Presidents' Trophy

The Presidents' Trophy (French:Trophée des présidents) is an award presented by the National Hockey League (NHL) to the team that finishes with the best record (i.e., most points) during the regular season. The Presidents' Trophy has been awarded 40 times to 19 different teams since its inception during the 1985–86 NHL season., with four active other teams having the best record before then, as well as two which no longer exist.

The trophy winner is the top-seeded team in the postseason which guarantees home-ice advantage in all rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs for as far as they can advance. Winning the award does not assure playoff success, as only eight winners have gone on to win the Stanley Cup; three Presidents' Trophy winners have been defeated in the Stanley Cup Final. Nonetheless, the team winning the trophy has won the Cup more than any other playoff seed. The most recent team to win both the trophy and the Stanley Cup in the same season is the 2012–13 Chicago Blackhawks; the only team to accomplish this feat more than once is the Detroit Red Wings (2002 and 2008).

History

The trophy was introduced at the start of the 1985–86season by the League's Board of Governors to recognize the best team in the regular season, informally known as the regular-season championship. Before this, the team that finished in first place when the regular season concluded was allowed to hang a banner reading "NHL League Champions."

A total of 18 teams have won the Presidents' Trophy. The Detroit Red Wings have won six Presidents' Trophies, the most of any team. The Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, and Colorado Avalanche are tied for second with four.

If there are two or more teams tied for first in points in the League, then the NHL's standard tiebreaking procedure is applied, with the first tiebreaker being the team with the most regulation wins (that is, all games won except those won in overtime or in a shootout). During the shortened 2020–21season, both the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights finished tied for first with 82 points in 56 games, with Colorado winning the trophy since they had 35 regulation wins while Vegas had 30. From the 2010–11 through 2018–19 seasons, the first tiebreaker was most regulation and overtime wins. Before 2010, the first tiebreaker was the most wins, including both overtime and shootout wins. The most notable of the pre-2010–11 protocol is from the 2006–07season, where both the Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings finished tied first with 113 points, with the Sabres winning the Trophy since they had 53 wins, three more than Detroit, who had 50.

Past trophies

From 1937 to 1967, the same criterion now observed for winning the Presidents' Trophy was used to award the Prince of Wales Trophy. With the modern era expansion in the 1967–68season and the creation of the West Division, the Wales Trophy was awarded to the team that finished in first place in the East Division during the regular season. 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 through 1984–85 seasons. A cash bonus of $350,000 was awarded to the winning team with the NHL's best regular season record during these years, to which the Presidents' Trophy was added in 1985–86. The cash bonus is split amongst the players on the active roster of the winning team.

Factoring all NHL seasons prior to the introduction of the Presidents' Trophy, the Montreal Canadiens have finished first overall 21 times, the most times in League history (although this was most recently accomplished in 1977–78, before the Trophy was introduced; since its inception, the Canadiens have been Presidents' runners-up three times, in 1987–88, 1988–89, and 2014–15). Detroit is second with 18 first-overall finishes.

Playoff implications

"It is the reality of the sport. If your particular strength happens to be that you're really good offensively, and you come up against a hot goaltender and a team that is stout defensively, it might not matter that you were good on a nightly basis scoring goals. And that one particular opponent: you'll have to beat them four times."

The Presidents' Trophy winner is normally guaranteed home-ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs as the top seed. This does not necessarily correlate to success in the playoffs, however. The Trophy has been awarded 37 times, but only eight of the winners have gone on to win the Stanley Cup in their respective years, leading to a popular superstition that the Trophy may be cursed. In addition, eight Presidents' Trophy winners have been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, with first-round upsets being common in the NHL compared to other major professional sports. Since the salary cap era of the NHL from 2005–06 onwards the first-placed NHL team has had the lowest probability of winning the playoff championship, compared to the other three North American major professional sports leagues (NBA, MLB, and NFL).

