The Cup, which is actually a silver bowl, was originally purchased by Frederick Arthur, Lord Stanley of Preston, in the early 1890s for 10 guineas in Regents Street, London. It was originally awarded to the winners of Canada's amateur championship. The first winner was the Montreal AAA team in 1893. For the next 17 years, amateur teams were entitled to "challenge" the reigning champions for possession of the Stanley Cup. The National Hockey Association eventually began managing the annual Stanley Cup competition in 1910. The NHL played its first official season in 1917-18, but the league did not yet control the Cup. The NHL champions still had to face the champions of the old WCHL to determine the Cup winner. NHL teams won seven of the first eight championships under this format, the lone exception being 1925, when Lester Patrick's Victoria Cougars upended the Canadians 3-1 in a best-of-5 series. As the most powerful professional league in North America, the NHL finally took full-time custody of the Cup in 1926, making it the centerpiece of its annual championship series. By 1946, the NHL owned all rights to the trophy that had once been reserved for amateurs. The Conn Smyth was first presented as the annual playoff MVP award in 1965. It was won that year by Jean Beliveau. Patrick Roy became the only player to win three Conn Symths in 2001 after winning the Stanley Cup that year with the Colorado Avalache. The Montreal Canadians hold the record for Stanley Cup wins with 23, including an unprecedented five straight between 1956 and 1960. The Habs also hold the record for | 
