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The Presidents' Trophy is an award presented by the National Hockey League to the team which finished with the best record in the entire league during the regular season. It was introduced at the start of the 1985-86 NHL season by the league's Board of Governors. Prior to, the best team in the league during the regular season was allowed to hang a banner stating "NHL League Champions", even though all Stanley Cup winners since 1947 were technically the NHL champions. The winning team is also awarded 350,000 Canadian dollars, to be shared between the team and its players. Ice hockey is the only one of the four major North American team sports that presents a formal award of this type to its top regular-season finisher, although the National Basketball Association does provide bonus money to the team that finishes best overall.

The award is regarded as the second most prestigious a hockey team can win, albeit a distant second to the Stanley Cup. Winning the award is very difficult, perhaps even more difficult than winning the Stanley Cup, as it is a competition of the entire league, each of which play 82 games between October and April.

While only about a third of all Presidents' Trophy winners have gone on to win the Stanley Cup, it remains the most likely position to produce the cup winner, as the Presidents' Trophy winner is guaranteed home-ice advantage in all four rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs, provided the team advances that far.

In the Original Six era, the same criterion now observed for winning the Presidents' Trophy was used to award the Prince of Wales Trophy. From 1967-68 through 1980-81, separate trophies were presented to the top regular-season finishers in each division (conference from the 1974-75 season onward) — the Prince of Wales Trophy for the first-place team in the Eastern Division (Wales Conference after 1974) and the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl for the corresponding team in the Western Division (Campbell Conference after 1974). However, no trophy was awarded to the team that finished with the best overall record in the entire league during this period, and no trophy at all was awarded based on the results of the regular season from the 1981-82 season through the 1984-85 season, the Wales and Campbell trophies having been transferred to the playoff champions of those conferences in 1981-82; a cash bonus was given to each player on the team with the league's best regular-season record during these years, to which the Presidents' Trophy was added in 1985-86.

The only team to have won the Presidents' Trophy more than twice is the Detroit Red Wings, with 5. However, the Montreal Canadiens have finished first overall the most times in league history: 21 times, plus a tie with the Toronto Arenas in 1917-18 (although none during the Presidents' Trophy era). Detroit is second with 17 first-overall finishes, and the Boston Bruins are third with 12.

(All Stanley Cup winners are in boldface type.)

Presidents' Trophy winners

Year Team Points Playoffs
2006 Detroit Red Wings 124 Points Lost Conference Quarterfinal (EDM)
2005 No winner due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout
2004 Detroit Red Wings 109 Points Lost Conference Semifinal (CGY)
2003 Ottawa Senators 113 Points Lost Conference Final (NJ)
2002 Detroit Red Wings 116 Points Won Stanley Cup (CAR)
2001 Colorado Avalanche 118 Points Won Stanley Cup (NJ)
2000 St. Louis Blues 114 Points Lost Conference Quarterfinal (SJ)
1999 Dallas Stars 114 Points Won Stanley Cup (BUF)
1998 Dallas Stars 109 Points Lost Conference Final (DET)
1997 Colorado Avalanche 107 Points Lost Conference Final (DET)
1996 Detroit Red Wings 131 Points Lost Conference Final (COL)
1995 Detroit Red Wings 70 Points Lost Stanley Cup Final (NJ)
1994 New York Rangers 112 Points Won Stanley Cup (VAN)
1993 Pittsburgh Penguins 119 Points Lost Division Final (NYI)
1992 New York Rangers 105 Points Lost Division Final (PIT)
1991 Chicago Blackhawks 106 Points Lost Division Semifinal (MIN)
1990 Boston Bruins 101 Points Lost Stanley Cup Final (EDM)
1989 Calgary Flames 117 Points Won Stanley Cup (MTL)
1988 Calgary Flames 105 Points Lost Division Final (EDM)
1987 Edmonton Oilers 106 Points Won Stanley Cup (PHI)
1986 Edmonton Oilers 119 Points Lost Division Final (CGY)

Regular season champions prior to the 1985-86 NHL season

References

National Hockey League trophies and awards

Presidents' Trophy | Trophée Président | Presidents' Trophy | Presidents' Trophy | Presidents' Trophy

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Presidents' Trophy".

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