NHL broadcaster Darren Eliot attributes the apparent lack of playoff success to the different style of competition compared to the regular season: instead of playing different teams every night, the goal is to advance through four best-of-seven playoff series. The Presidents' Trophy winner may have to go through other playoff clubs who might have a hotter goaltender, a better defensive team or other players that pose match-up problems. If the regular season champion's primary success was merely outscoring others, they may be out of luck facing goaltenders that can shut them out. The lack of playoff experience may have been to blame in the examples of the 1999–2000 St. Louis Blues and 2008–09 San Jose Sharks, as neither team had advanced past the second round for five or more seasons. Teams have often given up pursuit of finishing first in the League in order to avoid injuries and rest key players for the postseason.

Ian Cooper, writing for the Toronto Star, noted that "of 11 Presidents' Trophy winners to lose in the first two rounds, seven came from divisions that were among the league's weaker half ... If a team dominates a weak division, its shortcomings should become apparent once it faces stiffer competition from the rest of the conference". Jonathan Weiss, writing for the Bleacher Report in 2010, also noted that of the teams between 1982 and 2009 that led the League in points during the regular season, 12 of them (45 per cent) reached the Stanley Cup Final, while of the other 405 teams during that same time period, only 42 (10 per cent) advanced to the final round, concluding that "the team that leads the NHL in regular season points is four to five times more likely than any other team in the playoffs to make it into the Stanley Cup Final, and seven to eight times more likely to win the Cup".

The Detroit Red Wings were considered an example of the Presidents' Trophy curse in the 1990s, as they reached the 1995 Stanley Cup Final only to be swept in four games by the underdog New Jersey Devils. The Red Wings went on to win their second straight Presidents' Trophy in their record-setting 1995–96 season, but they were defeated by the newly relocated Colorado Avalanche in the conference finals, sparking a particularly vicious rivalry between the two teams in subsequent seasons. In the 1996–97 season, the Avalanche were the defending Cup champions and won the Presidents' Trophy but lost the conference finals which was a rematch against the Red Wings who went on to win the Cup. The Red Wings would go onto the defeat the Presidents' Trophy-winning Dallas Stars in the 1998 Western Conference finals, en route to the Red Wings' second straight Cup win. Thereafter, in three of four seasons, the Presidents' Trophy winning team went on to win the Stanley Cup (Stars in 1999, Avalanche in 2001, and Red Wings in 2002).

Since the Blackhawks won the Presidents' Trophy and Stanley Cup in the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season, the "curse" has been more pronounced. The 2018–19 Tampa Bay Lightning were swept in the first round by the Wild Card Columbus Blue Jackets after a dominant season in which they tied the 1995–96 Detroit Red Wings' record for regular season wins, becoming the first Presidents' Trophy winner to suffer this fate. Adding to the ignominy was the Blue Jackets' previous lack of postseason success, as their sweep of the Lightning was their first playoff series victory in franchise history, with only four previous playoff qualifications. By contrast, the Lightning had made several deep playoff runs in the previous seasons (including a Cup Final appearance in 2015). Over the next three years, the Lightning did not win the Presidents' Trophy but nevertheless won two consecutive Stanley Cups while reaching a third consecutive Stanley Cup Final. For the 2022–23 Boston Bruins; after setting new records for single-season wins and points, they proceeded to lose in the first round in seven games to the Florida Panthers after having led the series three games to one. The Panthers were incidentally the previous season's Presidents' Trophy winners, where their 2021–22 season ended when they were swept in the second round by the Lightning (en route to the Lightning's third consecutive Finals appearance). The curse resurfaced in 2026, as the 2025–26 Colorado Avalanche entered the 2026 Western Conference final having gone 8–1 through the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs. However, they were then swept by the Vegas Golden Knights, who had entered the series as a major underdog; despite winning the Pacific Division, Vegas finished the regular season 26 points behind Colorado. Since the introduction of the salary cap in the 2005–06season, just two Presidents' Trophy winners (the 2007–08 Red Wings and 2012–13 Blackhawks) have won the Stanley Cup in the same season.

