The Stanley Cup has been canceled before in the hockey championship’s history, which dates back to 1894. The 1919 Stanley Cup finals between the Montreal Canadiens and Seattle Metropolitans had to be canceled due to the players on the Montreal Canadiens being ill with the Spanish flu, a worldwide outbreak which affected approximately 45,000 people in Canada alone. When it was canceled, five games had already been played in the series: two wins for each team, along with one tie. National Hockey League (NHL) Hall of Famer Joe Hall of the Montreal Canadiens died of the Spanish flu four days after the cancellation. The Stanley Cup was also canceled in 2005, due to a lockout by team owners.
More about the Stanley Cup:
- Montreal Canadiens player Henri Richard holds the record for most Stanley Cup wins, at 11.
- Only four engravers have ever been permitted to engrave the winners’ names onto the Stanley Cup.
- The Stanley Cup is awarded to the winning team for the year, but has an official chaperone to watch over it when it travels.