The 25 NHL Players Who Won The Most Stanley Cups

When you’re talking NHL and the best players to ever play the game, one of the big factors to any NHL resume is Stanley Cups, which is why this list of the most Stanley Cups players have won exists. Now, that’s not to say there are great players who’ve been in the game that never won the Stanley Cup and that shouldn’t take away anything from their game, what they brought to their team, and the league.

The Stanley Cup is somewhat of a barometer, if you will, to see how that player may have fared and just to add to the whole equation of what the player’s career consisted of, along with a myriad of other factors, including scoring, passing, defending, goaltending, intangibles, the passion to win and be a good teammate, the list goes on.

In this particular case, with teams facing off, vying for that Stanley Cup in this year’s playoffs, there’s now four teams left in the conference finals: the Vegas Golden Knights, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning, and New York Islanders.

And with each team allowed to dress 20 players (per the Oilers), that makes 80 players hungry for that title. But we know only 20 will end up with the cup, so how about we look at who’s got the most Stanley Cups to their name as these 80 try to skate to the prize.

Shout out to NHL.com for compiling this list. Full disclosure: some of the names may surprise you that A) are on the list and B) aren’t on the list. This going back to the fact that who you may consider to be a great NHL player may or may not have won a lot of Stanley Cups.

The number of Stanley Cups each player won is in parenthesis. The icing on the cake for any NHL season is winning the whole thing. So ladies and gentlemen, no icing violation on the ice here just slapped (shot) together a list of:

The Most Stanley Cups Players Have Won: a List of 25

25 – Cy Denneny And 25 More Players (5)

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Denneny was able to win back-to-back Stanley Cups with the 1920 and 1921 with the Ottawa Senators. Denney won two more with Ottawa then another with the Boston Bruins. and NHL.com states “Denneny was one of the NHL’s first great scorers, and he’s still the fastest player to score 200 goals, having done it in 181 games.”

Denney is actually tied for this 25th slot. With 25 other players. You could make a whole 25 NHL players who won five Stanley Cups list. You can find out who all those players are here.

24 – Mark Messier (6)

The center was a part of two back-to-back Stanley Cup winners within five years with the Edmonton Oilers. Winning it in 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1988, Messier and the Oilers added another in 1990. Then, with the New York Rangers, Messier got another one.

23 – Kevin Lowe (6)

No, not Kevin Love. I know at first glance it may look like his name. Although Kevin Love’s got NBA titles to his time, Kevin Lowe’s got Stanley Cups to his name. That would be six total Stanley Cups at that as Lowe shares the exact same Stanley Cup wins with the exact same teams during the exact same years as Messier. As a defenseman, Lowe played a key part in the title runs.

22 – Glenn Anderson (6)

Déjà vu, anyone? The difference here is obviously the player and also the position with Anderson being a right winger. But, other than that, the Stanley Cups, the year of winning the cup, the teams are exactly the same as guess who. Lowe and Messier. This shows if you stick together, if you work together as a team, great things happen. Lots of Stanley Cup-type-things in this case.

21 – Bryan Trottier (6)

Now on to a different team, Bryan Trottier comes into the list having also won six Stanley Cups but with the New York Islanders in an impressive quadruple-peat from 1980 to 1983. The center also won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and 1992.

20 – Larry Robinson (6)

To defend your title takes a team, it takes scoring, it takes determination and a collective effort to be great, it takes…defense. As a defenseman, Robinson helped his Montreal Canadiens defend its title in 1977, 1978, and 1979 after they won in 1976. Four in a row is impressive. So is another one (1973). And another one (1986). All with the same team.

19 – Guy Lapointe (6)

The guy that was with Larry for most of these titles was literally named Guy. Guy Lapointe helped the Canadiens get lots of points during his time suiting up with them and won the same cups as Robinson except for the ’86 one. Lapointe’s other cup instead came with the Canadiens in ’71.

18 – Jacques Laperriere (6)

You could say that Laperriere helped lay the groundwork (or ice) for Lapointe and Robinson, almost as an example of how to win six Stanley Cups with the same team. The Montreal Canadiens specifically. Laperriere also won six with them, just most of them during the previous decade in 1965, 1966, 1968, and 1969. Laperriere was on point with Lapointe winning one together in 1971 and then again with both Lapointe and Robinson in 1973.

17 – Frank Mahovlich (6)

Oh, Canada! Are you noticing a theme here so far? This player is no different when it comes to which country the NHL team’s home was in. Mahovlich was with those three Montreal Canadiens during the 1971 and 1973 Stanley Cups. The left winger before that won a three-peat with another Canadien team during the 1960’s. In 1963, 1964, and 1965, Mahovlich won Stanley Cups with the Toronto Maple Leafs (along with another one in 1967).

16 – Dick Duff (6)

Staying in Canada, Duff dominated in the 1960-era Stanley Cup Finals. Duff won it six times. All in the ‘sixties. In 1962 and 1963, he won it with the Maple Leafs. In 1965, 1966, 1968, and 1969 it was with the Canadiens.

