Presidents' Trophy

The most recent recipients of the trophy are the San Jose Sharks, who finished the 2008–09 season with 53 wins and 117 points, winning their first ever Presidents' Trophy.

History

From 1937 to 1968, the same criterion now observed for winning the Presidents' Trophy was used to award the Prince of Wales Trophy. With the Modern Era expansion in the 1967–68 season and the creation of the West Division, the Wales Trophy was awarded to the team that finished in first place in the East Division during the regular season. However, no trophy was awarded to the team that finished with the best overall record in the entire league during this period, and no trophy at all was awarded based on the results of the regular season from the season through the season. A cash bonus was given to each player on the team with the league's best regular-season record during these years, to which the Presidents' Trophy was added in .

The only team to have won the Presidents' Trophy more than twice is the Detroit Red Wings, with six.

The Montreal Canadiens have finished first overall 21 times, the most times in league history, although this was most recently accomplished in 1977-78, and have never won the trophy. Detroit is second with 18 first-overall finishes.

Playoffs

Some have alleged that there is a "Presidents' Trophy curse", as first-round upsets are noted to be common in the NHL compared to other major professional sports leagues.»http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/sports/hockey/12slapshot.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper However, there are other reasons why regular season champions often perform poorly in the postseason. The lack of playoff experience may have been to blame in the examples of the 1999-2000 St. Louis Blues and 2008-09 San Jose Sharks, as neither team has advanced past the second round for five or more seasons. Teams have often given up pursuit of finishing first in the league in order avoid injuries and rest key players for the postseason. One instance was the New York Islanders, upset in the 1978-79 postseason, whose head coach Al Arbour decided for 1979-1980 that he would no longer place as much emphasis on the regular season, instead focusing his players' efforts on the playoffs. »http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2009/04/20/the-count-the-myth-of-the-presidents-trophy-curse/

Winners

{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; |- !style="background: #e3e3e3;" |Year !style="background: #e3e3e3;" |Winner !style="background: #e3e3e3;" |Points !style="background: #e3e3e3;" |Playoff Result !style="background: #e3e3e3;" |Win # |- | |Edmonton Oilers |119 |Lost Division final (CGY) |1 |- bgcolor="#CFECEC" | |Edmonton Oilers |105 |Won Stanley Cup* |2 |- | |Calgary Flames |105 |Lost Division final (EDM) |1 |- bgcolor="#CFECEC" | |Calgary Flames |117 |Won Stanley Cup* |2 |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | |Boston Bruins |101 |Lost Stanley Cup final (EDM)^ |1 |- bgcolor="#ccfebb" | |Chicago Blackhawks |106 |Lost Division semi-final (MIN)# |1 |- | |New York Rangers |105 |Lost Division final (PIT) |1 |- | |Pittsburgh Penguins |119 |Lost Division final (NYI) |1 |- bgcolor="#CFECEC" | |New York Rangers |112 |Won Stanley Cup* |2 |- bgcolor="#ffbbbb" | |Detroit Red Wings |070 |Lost Stanley Cup final (NJ)^ |1 |- | |Detroit Red Wings |131 |Lost Conference final (COL) |2 |- | |Colorado Avalanche |107 |Lost Conference final (DET) |1 |- | |Dallas Stars |109 |Lost Conference final (DET) |1 |- bgcolor="#CFECEC" | |Dallas Stars |114 |Won Stanley Cup* |2 |- bgcolor="#ccfebb" | |St. Louis Blues |114 |Lost Conference quarter-final (SJ)# |1 |- bgcolor="#CFECEC" | |Colorado Avalanche |118 |Won Stanley Cup* |2 |- bgcolor="#CFECEC" | |Detroit Red Wings |116 |Won Stanley Cup* |3 |- | |Ottawa Senators |113 |Lost Conference final (NJ) |1 |- | |Detroit Red Wings |109 |Lost Conference semi-final (CGY) |4 |- | | | - | - | - |- bgcolor="#ccfebb" | |Detroit Red Wings |124 |Lost Conference quarter-final (EDM)# |5 |- | |Buffalo Sabres |113 |Lost Conference final (OTT) |1 |- bgcolor="#CFECEC" | | Detroit Red Wings | 115 |Won Stanley Cup* | 6 |- bgcolor="#ccfebb" | |San Jose Sharks |117 |Lost Conference quarter-final (ANA)# |1 |}

See also

• Continental Cup, a KHL trophy having the same function as the Presidents' Trophy.

References

General