In 1899, the Canadian Amateur Hockey League replaced the AHAC as the premier hockey league. This was created following a conflict within the AHAC, leading for the first Hockey Schism.
The CAHL was started by the top division teams from the AHAC, . The Montreal Hockey Club, Montreal Shamrocks, Montreal Victorias, Quebec Hockey Club, and the Ottawa Hockey Club participated in a balanced, round-robin league schedule.
The first season played in 1899 (played from January 7 to March 4) saw The Montreal Shamrocks win the Championship. 1899 was the seventh year that the Dominion Challenge Cup was awarded. The Montreal Shamrocks also was awarded the Cup by winning a cup challenge game against the Ottawa Capitals of the Central Canada Hockey Association (CCHA).
| IceHockeyLeagues.com Premier-League Championship Points span to 1883-99 | ||
| Team | # of Championships | Premier Championship Points |
| Montreal Hockey Club | 9 (1885-86, 88-94) | 30 |
| Montreal Victorias | 5 (1884, 95-98) | 20 |
| Montreal Shamrocks | 1 (1899) | 4 (+4) |
| Montreal Crystals | 1 (1887) | 4 |
| McGill University | 1 (1883) | 2 |
The CAHL was the second premier Ice Hockey league, formed by four Quebec-based teams plus Ottawa. These five teams all played in the MWC Tournament and AHAC so that tournament and league are the direct predecessors to the CAHL for historical and statistical purposes.
- Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, 1905 - December 17, 2017
- Canadian Amateur Hockey League, 1905 - December 16, 2017
- Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, 1904 - December 10, 2017
