, the award has been given out each season to the NHL playoff champion team.
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