Only five times in the history of the Presidents' Trophy has a team missed the playoffs the season after winning the award: the New York Rangers did it twice, who won the Trophy in the 1991–92season and missed the playoffs in 1992–93 (and then rebounded to win both the Presidents' Trophy and Stanley Cup in 1993–94), however, they did it again when they won the Trophy in the 2023–24season and missed the playoffs in 2024–25; the Buffalo Sabres, who won the Trophy in the 2006–07season and missed the playoffs in 2007–08; the Boston Bruins, who won the Trophy in the 2013–14season and missed the playoffs in 2014–15 despite having a winning record; and the Winnipeg Jets, who won the Trophy in the 2024–25season and missed the playoffs in the {{NHL Year|2025|app=season]], the first time the reigning Presidents' Trophy winner missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Boston Bruins only played 70 games when the 2019–20 season regular season was suspended, but were atop the standings and so received the Presidents' Trophy. Under the special 2020 playoff format that was then conducted, with a round-robin tournament for the top four teams in each conference, the Bruins were not guaranteed home-ice advantage in all postseason rounds.

Winners

*	Team won the Stanley Cup.
^	Team lost in the Stanley Cup Final.
#	Team lost in the first round of the playoffs.
Eventual champion	Indicates the series winner won (or went on to win) the championship.

Bold Team with the most points ever accumulated in a season during the trophy's existence.

Year	Winner	Points	Margin	Win #	Playoff result
Points	Games
1985–86	Edmonton Oilers	119	9	—N/a	1	Lost division finals (CGY)
1986–87	Edmonton Oilers	106	6	—N/a	2	Won Stanley Cup (PHI)*
1987–88	Calgary Flames	105	2	—N/a	1	Lost division finals (EDM)
1988–89	Calgary Flames	117	2	—N/a	2	Won Stanley Cup (MTL)*
1989–90	Boston Bruins	101	2	—N/a	1	Lost Stanley Cup Final (EDM)^
1990–91	Chicago Blackhawks	106	1	—N/a	1	Lost division semifinals (MNS)#
1991–92	New York Rangers	105	7	—N/a	1	Lost division finals (PIT)
1992–93	Pittsburgh Penguins	119	10	—N/a	1	Lost division finals (NYI)
1993–94	New York Rangers	112	6	—N/a	2	Won Stanley Cup (VAN)*
1994–95	Detroit Red Wings	070	5	—N/a	1	Lost Stanley Cup Final (NJD)^
1995–96	Detroit Red Wings	131	27	—N/a	2	Lost conference finals (COL)
1996–97	Colorado Avalanche	107	3	—N/a	1	Lost conference finals (DET)
1997–98	Dallas Stars	109	2	—N/a	1	Lost conference finals (DET)
1998–99	Dallas Stars	114	9	—N/a	2	Won Stanley Cup (BUF)*
1999–2000	St. Louis Blues	114	6	—N/a	1	Lost conference quarterfinals (SJS)#
2000–01	Colorado Avalanche	118	7	—N/a	2	Won Stanley Cup (NJD)*
2001–02	Detroit Red Wings	116	15	—N/a	3	Won Stanley Cup (CAR)*
2002–03	Ottawa Senators	113	2	—N/a	1	Lost conference finals (NJD)
2003–04	Detroit Red Wings	109	3	—N/a	4	Lost conference semifinals (CGY)
2004–05	Season cancelled due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout
2005–06	Detroit Red Wings	124	11	—N/a	5	Lost conference quarterfinals (EDM)#
2006–07	Buffalo Sabres	113	0	3	1	Lost conference finals (OTT)
2007–08	Detroit Red Wings	115	7	—N/a	6	Won Stanley Cup (PIT)*
2008–09	San Jose Sharks	117	1	—N/a	1	Lost conference quarterfinals (ANA)#
2009–10	Washington Capitals	121	8	—N/a	1	Lost conference quarterfinals (MTL)#
2010–11	Vancouver Canucks	117	10	—N/a	1	Lost Stanley Cup Final (BOS)^
2011–12	Vancouver Canucks	111	2	—N/a	2	Lost conference quarterfinals (LAK)#
2012–13	Chicago Blackhawks	77	5	—N/a	2	Won Stanley Cup (BOS)*
2013–14	Boston Bruins	117	1	—N/a	2	Lost second round (MTL)
2014–15	New York Rangers	113	3	—N/a	3	Lost conference finals (TBL)
2015–16	Washington Capitals	120	11	—N/a	2	Lost second round (PIT)
2016–17	Washington Capitals	118	7	—N/a	3	Lost second round (PIT)
2017–18	Nashville Predators	117	3	—N/a	1	Lost second round (WPG)
2018–19	Tampa Bay Lightning	128	21	—N/a	1	Lost first round (CBJ)#
2019–20	Boston Bruins	100	6	—N/a	3	Lost second round (TBL)
2020–21	Colorado Avalanche	82	0	5 (RW)	3	Lost second round (VGK)
2021–22	Florida Panthers	122	3	—N/a	1	Lost second round (TBL)
2022–23	Boston Bruins	135	22	—N/a	4	Lost first round (FLA)#
2023–24	New York Rangers	114	1	—N/a	4	Lost conference finals (FLA)
2024–25	Winnipeg Jets	116	5	—N/a	1	Lost second round (DAL)
2025–26	Colorado Avalanche	121	8	—N/a	4	Lost conference finals (VGK)

