Presidents' Trophy

Presidents' Trophy
Established 1985–86 NHL season
Current holder(s) Vancouver Canucks
Awarded to the National Hockey League team with the most points in the regular season

The Presidents' Trophy is an award presented by the National Hockey League (NHL) to the team that finishes with the most points (i.e. best record) in the league during the regular season. If two teams tie for the most points, then the trophy goes to the team with the most wins. The winning team is also awarded C$350,000 in cash bonuses. The Presidents' Trophy has been awarded 25 times to 15 different teams since its inception during the 1985-86 season.[1] The current holder is the Vancouver Canucks for the 2010–11 NHL season.[2]

Contents

History

The trophy was introduced at the start of the 1985–86 NHL season by the league's Board of Governors. Prior to this, the best team in the league during the regular season was allowed to hang a banner stating "NHL League Champions".[3]

From 1937 to 1968, the same criterion now observed for winning the Presidents' Trophy was used to award the Prince of Wales Trophy.[4] 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.[4] 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 1981–82 through 1984–85 seasons. 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 1985–86.[1]

If there are two or more teams tied for first in points in the league, then the Presidents' Trophy is awarded to the team which has the most wins. An example of this is from the 2006–07 season, where both the Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings finished first with 113 points. However, Buffalo had 53 wins while Detroit had 50, so the trophy was awarded to the Sabres.

The only team to have won the Presidents' Trophy more than twice is the Detroit Red Wings, with six. As a result, the Central Division boasts the most Presidents' Trophy wins at 8 amongst the current NHL divisions. The Northwest Division is a close second with 7. The Pacific Division, the Northeast Division, and the Atlantic Division have each won the Presidents' Trophy three times, while the Southeast Division has won just once.

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.[5]

Only twice in the history of the Presidents' trophy, the previous season's winner missed the playoffs the next season. The New York Rangers who won the trophy in the 1991-92 season missed the playoffs in 1992-93, the other was the Buffalo Sabres who won the trophy in the 2006-07 season missed the playoffs in 2007-08.

It is the reality of the sport. If your particular strength happens to be that you're really good offensively, and you come up against a hot goaltender and a team that is stout defensively, it might not matter that you were good on a nightly basis scoring goals. And that one particular opponent: you'll have to beat them four times.

“
”
NHL broadcaster Darren Eliot explaining the lack of success of Presidents' Trophy winners winning the Stanley Cup..[6]

The Presidents' Trophy winner is guaranteed home-ice advantage in all four rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs, provided the team advances that far.[7] However, it does not guarantee that success, as only seven of all the Presidents' Trophy winners have gone on to win the Stanley Cup in their respective years.[8][9][10] In addition, five President's Trophy winners have been eliminated in the preliminary round of the playoffs, with first-round upsets being common in the NHL compared to other major professional sports leagues.[11] According to NHL broadcaster Darren Eliot, this lack of success is because the style of competition in the playoffs is different from the regular season: instead of playing different teams every night, the goal is to advance through four best-of-seven playoff series.[6] The Presidents' Trophy winner may have to go through other playoff clubs who might have a hotter goaltender, a better defensive team, or other players that pose matchup problems. If the regular season champion's primary success was only outscoring others, they may be out of luck facing goaltenders that can shut them out.[6]

Winners

  * Team won the Stanley Cup.
  ^ Team lost in the Stanley Cup finals.
  # Team lost in a preliminary round of the playoffs.[12]
Year Winner Points Playoff Result Win #
1985–86 Edmonton Oilers 119 Lost Division Finals (CGY)[13] 1
1986–87 Edmonton Oilers 105 Won Stanley Cup*[14] 2
1987–88 Calgary Flames 105 Lost Division Finals (EDM)[15] 1
1988–89 Calgary Flames 117 Won Stanley Cup* 2
1989–90 Boston Bruins 101 Lost Stanley Cup Finals (EDM)^[16] 1
1990–91 Chicago Blackhawks 106 Lost Division Semifinals (MIN)#[17] 1
1991–92 New York Rangers 105 Lost Division Finals (PIT)[18] 1
1992–93 Pittsburgh Penguins 119 Lost Division Finals (NYI)[19] 1
1993–94 New York Rangers 112 Won Stanley Cup* 2
1994–95 Detroit Red Wings 070 Lost Stanley Cup Finals (NJ)^ 1
1995–96 Detroit Red Wings 131 Lost Conference Finals (COL)[20] 2
1996–97 Colorado Avalanche 107 Lost Conference Finals (DET)[21] 1
1997–98 Dallas Stars 109 Lost Conference Finals (DET)[22] 1
1998–99 Dallas Stars 114 Won Stanley Cup* 2
1999–2000 St. Louis Blues 114 Lost Conference Quarterfinals (SJ)#[23] 1
2000–01 Colorado Avalanche 118 Won Stanley Cup* 2
2001–02 Detroit Red Wings 116 Won Stanley Cup* 3
2002–03 Ottawa Senators 113 Lost Conference Finals (NJ)[24] 1
2003–04 Detroit Red Wings 109 Lost Conference Semifinals (CGY)[25] 4
2004–05 No winner because of the
2004–05 NHL lockout		 - - -
2005–06 Detroit Red Wings 124 Lost Conference Quarterfinals (EDM)#[26] 5
2006–07 Buffalo Sabres 113 Lost Conference Finals (OTT)[27] 1
2007–08 Detroit Red Wings[28] 115 Won Stanley Cup* 6
2008–09 San Jose Sharks 117 Lost Conference Quarterfinals (ANA)#[29] 1
2009–10 Washington Capitals 121 Lost Conference Quarterfinals (MTL)# 1
2010–11 Vancouver Canucks 117 Lost Stanley Cup Finals (BOS)^ 1

