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Stanley Cup Playoffs: 5 best Presidents’ Trophy winners that didn’t win the Stanley Cup

By Alex Hoegler

COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 16: Andrei Vasilevskiy #88 of the Tampa Bay Lightning keeps loose during a stoppage in play in Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 16, 2019 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 16: Andrei Vasilevskiy #88 of the Tampa Bay Lightning keeps loose during a stoppage in play in Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 16, 2019 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images /

4. 2005-06 Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings did not disappoint in their first year under head coach Mike Babcock. At least, not in the regular season. Detroit won their second consecutive Presidents’ Trophy and their third overall in the last four years. This was the first season where the NHL had implemented the salary cap, but it didn’t stop the Red Wings from toying with the competition.

They finished with a 58-16-8 record, good enough for 124 points, the third-most ever for a Presidents’ Trophy-winning team. Detroit had a ridiculous plus-96 goal differential, and a whopping eight players scored 20 goals.

Pavel Datsyuk (87 points), Henrik Zetterberg (39 goals, 85 points), Brendan Shanahan (40 goals, 81 points), and Nicklas Lidstrom (a career-high 80 points), led an unstoppable offensive machine. Lidstrom also won the Norris Trophy.

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Veteran blueliner Mathieu Schneider also enjoyed a career season with 21 goals and 59 points. And while we’re discussing career years, Tomas Holmstrom had 59 points. Bottom six forward Jason Williams also chipped in with 21 goals and 58 points.

So what in the world happened to a perennial powerhouse that had already won three Stanley Cups in the previous nine years? They drew a not-so-ideal matchup against a star-studded Edmonton Oilers team that underachieved in the regular season.

Trade deadline pickup and veteran goalie Dwayne Roloson shut down the Red Wings’ high-powered offense. He registered an incredible .929 save percentage, allowing just 17 goals on 238 shots faced.

Hall of Fame defenceman Chris Pronger shut down the Red Wings’ top guns and registered seven points in the series. Shawn Horcoff added six of his own. Unsung heroes Sergei Samsonov (six points), Fernando Pisani (six points) and Jarrett Stoll (five points) all came through in the the clutch situations.

Leading the series 3-2 in Game 6, Edmonton tied the game with under four minutes to go. Samsonov then fed Ales Hemsky for the game-winning goal with only 1:06 left. The Oilers would reach the Stanley Cup Final — where they fell to the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games.

This Red Wings powerhouse ultimately failed to capture the big prize, and captain Steve Yzerman would retire. On the bright side, Detroit would go on to capture both the Presidents’ Trophy and Stanley Cup two years later.

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