Definition of President's Trophy Curse

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What does the term "President's Trophy curse" mean in the world of the NHL? What is meant by the President's Trophy curse?

The "President's Trophy" has been given out to the NHL team with the best regular season record since 1985-86.

The "President's Trophy Curse" refers to the fact that the teams that have won the trophy have historically done VERY poorly in the postseason.

Since the President's Trophy inception, only 8 of the 37 teams that received the trophy ended up winning the Stanley Cup that season.

This is a shockingly low number given that these teams did so well in the regular season.

Seven President's Trophy winners - 2023 Boston Bruins, 2019 Tampa Bay Lightning, 2012 Vancouver Canucks, 2010 Washington Capitals, 2009 San Jose Sharks, 2006 Detroit Red Wings, 2000 St. Louis Blues - have lost in the first round.

This is the "President's Trophy Curse".

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The last winner of the President's Trophy that went on to win the Stanley Cup was the 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks.

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So - why the "Curse"?

Some people believe that if you win the President's Trophy, this must mean that you spent too much energy in the regular season notching wins, leaving nothing for the playoffs.

Some people believe that there is simply too much parity in the league these days, and it's exceedingly hard to win four straight playoff series against four very good teams.

Whatever the case, winning the President's Trophy is certainly no guarantee that a team will win the Stanley Cup that season.

Far from it.