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NHL: The Presidents’ Trophy is not the trophy to chase

By Jim Lynch

NASHVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 9: The Nashville Predators pose with the Presidents' Trophy during the banner raising ceremony prior to an NHL game against the Calgary Flames at Bridgestone Arena on October 9, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 9: The Nashville Predators pose with the Presidents' Trophy during the banner raising ceremony prior to an NHL game against the Calgary Flames at Bridgestone Arena on October 9, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The 2010s featured some amazing hockey from some amazing NHL teams. However when you look at the past and see the Presidents’ Trophy winners from the 2010s, maybe teams should try and avoid that trophy.

Only eight Presidents’ Trophy winners have gone on to win the Stanley Cup, one of which occurred this past decade. The other teams did not finish well in the playoffs. The Presidents’ Trophy should be a trophy that teams should strive for every year. Yet the team that often captures it falls short of the Stanley Cup. There are a lot of reasons this could happen.

Due to how long and strenuous the hockey season is, sometimes the team that captures the Presidents’ Trophy is burnt out by the time the playoffs are back. Even though the winner is guaranteed home-ice advantage throughout the entire playoffs things end up not working out.

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For some teams, the idea of playing a game that means something after a month or two of having the league in your hands is just too daunting in the playoffs. That and more might help explain why only one Presidents’ Trophy winner in the decade has managed to win the Stanley Cup.

We will take a look at each trophy winner season to season, and give who ended up winning the Cup that spring. If this story is to tell one thing I hope it shows just how meaningless the Presidents’ Trophy ends up being.

2009-10 Washington Capitals

54-15-13 121 points

Stanley Cup Champ – Chicago Blackhawks

When I looked back at the Washington Capitals in 2010 all I have to say is wow this team is so different from then to now. In 2010 the Capitals won their first of three presidents trophies this decade, and yet their season ended too soon.

Washington in the playoffs had a 24-year-old Alex Ovechkin fresh off of a 109 point season, as well as a 22-year-old Nicklas Backstrom who put up 101 points that season. This team, led by Bruce Boudreau was set to win the Stanley Cup, and yet things did not go as planned.

When a team wins the Presidents’ Trophy all they need to do is win all their home games during the playoffs. Now, few teams end up doing that and eventually fall short of their goal. Sometimes it only takes one game to turn a season of success around. That is what happened to the 2009-10 Capitals.

Sometimes when a team is set to faceoff against the Presidents’ Trophy winner, the presumed best team in the NHL, they are sparked to compete that much harder. Just watch the Montreal Canadiens celebrate after beating the Washington Capitals in game 7 in Washington.

Not only did Washington give up a 3-1 lead in the series, but they also lost three out of the four home games in the series, which really shows how little the home ice means in the playoffs.

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