The only playoff where the proper format is there, 2-2-1-1-1. Anyway, one of the few sports championships where teams out of nowhere can make the Stanley Cup.

Wish it was bigger in the United States. One of the few times you can even find Professional Hockey on a major network anymore!

A strong case can be made for this being the toughest trophy to win in professional sports. Teams endure an eighty plus game regular season, and four rounds of best of seven playoffs, in a sport that is nearly as demanding as football.

On the other hand, that is it's very problem. The season is too long, too many teams make the playoffs (a problem shared with the NBA) and hockey was not meant to be played into June.

Go Habs Go

The  NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs is one of the most exciting tournaments in sports.

Why? Stanley Cup Playoffs have more drama, more intensity, and more upsets. Also, the unpredictable factor. Any lucky bounce or deflection can score a goal and anyone can score the game winner in Sudden Death OT. Hockey is a free-flowing game with a lot of action. The NHL has more parity with a lot of teams having a chance to win the Stanley Cup, the most prized trophy in sports.

Also, players sacrificed through the pain, 8 weeks of war to win the Cup.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs: One of the most exciting sports tournaments in the world.

March Madness is the greatest sports tournament. . .but the Stanley Cup is a close second. . .this is one terrific championship tournament. . .endurance, skill, and luck all play important factors. . .

If you do not like the Stanley Cup playoffs then you are not a true sports fan....period.

Whoa a big trophy! Too bad no one knows who the players are dudes!

Hockey is the greatest sport out there. It is the fastest, the hardest, the most fun someone can have on skates. If you really care about hockey you can use your skills to win the Stanley cup.

A long, meaningless season with over priced ticket prices, leading to a long and pointless post season with even more expensive tickets. Hockey used to be a wonderful game to watch, its now played by a bunch of mediocre players. BOOORING

I hope the lockout lasts for the rest of my lifetime

Will it even happen this year? Who cares?

Personally, I find the Men's and Women's tournaments in the Olympics much more exciting than the Stanley Cup. The Olympics never had to worry about labor disputes!

lord stanley's cup is the oldest trophy in sports. it carries with it a mystique unmatched by any other prize. it must be flattering to get your name on it. it means you are immortalized forever. Much better than wining, say the vince lombardi trophy, which gets recast every year. There's only one stanley cup, and it's the hardest to win.

awesome

For some reason, I have never been able to get into hockey. This sport is still too localized (for the most part) in the Northern U.S. and Canada to have a great championship. I will agree (as others have noted) that the overtime games are especially exciting; however, extra inning World Series and overtime college basketball games are often just as thrilling.

Last year was actually the first year I actually could sit down and watch it. It was quite interesting actually. I watched Toronto get killed by Philly (Boooooo) :'( :'( But I enjoyed watching the finals and I was up late watching the Stanley Cup being awarded to NJ! So all in all, a great season, a great sports event, and can't wait till next years.

Hockey is too boring.

You don't hear the hype over NHL finals, because why? Well, of course there's more than one game and it's a violent sport anyway.

Hockey fan for years. The Stanley Cup playoffs are fast and furious.

Wiggum, are you stupid on purpose?

The granddaddy of all the championships. Lord Stanley's Cup. The single most famous trophy in sprts history. Every player who has lifted it has his name on it. You gotta love the Stanley Cup.

The Stanley Cup playoffs are the most unique in sports. First, there is the Stanley Cup itself. It is the most treasured trophy in sports and all young players dream of having their names engraved in it. Second, there are few things more exciting in sports than playoff OT hockey. The way the action switches from end to end in a split second will often keep you on your seat. I'm a big sports fan who likes hockey, but loves Stanley Cup hockey.

Stanley Cup hockey provides some of the most exciting moments in all of sports. The cup is the hardest trophy in sports to win, because the series are grueling and hard-fought. And sudden-death OT is more thrilling than other sports' OT's.

this actually makes me WANT to watch hockey

Five stars if you happen to like one of the teams involved...one star if you don't care about either team.

Winning the NHL Championship isn't about a title or a symbolic trophy, it's about the Stanley Cup and it's 100+ years of tradition. No team owns the Cup or gets to keep it. It's the only trophy that gets passed from one champion to the next and is accepted by the Captain of a team not the Owner of a franchise.

Once you get past the first 10 rounds of the hockey playoffs it starts to get exciting, until then, it sucks.

Is it my imagination, or is the Stanley Cup contested 12 times a year? It seems like every time I turn on the TV, there's a Stanley Cup game on. All I'm asking for is a small break - how about the month of April? 11 Stanley Cups a year should be plenty.