The Amateur Hockey Association of Canada was an amateur ice hockey league that was founded in 1887 and existed from 1888 to 1898. It is widely accepted that this league was the forerunner to the modern-day National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup also had its origins with this league.

The Teams

"*" Indicates Stanley Cup Winner

• 1892-93: *Montreal AAA, Montreal Crystals, Montreal Victorias, Ottawa HC and Quebec HC
• 1893-94: *Montreal AAA, Montreal Crystals, Montreal Victorias, Ottawa HC and Quebec HC
• 1894-95: Montreal AAA, Montreal Crystals, Montreal Victorias, Ottawa HC and Quebec HC
• 1895-96: Montreal AAA, Montreal Shamrocks, *Montreal Victorias (December 1895), Ottawa HC and Quebec HC
• 1896-97: Montreal AAA, Montreal Shamrocks, *Montreal Victorias, Ottawa HC and Quebec HC
• 1897-98: Montreal AAA, Montreal Shamrocks, *Montreal Victorias, Ottawa HC and Quebec HC

History

Birth of the AHA

The AHA was born on December 8, 1888, when various hockey clubs met at the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal. In that age, ice hockey was a very different game compared to today: the AHA rules stated that there were six skaters on each side, with players in all positions often playing the entire game, and that a match was two halves of thirty minutes (also to note that in the day, game meant goal by modern definition). Sudden-death overtime was also in place, and a match would continue until a goal was scored in the event of a tie after regulation.

The AHA operated on two different systems in its lifetime: the challenge system, where a championship team would face a new challenger each week for the championship, and the series system, which corresponds to the regular season found in the NHL today. With the exception of 1888, the challenge system was exclusively used in the AHA before the advent of the Stanley Cup, while the series system became the norm in 1893, the first year the Cup was contested.

The first championship team of the AHA was the Montreal Crystals, having unofficially being declared the champions before the AHA. The first title change occurred on January 14, 1887, when the Montreal Victorias defeated the champions 4-0. The Victorias would hold the title until the very last challenge game, when the Crystals won 3-2 in their third successive challenge. Because of the Vics' long run as champions, it was decided to switch to the series system in 1888.

The series system was a success, although a tie atop the standings between the Vics and the Montreal AAA, and the subsequent scheduling of the tiebreaker game caused much trouble when the game was scheduled at a time when two Victorias players were injured, at the home venue of the Montreal AAA. However, teams from outside Montreal incurred huge travelling expenses, which led the AHA to revert back to the challenge system.

The Trail Begins

In 1893, the first year since 1888 where the AHA played under a series system, the Montreal AAA lost their first game against the Ottawa Hockey Club, and proceeded to win their next seven en route to the championship. It was also at this time that Lord Stanley, though his aide-de-camp, announded a challenge trophy for the best amateur hockey team in Canada. The Stanley Cup, as it would later be known, would be presented to the Montreal AAA on May 15, 1893, as its initial champions. The AAA was very much split on whether to accept the trophy. The hockey club arm of the AAA, for reasons unknown, was adamant about refusing the trophy, while other arms of the AAA accepted. Thus, the trophy was accepted by the AAA, but with none of the hockey officials of the AAA present.

After accepting the trophy, the AAA remained adamant about returning the trophy that was presented to them. In the end, the AAA investigated into why its hockey club wanted to refuse and return the trophy, even though such an action would damage the reputation of the AAA. It was believed that the people who were in charge of running their team were, in fact, not representative of the team itself, and when the hockey club asked for a loan of $175 in start-up expanses for the 1894 season, it was flatly refused (the first time the AAA refused anything to the hockey club). Inexplicably, the hockey club reversed its position, and the next few months saw a gradual schism between the AAA and the club. Indeed, the inscription on the Cup when it was successfully defended in 1894 only stated "Montreal". The AAA, at one point, considered the hockey club to have seceded from the organization that bore them. The issue would be finally resolved in later years, after various attempts at reconciliation.