15 – Ralph Backstrom (6)

Yup, still in Canada. This time, it’s all Montreal Canadiens and Ralph Backstrom. Man, this Montreal Canadiens team was special. They skated through the ’50’s, ’60’s, 70’s, even in the 80’s, showing the NHL what’s up. Backstrom won each of his Stanley Cups with the Canadiens, back-to-back in 1956 and 1960, then in 1965, 1966, 1968, and 1969.

14 – Larry Hillman (6)

From the north to the midwest, moving through Windsor then across the Ambassador Bridge, we arrive in…Detroit! Otherwise known as ‘Hockeytown’. Detroit is passionate about the Red Wings, packing into the Joe Louis Arena and now Little Caesers Arena. Part of the Original Six teams, they also have a storied franchise. Count Hillman as part of that, winning a Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in 1955. Then, an incredible three-peat with the Maple Leafs in 1962, 1963, and 1964. The defenseman then added, you know, just another casual two more Stanley Cups, one with Toronto in 1967 and another with Montreal in 1969.

13 – Dickie Moore (6)

Alright, we were able to go to Michigan. Now, let’s jet set back to Canada. And pack your bags because we’re going to be here for a while. Montreal, specifically. The Canadiens, literally the Montreal Canadiens know how to play the game. Moore was part of a Canadiens team that was excellent on the ice, winning cup after cup. Get this, the team won five years in a row. Five! That’s unheard of today. From 1956 to 1960, just pencil in Stanley Cup and Montreal Canadiens. Moore, the left winger, was a part of this incredible run and also won another with the team in 1953.

12- Tom Johnson (6)

Stanley Cup and Montreal Canadiens go hand-in-hand. Johnson was a defensemen on the same teams Moore played on. Johnson, per NHL.com, “also won the Norris Trophy as the League’s top defenseman in 1958-59 and played in the NHL All-Star Game eight times”.

11 – Doug Harvey (6)

Harvey was a defenseman with Johnson on these same exact Montreal Canadiens teams. You can thank Harvey perhaps for this power play rule change:

“…Rule 26c (was) born: If while a Team is ‘short-handed’ by one or more minor or bench minor penalties, the opposing Team scores a goal, the first of such penalties shall automatically terminate. The change unofficially became known as ‘The Canadiens Rule,’ but might also have been called ‘The Doug Harvey Rule.’ While it would be silly to suggest that Harvey, who many regard as the greatest defenseman ever to play who’s not named Orr, was the sole reason the Canadiens power play torched so many opponents, it’s true that Harvey was its unquestioned hub, a selfless conductor who controlled the tempo of play and the backbeat of the game.”

NHL.com’s Wayne Coffey : “Doug Harvey: 100 Greatest NHL Players”

10 – Bernie Geoffrion (6)

The right winger a part of this historic Montreal Canadiens team was Geoffrion. NHL.com’s Wayne Coffey mentioned “(a) two-time NHL scoring champion, Geoffrion would finish his career with 393 regular-season goals, and 58 more in the playoffs, including 11 goals and 18 points in 10 postseason games in 1957, when the Canadiens steamrolled the Rangers and Boston Bruins to capture the Cup.” Coffey noted that Geoffrion “popularized (the) slap shot”.

9 – Jean-Guy Talbot (7)

Now, still staying in Montreal, we might as well go hang out at Old Montreal, the place “for tourists to see and locals to revisit” per Timeout’s JP Karwacki. Next on this list is a guy by the name of Jean-Guy Talbot, who was also on the five-peat Canadiens team plus added another casual back-to-back with the Canadiens in 1965 and 1966.

8 – Serge Savard (8)

Talbot passed the torch, if you will, of Stanley Cup-winning Montreal Canadiens defenseman to Serge Savard. Serge Savard surged through Stanley Cup after Stanley Cup like it was his day job. Savard did his job defending well. NHL.com’s Stu Hackel said “(f)or (Coach Scotty) Bowman, two attributes defined Savard’s excellence. He read the opposition well and would ‘control the game by just staying back and looking around,’ the way great Canadiens defenseman Doug Harvey did during the 1950s.”

7 – Jacques Lemaire (8)

There’s something to be said about teammates going through different seasons (literal NHL seasons) together. It’s what Lemaire did with Savard as they won the same Stanley Cups together. Lemaire, per NHL.com’s. Dave Stubbs, “won (those) eight Stanley Cup championships between 1968-79 with the Montreal Canadiens, scoring 20 or more goals in each of those 12 seasons, is one of six players in NHL history to score two Stanley Cup-winning goals and skated as a heavy-shooting, key center on some of hockey’s greatest teams.”

6 – Red Kelly (8)

Hop on a quick flight now back to the Motor City. Not just to see what’s up with the classic red and white jerseys with the classic winged-wheel logo, but to see that Red Kelly won four Stanley Cups with the red and white in the 1950’s.

