Rangers Try to Avoid Presidents’ Trophy Curse
The New York Rangers locked up the Presidents’ Trophy last week against the New Jersey Devils, signifying the team ended the regular season with the NHL’s best record. Unfortunately, that rarely translates into a Stanley Cup championship.
In the history of the NHL only eight teams have been able to win both the Presidents’ Trophy and Stanley Cup in the same season. Those teams are:
- Edmonton Oilers (1986-87)
- Calgary Flames (1988-89)
- New York Rangers (1993-94)
- Dallas Stars (1998-99)
- Colorado Avalanche (2000-01)
- Detroit Red Wings (2001-02)
- Detroit Red Wings (2007-08)
- Chicago Blackhawks (2012-13)
The truth is nobody remembers who won the Presidents’ Trophy; it is the hardware handed out in June that matters. So why do so many care about the trophy? Because of the curse. Yeah, that’s right; it’s an actual thing. Google it and you’ll see. Different media outlets throughout the years have cover the Presidents’ Trophy Curse. What we know about it is it’s a mysterious entity that haunts teams hungry for the Cup. And let me tell you the New York Rangers are starving. The team has not won a Stanley Cup since it last won the Presidents’ Trophy in the 1993-94 season. The Rangers came close last year, but were bested by the Los Angeles Kings in the finals.
This curse may exist because it is a far more difficult task to stay consistent for a best-out-of-seven series where there is not really any room for error than it is to inch your way up the standings over a nine-month period. In a full season, teams go through slumps and hot streaks. They can deal with the sidelining of some of their top players for a bit because they have time to make up for that as the season lingers on and are more comfortable calling up players for the minors to fill the spots.
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In a best of seven, teams have to be on their game each night. One error turns into two; dropping one game leads to deflated confidence, which results in more errors and eventual upsets. In the postseason everything is amplified. One missed call or one errant bounce can lead to a team’s downfall.
Winning the trophy does not mean the Rangers can’t or won’t win the Stanley Cup. It is just a fact that many teams haven’t won both; eight teams (seven franchises) in 27 seasons. Those are the stats the Rangers are up against.
Really, the Rangers are not at a disadvantage by any means. The team will have home-ice advantage throughout the postseason, which is always a plus, and it will face the lower-seeded teams. New York has also been playing some of the best hockey over the past few months than it has in the last couple of years. The Rangers have a good mix of young faces and veterans who are contributing in the offensive zone. Not to mention, the team’s solid backend, which is anchored by the dynamic goaltending duo of Henrik Lundqvist and Cam Talbot. New York won the Presidents’ Trophy for a reason—the team outplayed its opponents in more games than it was outplayed.
What the Rangers will need to do is play as if the team is the underdog. The motto most teams in the playoffs live by is they are playing with a clean slate. It is one thing to just say that and another to play like that in fact is true. If the Rangers play desperate but controlled hockey, the team stands a chance at overcoming the curse that has haunted many teams before them. The Rangers can, for the second time, join the elite group of teams that was able to defeat the Presidents’ Trophy Curse and become champions! They are in control of their fate.