Hockey Facts
* The original Stanley Cup was just seven inches high. The names of every player from each winning team is engraved on the base of the Cup. The cup and base now stands 35 inches high.
* The Montreal Canadiens have won the most Stanley Cups, a total of 23. The Toronto Maple Leafs are second on the list with 13. Click here for the entire list of hockey champions since 1893.
* Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieuxare the only players to be named MVP of three NHL All-Star games.
* Superstar Wayne Gretzky has won the NHL scoring title a record 10 times.
* Bernie Geoffrion is credited with bringing the slapshot to the NHL in 1951. He was given the nickname “Boom Boom” because his shot was so hard and fast.
* The first goaltender to regularly wear a face mask during a game was Montreal's Jacques Plante . A shot broke his nose in 1959 and he decided to wear one ever since. He was made fun of at first, but now every goaltender wears a mask. Thanks to him, many broken bones and stitches have been avoided.
* The first player who accumulate more than 300 penalty minutes in a single season was Philadelphia Flyer Dave Schultz, who had 348 penalty minuted in 1974. The next year, he broke his record with 472 penalty minutes, still the record.
* In the 1985-86 season, Edmonton Oilers center Wayne Gretzky scored 215 points, breaking his own record that he set four years earlier. Of the top 10 best-scoring seasons of all-time, “The Great One” has eight of them.
* Michigan has won the most Division I College Hockey Championships with nine, the last one in 1998.
* Toronto Maple Leaf Darryl Sittler scored 10 points in one game (six goals, four assists) against the Boston Bruins in 1976. Quebec's Joe Malone holds the record for most goals scored in a game with seven against Toronto in 1920.
* The World Hockey Association was a rival hockey league from 1973 to 1979. Hockey legends Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, and Wayne Gretzky played in the league, but it couldn't compete with the NHL. Four current NHL teams came from the WHA. The Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers (now Carolina Hurricanes), Quebec Nordiques (now Colorado Avalanche), and Winnipeg Jets (now Phoenix Coyotes).
* Canada is widely considered to be the birthplace of hockey. The Hockey Hall of Fame is in Toronto, Canada. There is also a U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame for the players, coaches, etc. who are American born.