See also

References

General
Specific
  1. ^ a b "Presidents' Trophy history". NHL.com. http://www.nhl.com/trophies/presidents.html. Retrieved 2007-09-05. 
  2. ^ "Kings at Canucks - 2011-03-31 - Recap". National Hockey League. NHL.com. 2011-03-31. http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2010021158. Retrieved 2011-04-01. 
  3. ^ "Presidents Trophy Buffalo Bound". NHL.com. http://sabres.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=307669&page=NewsPage&service=page. Retrieved 2009-10-10. 
  4. ^ a b "History of the Prince of Wales Trophy". Legends of Hockey.net. http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/silver_splashprinceofwales.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-05. 
  5. ^ "Final Standings". NHL.com. http://www.nhl.com/history/fstand10s.html. Retrieved 2007-09-15. 
  6. ^ a b c Darren Eliot (2010-04-07) (in English). Inside Report: Presidents' Trophy to curse Caps?. SI.com. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/video/nhl/2010/04/07/040610.nhl_eliot_presidents_cup.SportsIllustrated/index.html. Retrieved 2011-03-30. 
  7. ^ McGourty, John (June 11, 2009). "Keenan knows Game 7 pressure". NHL.com. http://www.nhl.com/ice/newsprint.htm?id=425396. Retrieved October 22, 2010. 
  8. ^ Rosen, Dan (2009-04-12). "A short-term celebration". NHL.com. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=417563. Retrieved 2010-04-29. 
  9. ^ Bialik, Carl (2009-04-20). "The Count: The Myth of the President’s Trophy Curse". Wall Street Journal. http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2009/04/20/the-count-the-myth-of-the-presidents-trophy-curse/. Retrieved 2011-04-01. 
  10. ^ "'Irritated' Caps look for answers". Washington Times. 2010-03-31. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/31/irritated-caps-look-answers/. Retrieved 2011-04-01. "Then there's the so-called Presidents' Trophy curse: Only seven of 23 teams that have won that piece of hardware have gone on to win the Stanley Cup." 
  11. ^ Klein, Jeff Z.; Hackel, Stu (2009-04-12). "First-Round Upsets Common in N.H.L". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/12/sports/hockey/12slapshot.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper. 
  12. ^ The playoff format has changed over the years. See Stanley Cup playoffs for more information.
  13. ^ "1985-86 NHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/playoffdisplay.php3?league=NHL1927&season=1986&leaguenm=NHL. Retrieved 2007-09-15. 
  14. ^ Morganti, Al (June 1, 1987). "Flyers Fall in Cup Final, 3-1 Hextall Named MVP". Philadelphia Inquirer: p. E1. 
  15. ^ "1987-88 NHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/playoffdisplay.php3?league=NHL1927&season=1988&leaguenm=NHL. Retrieved 2007-09-15. 
  16. ^ Dupont, Kevin Paul (May 25, 1990). "Edmonton Wraps Up the Cup Bruins' Dream of a Title Ends; Ranford, Anderson Pace Oilers". Boston Globe: p. 77. 
  17. ^ "1990-91 NHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/playoffdisplay.php3?league=NHL1927&season=1991&leaguenm=NHL. Retrieved 2007-09-15. 
  18. ^ "1991-92 NHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/playoffdisplay.php3?league=NHL1927&season=1992&leaguenm=NHL. Retrieved 2007-09-15. 
  19. ^ "1992-93 NHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/playoffdisplay.php3?league=NHL1927&season=1993&leaguenm=NHL. Retrieved 2007-09-15. 
  20. ^ "1995-96 NHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/playoffdisplay.php3?league=NHL1927&season=1996&leaguenm=NHL. Retrieved 2007-09-15. 
  21. ^ "1996-97 NHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/playoffdisplay.php3?league=NHL1927&season=1997&leaguenm=NHL. Retrieved 2007-09-15. 
  22. ^ "1997-98 NHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/playoffdisplay.php3?league=NHL1927&season=1998&leaguenm=NHL. Retrieved 2007-09-15. 
  23. ^ "2000-01 NHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/playoffdisplay.php3?league=NHL1927&season=2000&leaguenm=NHL. Retrieved 2007-09-15. 
  24. ^ "2002-03 NHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/playoffdisplay.php3?league=NHL1927&season=2003&leaguenm=NHL. Retrieved 2007-09-15. 
  25. ^ "2003-04 NHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/playoffdisplay.php3?league=NHL1927&season=2004&leaguenm=NHL. Retrieved 2007-09-15. 
  26. ^ "2005-06 NHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/playoffdisplay.php3?league=NHL1927&season=2006&leaguenm=NHL. Retrieved 2007-09-15. 
  27. ^ "2006-07 NHL Playoff Results". The Internet Hockey Database. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/playoffdisplay.php3?league=NHL1927&season=2007&leaguenm=NHL. Retrieved 2007-09-15. 
  28. ^ "Red Wings clinch Presidents' Trophy". The Sports Network. 2008-04-03. Archived from the original on 2008-04-08. http://web.archive.org/web/20080408025724/http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=233471&hubname=. Retrieved 2008-04-03. 
  29. ^ The Canadian Press (2009-04-28). "Ducks oust top-seeded Sharks with win in game 6". The Sports Network. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=276754. Retrieved 2009-04-28. 
Team
Stanley Cup · Prince of Wales · Clarence S. Campbell · Presidents' Trophy
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