NHL.com’s Stu Hackel stated: “On one of the most talented teams in hockey history, the guy wearing No. 4 for the Detroit Red Wings dominates play. His passes are tape to tape. He jumps into the holes and is unchecked as the late man on the rush” and that “(t)he only thing the old footage can’t show is the striking red hair on top of his head, matching the red sweater he wore in the first part of his remarkable career. 

Then, in the 1960’s he won four more with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

5 – Maurice Richard – 8

Now, let’s stay in Canada for a little while longer. Pack your bags and take that quick more-than-one-hour flight or a little over five hour drive from Toronto to…you guessed it. Montreal.

Maurice Richard won eight Stanley Cups all with the Canadiens spanning three decades also being a part of that five-peat Canadiens squad.

NHL.com’s Dave Stubbs notes his nickname was “Rocket” and that “(s)ince 1999, the NHL’s leading goal-scorer has been annually awarded the Maurice Richard Trophy. There have been hockey teams named in his honor; the Canadiens’ American Hockey League affiliate will be renamed the Laval Rocket when it moves from St. John’s, Newfoundland to north of Montreal for the 2017-18 season…Richard’s impact on hockey and on Quebec society has been the subject of university study and theses…”

4 – Claude Provost (9)

From eight to nine! Also a part of that incredible five-peat Canadiens team, this right winger also won four more with the team in the 1960’s. Chalk it up as nine Stanley Cups, placing Provost at fourth most all-time in Stanley Cups won for a player.

Provist won the Bill Masterson Memorial Trophy in 1968, the first year the award was given per NHL.com. It’s been “(a)warded since 1968 to player best exemplifying perseverance, sportsmanship, dedication to hockey…(t)he trophy was presented by the NHL Writers’ Association in 1968 to commemorate the late Bill Masterton, a player for the Minnesota North Stars who exhibited, to a high degree, the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Masterton died on Jan. 15, 1968, after an injury sustained during a game” per NHL.com.

3 – Yvan Cournoyer (10)

Ladies and gentlemen, congratulations! You have reached the top three. Yvan Cournoyer starts out this list in double digits with 10 Stanley Cups. The right winger was a part of a Canadiens team that won four in a row from 1976 to 1979.

NHL.com’s Stu Hackel stated Cournoyer’s nickname was “Roadrunner”. Hackel also mentioned that “(t)he Canadiens were on their way to their 18th Stanley Cup championship, and the ‘Roadrunner’ would finish the postseason with a playoff-record 15 goals and the Conn Smythe Trophy — which, he said, was “pretty nice to win” after NHL President Clarence Campbell presented him with the hardware as postseason MVP. 

2 – Jean Beliveau (10)

Double digit Stanley Cup wins. Only a select company of players could say they accomplished this. Only three, in fact. That’s a formidable first line if you were to put these three together on an epic most-Stanley-Cup-wins team. Well, they’ve already done that with the Canadiens as these top three players played all played with each other winning Stanley Cups at some point or another. Multiple times.

And get this. For Canadiens center Jean Beliveau, NHL.com’s Dave Stubbs notes that “(t)here were his 10 Stanley Cup championships (he) won as a player and another seven as an executive vice president of the Canadiens, his name appearing on the trophy an unprecedented 17 times.” That’s a lot. An incredible accomplishment as a center and in the front office.

1 – Henri Richard (11)

Ladies and gentlemen, the NHL player with the most-ever Stanley Cup wins is…

Henri Richard!

Richard won it a record 11 times.

Does that last name sound familiar?

“All I ever had in my mind [as a youngster] was playing with the Montreal Canadiens and thinking about playing with my brother Maurice,” Henri Richard said according to NHL.com’s Wayne Coffey. “I wanted to play hockey because Maurice was playing hockey. But I never said it to anybody. When I was in school, they used to ask me what I wanted to do when I grew up. I never said, ‘A hockey player.’ I always said, ‘A plumber’ or something like that.”

Plumbers are hard workers and it’s obvious Henri Richard was, as well. It takes a certain kind of determination, work ethic, and talent to get to 11 Stanley Cups!

Coffey noted that “the younger Richard had plenty of doubters along the way, among them Elmer Lach, the Canadiens’ Hall of Fame center, who coached him in juniors and, according to Richard, told him he would never make it in the NHL because of his size. Undeterred, Richard believed that his sublime skating skills, deft stick-handling and commitment to hard work when the other team had the puck would be powerful equalizers”.

Eleven Stanley Cups later, he proved people wrong.

Okay, Montreal Canadiens. We see you! After going through all those Canadiens, you may be wondering just how much Stanley Cups the team actually has. Here’s your answer: 23. That’s Michael Jordan-esque because of the number and it’s also just an incredible feat for a storied hockey franchise. Those 23 Stanley Cups are definitely the most for any team in the history of the NHL. Coming in at second is the Maple Leafs with 13 and the Red Wings with 11 (the three teams you saw most on this list).

Alright, now current NHL teams and 80 players left, skate on and go get that Stanley Cup! Who knows, you may just end up on this top 25 list at the end of your career.