Which Team Has Suffered the Most From the President's Trophy Curse?
Mon, Sep 2, 2024
by
CapperTek
In recent years, winning the President's Trophy has been more of a hindrance than a blessing, with supporters dubbing the trophy as cursed in recent campaigns. It has been 11 long years since the regular season's table toppers managed to go on and lift the Stanley Cup. That was of course the Chicago Blackhawks, who romped to supremacy back in 2013, finishing the regular campaign five wins clear of the rest of the league before going on to down the Boston Bruins in six to claim the giant championship trophy.
The success came slap bang in the middle of the Windy City outfit's glory days. The Hawks managed to win the Stanley Cup three times in five years between 2010 and 2015, but only one of those triumphs came with the President's Trophy in tow. Since their triumph, 11 table toppers have stepped up to the plate and all of them have been sent down. But since the regular season trophy was introduced in 1986, some teams have suffered more from the daunted curse than others.
New York Rangers
After a stellar campaign last season, a website accepting NHL bets in crypto has made the New York Rangers a +1400 contender for the Stanley Cup last season. However, if the recently concluded playoffs are anything to go by, the Big Apple outfit certainly has plenty to do if they are to finally get over the line and claim the championship after three decades. They won the President's Trophy last season and looked primed and ready for glory, but unfortunately for them, the curse reared its head at their expense for the third time.
The Rangers came up against a determined Florida Panthers side in this year's Eastern Conference finals and unfortunately for them, it was the Floridians who emerged victorious before going on to win the Stanley Cup for the first time with a thrilling victory against the Edmonton Oilers. The New Yorkers have experienced similar heartache before, winning the Presidents Trophy in both 1992 and 2014, but unfortunately ending up without the championship on both occasions. They did manage to temporarily break the curse in 1994 as they topped the regular season standings and then went on to dominate the postseason as well.
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are another team that recently fell to the Panthers despite dominating throughout the regular season. They won the President's Trophy in record-breaking fashion in 2023, finishing the campaign with a whopping 135 points, 22 clear of the second-seeded Carolina Hurricanes. As such, they headed into the playoffs as the heavy favorites for the trophy and to break the curse, but they were stunned in the first round of the playoffs by the wildcard Floridians.
That was the fourth time in which the TD Garden had topped the standings in the regular season but didn't end the campaign as champions. Their first disappointment came back in 1990 when they were stunned in the championship series by Wayne Gretzky's Oilers. They suffered similar heartbreak in both 2014 and 2020, ending the campaign as the top seeds but being unceremoniously dumped out of the playoffs.
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings have long been a powerhouse in the NHL, and next season they are aiming to return to the playoffs after nine long years. They have also suffered from the dreaded curse on four occasions. They won the President's Trophy in back-to-back campaigns in 1995 and 1996 but were ultimately beaten on both occasions, firstly in the Stanley Cup finals and then the semifinals the following years. They were also dumped out in both 2004 and 2006.
They have twice broken the curse, however, lifting both trophies in 2002 and once again six years later.