There have been 14 Presidents' Trophy winners who lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champion, three of which were in the Stanley Cup Final itself.

Earlier best records

For reference, the following are teams that finished with the best records in the NHL for each season between 1917–18 and 1984–85.

NHL vs. PCHA/WCHL/WHL Stanley Cup era (1917–1926)

Prior to 1926–27, the Stanley Cup was then awarded as a "World Series" trophy between the champions of the NHL and a rival league (first the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, then the Western Canada Hockey League). Instead, the NHL championship trophy during this era was the O'Brien Trophy.

From 1917–18 to 1920–21, the NHL season was split, requiring separate standings, with a single playoff series between the winner of the first half of the season and the winner of the second half of the season.

Year	Winner	Points	Playoff result
1917–18	Toronto Hockey Club	26	NHL champions, won Stanley Cup†
1918–19	Ottawa Senators	24	Lost NHL championship (MTL)^
1919–20	Ottawa Senators	38	NHL champions, won Stanley Cup†
1920–21	Toronto St. Patricks	30	Lost NHL championship (SEN)^
1921–22	Ottawa Senators	30	Lost NHL championship (TSP)^
1922–23	Ottawa Senators	29	NHL champions, won Stanley Cup†
1923–24	Ottawa Senators	32	Lost NHL championship (MTL)^
1924–25	Hamilton Tigers	39	Suspended from playoffs
1925–26	Ottawa Senators	52	Lost NHL final round (MMR)^

NHL takes control of the Stanley Cup (since 1927)

After the 1925–26 season, the NHL became the only league left competing for the Stanley Cup. The Stanley Cup thus became the de facto NHL championship trophy, though the league did not take formal control of the trophy until 1947.

The Prince of Wales Trophy was awarded from 1938–39 to 1966–67 for the entire league regular season. In the 59 season span from the 1926-27 season to the 1984-85 season, 37 regular season champions reached the Stanley Cup Final and 30 won the Finals.

