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The NHL Presidents' Trophy curse has become hard to ignore

Winning the Presidents' Trophy in the NHL used to be a curse fans joked about, now it looks to truly be a curse.

By Jim Lynch |
Apr 15, 2024; New York, New York, USA; The scoreboard displays a graphic for the New York Rangers winning the President’s Trophy after defeating the Ottawa Senators 4-0 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 15, 2024; New York, New York, USA; The scoreboard displays a graphic for the New York Rangers winning the President’s Trophy after defeating the Ottawa Senators 4-0 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

During the start of the 1985-86 season, a new trophy was added to the NHL. The trophy was to recognize the best team in the regular season, the Presidents' Trophy.

Over the years, fans across the league have noted a curse that comes along with winning the trophy. While the team that captures first across the league is guaranteed home ice advantage throughout all four rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, few winning teams end up making it through the 16 wins it takes to win the Stanley Cup.

The NHL Presidents' Trophy curse has become hard to ignore

Over the years, the Presidents' Trophy has been handed out 38 times. Of those 38 regular season champs, just eight have ended up going on to win the Stanley Cup.

The Chicago Blackhawks were the last team to win the Stanley Cup and the Presidents' Trophy in the same season. They did so in the 2012-13 season.

Since 2013, Presidentes' Trophy winners have lost in the first round twice, the second round seven times and the Conferende Finals just twice.

The Rangers have won the regular season trophy twice since 2013, including this season. In both of those instances they lost in the Conference Final. The current 11 year gap between the Presidents' Trophy winner winning the Stanley Cup is the longest gap in league history since the trophy was created.

Before 2013, the Presidents' Trophy winner took home the cup every four to five years. Now today it looks like league parity has never been better.

Why winning both the Presidents' Trophy and the Stanley Cup is so hard.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs really is an entirely new season. Arguably the biggest reason winning both is so challenging has to do with the style of play.

A playoff series is a different beast than the regular season. During the regular season sometimes the best offense can outscore their way to a win, in the postseason things are not that easy.

In fact, in the last few years the top team in the league has been knocked off in the first round after record breaking seasons.

In 2018-19, the Tampa Bay Lightning tied the league record in wins with a record of 62-16-4, accumulating 128 points. The Lightning were swept in four games by the Columbus Blue Jackets in Round 1.

In 2022-23, the Boston Bruins broke the record for most wins in a season with 65. The Bruins were a steamroller all season long with a record of 65-12-5, yet they blew a 3-1 series lead over the Florida Panthers in Round 1.

While home ice advantage might be a nice boost on paper, winning the Presidents' Trophy has turned into a curse rather than a true advantage.

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