The 2013 Blackhawks Remain The Last Perfect Presidents’ Trophy Winner
By Jim Lynch
The Chicago Blackhawks won the Presidents’ Trophy and the Stanley Cup in 2013, capturing 77 points during the regular season and getting the coveted 16 wins during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
To date, 2013 is the last time that has happened in the NHL. Since the Hawks won both trophies during the 2013 shortened season, nine rosters have tried and failed. The latest ended yesterday when the Florida Panthers were swept in the second round against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Let’s give a brief overview of the past nine teams that have tried to win the Stanley Cup with the “curse” of the Presidents’ Trophy.
2014 – Boston Bruins (Lost Second Round)
2015 – New York Rangers (Lost Conference Final)
2016 – Washington Capitals (Lost Second Round)
2017 – Washington Capitals (Lost Second Round)
2018 – Nashville Predators (Lost Second Round)
2019 – Tampa Bay Lightning (Lost First Round)
2020 – Boston Bruins (Lost Second Round)
2021 – Colorado Avalanche (Lost Second Round)
2022 – Florida Panthers (Lost Second Round)
That is a long list of winners trying and failing to capture the Stanley Cup. While there might be some recency bias here, the Lightning in 2019 and Panthers in 2022 stand out to me.
For the Lightning, that was their seemingly best roster in franchise history, and yet they were swept out by the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team that was not going to blow up their roster during a final year of success.
The Panthers in 2022 were also swept, albeit by the two-time defending champions, so a bit of a different situation there.
What made the 2013 Blackhawks so different?
I think fans of other teams in the league would say that the 2013 season was shortened, which could be a factor in why the Hawks won, but I would also say that roster was arguably one of the strongest the NHL has seen from a Presidents’ Trophy winner. The team started off the year with a remarkable winning streak and seemed to be the better team on the ice every night.
Their only true bump in the road all season came when they were facing the Red Wings in round two and went down 3-1 in the series, but even that was just a bump in the road as they came back to win the series and eventually the Cup.
Winning the Stanley Cup is hard, which is what makes it so fun to watch each spring. Even the best team of the regular season does not get any kind of special treatment once the postseason starts. Home ice can only get you so far and for the Panthers, they learned that the hard way.