Stanley Cup finals

The Lure of the Stanley Cup Finals

Ice hockey is known for being an exciting, high action sport, that is played in many northern hemisphere countries with a propensity for winter-based sports. In these parts of the world, with their cold snowy winters, ice hockey is a favourite game, where it is played by everyone who can wield a stick and hit a puck. The popularity of the game is such that it has spread to many areas of the world, even those countries that never see a drop of snow.

In certain countries, however, ice hockey is taken very seriously, and in few areas of the world is this more evident than in the North American region, where the professional clubs compete annually for the Stanley Cup.

A Sports Trophy with Much History

The Stanley Cup is the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, and has an interesting history, originally being challenge trophy. Starting in 1915 the Stanley Cup was officially awarded to the winner of the annual interleague championship between the champion of the National Hockey Association and the champion of the Pacific Hockey Association. Today, it is the championship trophy of the National Hockey League, or NHL, and the championship round of the NHL’s playoffs, or Stanley Cup finals, is celebrated as a best of seven match series that is played between the winners of the Eastern and Western Conferences.

The Stanley Cup was initially won, in 1893, by the Montreal Hockey Club. In terms of the rich history of the Stanley Cup finals, the most prolific winners are the Montreal Canadians, who have won the Stanley Cup twenty-four times. Following them are the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs, who have won the celebrated cup 13 times. The first winner of the Stanley Cup was the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association hockey club, in 1893, and competition for the Holy Grail of ice hockey has become one of the world’s most prominent sporting competitions.

The Recent Form Ice Hockey Teams

The winner of the Stanley Cup finals in 2015 was the Chicago Blackhawks, and in 2016, it was the 123rd year of the Stanley Cup’s presentation, and the jubilant victors were the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pittsburgh Penguins were the Eastern Conference champions, and they defeated the Western Conference champions, the San Jose Sharks four games to two to celebrate winning their fourth Stanley Cup finals.

Already the NHL sports mobile betting USA sites have begun planning and discussing the options and the odds for the 2017 Stanley Cup finals. The incredibly successful Montreal Canadians have already been listed with 16/1 odds. These odds are clearly based more on the history of the Montreal Canadians than current form, but is surely a mark of respect to the traditions of the game.  The second-most prolific winners the Toronto Maple Leafs are beginning their 14th Stanley Cup finals endeavour with the relatively high odds odds of 30/1, and these odds do successfully indicate the unpredictable nature of this trophy over the recent past. 2015 Champions, the Chicago Blackhawks are currently considered to be 8/1 favourites.

An Online Extravaganza

Online sports betting sites are sure to be making the possibility of wagering on the Stanley Cup finals an ever easier undertaking. The sites are constantly improving, and ice hockey provides a wide range of betting options for a huge online community, a recipe that surely bodes exceptionally well for the future.