A Brief History of the NHL’s Playoff Handshake Line

Following the five-game series victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice made headlines with his comment on one of the NHL’s most highly-regarded traditions, the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs handshake line. “I think it should be on the players,” Maurice said. “They’re the guys who win, lose, suffer, go through pain, fight for their teammates, take hits, do the real work.” Maurice clarified his role behind the bench with a joke. “We just drink coffee and swear.  That’s basically what I do,” he said. 

Florida’s coach did not intend to stir up controversy. Instead, his goal was to put the focus on the athletes themselves. “When this whole thing started, and I don’t know when it changed, probably in the past 10 years, but the coaches would come off the bench, shake hands, and they would leave,” Maurice said. “Somewhere, some coach wanted to get on camera, got down there, and got in line. Now, if you don’t, you get roasted for it, being disrespectful. So, you’ve got to go and shake a bunch of sweaty dudes’ hands.” 

Whether it’s bitter enemies during a series like Washington Capitals’ Tom Wilson and Montral Canadiens’ Josh Anderson from Round 1 or brothers from the same household such as Luke and Brayden Schenn, every hockey player (and coach) lines up at center ice to shake the hands of their opponent as the capstone on a grueling postseason battle. With seven more editions of the traditional playoff handshake line remaining in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, let’s take a look back at the history of this historic NHL tradition. 

All-Star Game Origins in 1908

While the origins of the century old tradition are unclear, according to hockey historian Liam Maguire, the first documented case of a handshake line occurred in 1908 as part of an Eastern Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (ECAHA) fundraiser for Hod Stuart, a Stanley Cup Champion with the 1907 Montreal Wanderers, who had died in a diving accident. The Montreal Wanderers met a collection of ECAHA all-stars for a benefit game on Jan. 2, 1908, which is considered hockey’s first all-star game. The NHL would hold its first official star-studded contest in 1947. 

According to Maguire’s account, the two competing teams shook hands, and the tradition continued into the season with Stuart’s teammates shaking hands with opponents following Stanley Cup defenses during the 1908 season. At that time, other teams could challenge the champions at any point in the season. A rule adjustment in 1912 only allowed challenges to occur during the champion’s regular season, and the Challenge Era ended before the 1915 season. 

Traditions Tested at the College Level

Despite the intensity of postseason play, there has never been a documented fight in a playoff handshake line, at least at the NHL level. In Jan. 2012, North Dakota and Minnesota got into a post-game scuffle that resulted in then-head coach Dave Hakstol stripping Ben Blood of his alternate captaincy for the altercation.