Year	Winner	Points	Playoff result
1926–27	Ottawa Senators	64	Won Stanley Cup*
1927–28	Montreal Canadiens	59	Lost semifinals (MMR)#
1928–29	Montreal Canadiens	59	Lost semifinals (BOS)#
1929–30	Boston Bruins	77	Lost Stanley Cup Final (MTL)^
1930–31	Boston Bruins	62	Lost semifinals (MTL)#
1931–32	Montreal Canadiens	57	Lost semifinals (NYR)#
1932–33	Boston Bruins	58	Lost semifinals (TOR)#
1933–34	Toronto Maple Leafs	61	Lost semifinals (DET)#
1934–35	Toronto Maple Leafs	64	Lost Stanley Cup Final (MMR)^
1935–36	Detroit Red Wings	56	Won Stanley Cup*
1936–37	Detroit Red Wings	59	Won Stanley Cup*
1937–38	Boston Bruins	67	Lost semifinals (TOR)#
1938–39	Boston Bruins	74	Won Stanley Cup*
1939–40	Boston Bruins	67	Lost semifinals (NYR)#
1940–41	Boston Bruins	67	Won Stanley Cup*
1941–42	New York Rangers	60	Lost semifinals (TOR)#
1942–43	Detroit Red Wings	61	Won Stanley Cup*
1943–44	Montreal Canadiens	83	Won Stanley Cup*
1944–45	Montreal Canadiens	80	Lost semifinals (TOR)#
1945–46	Montreal Canadiens	61	Won Stanley Cup*
1946–47	Montreal Canadiens	78	Lost Stanley Cup Final (TOR)^
1947–48	Toronto Maple Leafs	77	Won Stanley Cup*
1948–49	Detroit Red Wings	75	Lost Stanley Cup Final (TOR)^
1949–50	Detroit Red Wings	88	Won Stanley Cup*
1950–51	Detroit Red Wings	101	Lost semifinals (MTL)#
1951–52	Detroit Red Wings	100	Won Stanley Cup*
1952–53	Detroit Red Wings	90	Lost semifinals (BOS)#
1953–54	Detroit Red Wings	88	Won Stanley Cup*
1954–55	Detroit Red Wings	95	Won Stanley Cup*
1955–56	Montreal Canadiens	100	Won Stanley Cup*
1956–57	Detroit Red Wings	88	Lost semifinals (BOS)#
1957–58	Montreal Canadiens	96	Won Stanley Cup*
1958–59	Montreal Canadiens	91	Won Stanley Cup*
1959–60	Montreal Canadiens	92	Won Stanley Cup*
1960–61	Montreal Canadiens	92	Lost semifinals (CHI)#
1961–62	Montreal Canadiens	98	Lost semifinals (CHI)#
1962–63	Toronto Maple Leafs	82	Won Stanley Cup*
1963–64	Montreal Canadiens	85	Lost semifinals (TOR)#
1964–65	Detroit Red Wings	87	Lost semifinals (CHI)#
1965–66	Montreal Canadiens	90	Won Stanley Cup*
1966–67	Chicago Black Hawks	94	Lost semifinals (TOR)#
1967–68	Montreal Canadiens	94	Won Stanley Cup*
1968–69	Montreal Canadiens	103	Won Stanley Cup*
1969–70	Chicago Black Hawks	99	Lost semifinals (BOS)#
1970–71	Boston Bruins	121	Lost quarterfinals (MTL)#
1971–72	Boston Bruins	119	Won Stanley Cup*
1972–73	Montreal Canadiens	120	Won Stanley Cup*
1973–74	Boston Bruins	113	Lost Stanley Cup Final (PHI)^
1974–75	Philadelphia Flyers	113	Won Stanley Cup*
1975–76	Montreal Canadiens	127	Won Stanley Cup*
1976–77	Montreal Canadiens	132	Won Stanley Cup*
1977–78	Montreal Canadiens	129	Won Stanley Cup*
1978–79	New York Islanders	116	Lost semifinals (NYR)#
1979–80	Philadelphia Flyers	116	Lost Stanley Cup Final (NYI)^
1980–81	New York Islanders	110	Won Stanley Cup*
1981–82	New York Islanders	118	Won Stanley Cup*
1982–83	Boston Bruins	110	Lost conference finals (NYI)#
1983–84	Edmonton Oilers	119	Won Stanley Cup*
1984–85	Philadelphia Flyers	113	Lost Stanley Cup Final (EDM)^

Records