The original Victoria franchise of the PCHA, the
Victoria Senators, were formed in 1911, and became the
Victoria Aristocrats in 1915. The Aristocrats challenged the
Toronto Blueshirts for the
Stanley Cup the following year, but lost. In 1916 the team was forced to move to
Spokane, Washington, after having their arena (
Patrick Arena) commandeered by the
Canadian military. The club folded the following year as the
Spokane Canaries. A new team was formed in 1918 and again were dubbed the
Victoria Aristocrats, with players from the folded
Portland Rosebuds. In 1922 they changed their name to the
Victoria Cougars. Led by coach
Lester Patrick, the Cougars won the Stanley Cup in
1925 against the
Montreal Canadiens of the
National Hockey League (NHL). The Cougars were the last non-NHL team to hoist the Stanley Cup as well as the last west coast team to win it until the
Anaheim Ducks did so in 2007. They attempted to repeat as champions in
1926 but they lost the final series to the NHL's
Montreal Maroons. The WHL dissolved after the season. That spring, a group of businessmen from
Detroit won an NHL expansion franchise and bought the rights to many of the players from the Stanley Cup finalist Cougars. The new NHL franchise adopted the nickname "Cougars" in tribute. The Detroit Cougars were later renamed the Detroit Falcons, and were ultimately renamed the
Detroit Red Wings. Among the notable players who played for the Cougars were Hall of Famers
Hec Fowler (goaltender),
Frank Foyston,
Frank Fredrickson,
Hap Holmes (goaltender),
Clem Loughlin,
Harry Meeking and
Jack Walker. ==Seasons==