The first team to get a crack at advancing to the Stanley Cup finals is the Tampa Bay Lightning, who face the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals Tuesday. If the Lightning win, they will be presented with the Prince of Wales Trophy, and the question that will undoubtedly arise is: Will the players touch the conference trophy? And should they?
The prevailing wisdom in the NHL is that the only trophy that should be touched and raised is the Stanley Cup, and those who touch the Prince of Wales Trophy or the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl (awarded for winning the Western Conference) are doomed to fail in the finals.
Just think: No team has touched the conference trophy since the 2010 Philadelphia Flyers, who ended up losing in the Stanley Cup finals. Since the 2004-05 lockout ended, three teams have touched the conference trophy, and those teams were 1-2 in the Stanley Cup finals.
If the Lightning win, they will be the first team since the 2009 Penguins to return to the Stanley Cup finals the year after losing in the finals. The second time around, the Penguins decided to touch the Prince of Wales trophy after they won the Eastern Conference. The previous year, they did not touch it, and they lost to the Detroit Red Wings in the Cup finals.
"We didn't touch the trophy last year, and obviously we didn't have the result we wanted," Sidney Crosby said after winning the East in 2009. "We figured we'd touch it this year. Although we haven't accomplished exactly what we want, we still accomplished something here. You know, we can still enjoy it."
The Lightning did not touch the trophy last year. When they won Game 7 at Madison Square Garden, team captain Steven Stamkos posed with NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly in front of the trophy and then skated back to the bench area to join his team. Stamkos has been out of the lineup since March 31 and had surgery April 4, so the Lightning have been going with three assistant captains in his absence.
Stamkos’ actions last year were the opposite of a recent trend that’s developed -- taking a team photo around the conference championship trophy without touching it.
- The 2012 New Jersey Devils took a group photo after they won Game 6 at home in overtime to knock out their archrivals, the New York Rangers.
- The 2013 Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks each had a group photo taken when they won their respective clinchers at home.
- The 2014 Rangers did the same at home when they knocked out the Montreal Canadiens.
- The 2015 Chicago Blackhawks did it when they won Game 7 on the road against the Anaheim Ducks.
But does this really matter? In the past, Hockey Hall of Famers Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Steve Yzerman and Scott Stevens have put aside any talk of a jinx by touching the respective conference championship trophy. They have posed with it and, in some cases, skated with it. Here are video examples of those players:
1991 Wales Conference finals
The Penguins advanced to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in team history. Penguins captain Lemieux picked up the trophy and skated with it (check it out at around the three-minute mark). They went on to win the Stanley Cup finals in six games over the Minnesota North Stars.
1993 Campbell Conference finals
Gretzky scored a hat trick to help the Los Angeles Kings (and coach Barry Melrose) advance to their first Stanley Cup finals, winning Game 7 on the road against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Gretzky touched the trophy when it was presented in the Kings locker room.
1994 Eastern Conference finals
When the Rangers won the Eastern Conference championship in 1994, Messier grabbed the trophy and raised it up before posing with assistant captains Adam Graves and Brian Leetch. The Rangers went on to win their first Stanley Cup in 54 years.
1997 Western Conference finals
The Red Wings advanced to their second Stanley Cup finals in three years by defeating the Colorado Avalanche in six games. Captain Yzerman was presented the Campbell Conference Bowl and picked it up. The Red Wings swept the Flyers in four games to win the Stanley Cup.
2000 Eastern Conference finals
The Devils became the first team to come back from a 3-1 series deficit in the conference finals as they won Game 7 over the Flyers 2-1. Stevens, the Devils’ captain, picked up the trophy. The Devils went on to win the Cup in six games over the Dallas Stars.
2003 Eastern Conference finals
The Devils won in seven games over the Ottawa Senators to advance to the Stanley Cup finals. Stevens again touched the trophy, and the team took a picture with it. They went on to win their third Stanley Cup in team history. Announcer Gary Thorne makes mention of the tradition with the cup, and everything he thinks Stevens won’t do, Stevens does.
Beginning with the 2001 season, there have been 28 instances of a team having a chance to touch the conference championship trophy. Here are the results:
- Touch conference trophy: 4-5 in Stanley Cup finals
- Don’t touch conference trophy: 10-9 in Stanley Cup finals