Winning the President’s Trophy a fortnight ago, and now, the Jets are fighting elimination in the playoff 1st round. What will happen if they lose to the Blues in the final game of the series? It’s an upset for sure, the President’s Trophy winner bowing out in the 1st round of the playoffs. How many saw that coming? Well, ask the real hockey fans and they will give you an expression that totally says, “Is it happening again?” In fact, the real question for the NHL fans is: Is the Presidents’ Cup curse real? But for that, first, we have to take a short history lesson.
What is the President’s Trophy in the NHL?
In the NHL, the postseason culminates in one team lifting the Stanley Cup. It is the ultimate Cup, a trophy that validates a team’s triumph across the whole NHL for a particular season. But before the postseason starts, there’s the regular season, where each of the 32 teams plays 82 games to fight for a place in the 16-team postseason playoffs.
32 teams are divided equally into 2 Conferences (East and West). Each Conference is divided equally into 2 divisions. Meaning there are 4 divisions. And in a league format, each team plays out 82 games after which, based on points won, 16 teams progress to the Stanley Cup battle. But before the playoffs start, some trophies are given out, like the 4 Division Championship winners. And along with that, the President’s Trophy.
The team that scores the highest points in the regular season, irrespective of divisions, gets awarded the President’s Trophy. In 2025, it is the Winnipeg Jets with 116 points. The other 3 Division winners couldn’t match the Jets’ tally – (The Capitals with 111, the Maple Leafs with 108, and the Knights with 110). And this Trophy gets given out season after season to honor the ‘best-performing’ team in the regular season.
So, now that we have an understanding of it, let’s dive into the real mystery.
What is the alleged curse associated with the President’s Trophy?
Well, the basis of the curse is that the President’s Trophy winner is the ‘best-performing’ team in the NHL and should be the favorites to win the Stanley Cup. Well, to be honest, you wouldn’t exactly disagree with that logic, would you? That means the Jets are the best team in the league and should win this year’s Stanley Cup. Well, then, why are they struggling to clear the postseason 1st round?
Why didn’t the last 11 Presidents’ Trophy winners win the Stanley Cup? The last team that won the Presidents’ Trophy and also went on to win the Stanley Cup was the Chicago Blackhawks. But this feat also comes with an asterisk. The season was shortened, with a 48-game regular season for each team. In total, since the official introduction of the President’s Trophy in the 1985-86 season, only 8 teams have done the President’s Trophy Stanley Cup double.
Damning, isn’t it? And in recent times, the ‘curse’ has seemed to be less an urban myth, and more a real Jinx for the team winning it. Why else would the magnificent Bruins of the 2022-23 season finish the regular season with 135 points, the highest point tally in the history of the NHL regular season, and get eliminated in the immediate 1st round of the playoffs?
The same thing happened to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2018-19 season, if not more shocking. You be the judge. With 62 wins and 128 points, they won the Presidents’ Trophy. And in the playoff 1st round, they lost the series 4-0 straight to the Columbus Blue Jackets and got eliminated. At least the Bruins of 2022-23 took 7 games to be eliminated.
In the first 4 seasons since its introduction, the President’s Trophy Stanley Cup double success rate was at 50%, done by the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames once each. Then, it took 5 seasons before the New York Rangers won the double in 1993-94. Next, in 1998-99, by the Dallas Stars. It seemed the Colorado Avalanche and the Detroit Red Wings had ended the myth of the so-called curse by doing the double in back-to-back seasons from 2000 to 2002.
But again, the curious case of the President’s Trophy misfortune started. And it has intensified ever since. So much so that fans almost feel that winning the President’s Trophy is a coffin nail to your Stanley Cup aspirations. 50% of the time, the President’s Trophy winner fails to clear the 2nd round. Will the Winnipeg Jets join that cursed list?
More importantly, is there really a ‘curse’? Are the best team in the regular season really destined to fail?
Is there factual evidence that backs the President’s Cup curse claim?
Before the President’s Trophy was introduced. There was the Prince of Wales Trophy. We won’t go into the details of that Trophy’s origin and the history of its evolution. But one thing that can be said is that it was given the regular season champion. Even when the NHL had only 1 division, had just 6 teams playing, or even after the league expanded in 1967, till 1985.
The majority of the time, the Prince of Wales Trophy went on to win the Stanley Cup. It may not have been a 100% success rate, or maybe not 80%, but it surely wasn’t 8 times in 4 decades. To give you a better understanding, from 1967 to 1985, the team with the most points in the regular season won it 10 times. So, what changed? Is there really a curse?
Well, first we have to look at how the NHL was before 1985. Smaller leagues, no salary caps. When it’s only 1 division, it doesn’t matter if there’s a regular season champion or a Stanley Cup winner. It’s the same league with teams competing against one another. The one who wins the regular season is expected to again beat the same teams it will face in the postseason.
In addition, no salary cap meant that the strong could become stronger. But now, the NHL teams operate under a cap ceiling, meaning they have to innovate to remain ahead. And the biggest issue is the perception of being the ‘best team’. Is the President’s Trophy winner truly the best? The Jets won the Central Division with 116 points. But is it the most competitive division in the NHL?
A team can statpad in a weak division and get the President’s Trophy. But when it meets stronger opponents from other divisions, of course, it will.be challenged. Sources show that since the 2017-18 season, half the time the President’s Trophy winner comes from divisions that had the lowest scoring team in the league, too. When a President’s Trophy winner plays in a weak division, the points tally gets inflated.
Then that’s not the strongest team, is it? In fact, the team that wins a more competitive division, despite not winning the President’s Trophy, becomes the team most likely to go a long way in the quest for the Stanley Cup. This season, the Jets have 116 points. But the Capitals have 111 in the Metropolitan Division.
The Atlantic Division had the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, and defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers. All 3 have qualified as the top 3. And the Toronto Maple Leafs scored 108 points. Isn’t Maple Leafs’ 108 worth more than the Jets’ 116? It’s difficult and even wrong, maybe, to speculate like that. But winning a more competitive division takes more quality, quality that you need to win the Stanley Cup.
Not to mention, the salary cap introduction from 2006 makes teams more or less equal. You can win the President’s Trophy, but that doesn’t mean you are head and shoulders above the rest. So, maybe the President’s Trophy curse is a myth. But then, why did the Bruins of 2022-23 or 2018-19 Tampa Bay get eliminated in the first round of the playoffs? First-round elimination against a wildcard team. Makes one think.
Well, let’s see what happens to the Jets’ 2025 postseason fate.
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