Everyone wants to finish first, but finishing first in the season doesn’t always guarantee postseason success. But when it comes to the NHL, you’re almost better off going into the playoffs as the underdog than the top dog.
The Colorado Avalanche have a chance to clinch their third Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history on Thursday night and all they need to do is win the game. If they lose, the Presidents’ Trophy heads to Vegas and joins the Golden Knights’ trophy case for the first time.
However, as awesome as it is to finish the regular season as the best team in the league, only eight teams that won the Presidents’ Trophy went on to win the Stanley Cup in the history of the trophy’s existence, and the Colorado Avalanche are one of them.
1986-87 Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers were the best team in the 1986-87 NHL season, regular season and playoffs. They went 50-24-6 during the season and finished with 106 points, six points ahead of the second-place Philadelphia Flyers who they beat in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and were one of just two teams to hit the 100-point mark. You can probably guess who led the team and league in scoring that year, too (Hint: It was Wayne Gretzky).
1988-89 Calgary Flames
The second team to win the Presidents’ Trophy and the Stanley Cup in the same season also happened to be from Alberta as the Calgary Flames accomplished the feat during the 1988-89 season. Calgary edged Montreal for the Presidents’ Trophy that season as they finished 54-17-9 with 117 points, two more points than the Habs’ total. The two teams battled it out in the Stanley Cup Final that season, and the Flames ended their dominant season by capturing their first and only Stanley Cup in franchise history by topping the Canadiens in six games.
1993-94 New York Rangers
The New York Rangers captured their second Presidents’ Trophy in a three year span in 1993-94, but the second run was a much more successful run than the first one. New York won the Presidents’ Trophy in 1991-92 with 105 points, but the second time they captured the trophy they finished 52-24-8 with 112 points. You might also remember Mark Messier guaranteeing a win for the Rangers that year, and they certainly came through.
1998-99 Dallas Stars
If there was a time when winning the Presidents’ Trophy transferred into postseason success it was from 1998-99 to 2001-02. The Dallas Stars were the only team to lose fewer than 20 games in regulation that season and finished the season 51-19-12 with 114 points. As everyone knows thanks to the famous Brett Hull goal, the Stars beat the Buffalo Sabres - who finished seventh in the East - in six games for their first and only Stanley Cup title.
2000-01 Colorado Avalanche
This was the second Presidents’ Trophy in Colorado Avalanche franchise history, and like a few other teams on this list, the second run was much more successful. In a year full of dominant teams where five of the six division winners finished with 100+ points, the Avs finished a league-best 52-16-10-4 with 118 points. They capped off their incredible season by defeating the New Jersey Devils in seven games in the Stanley Cup Final for their second Stanley Cup in franchise history. If they can pull off the win on Thursday and go all the way, they’ll be the second team in NHL history to win the Presidents’ Trophy and the Stanley Cup in the same year more than once.
2001-02 Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are the only team in NHL history to win the Presidents’ Trophy and Stanley Cup in the same season more than once. The first time they did it was in 2001-02 and it was one of the years where everyone expected the league champions to win it all. The Red Wings finished 51-17-10-4 with 116 points, 17 more than the next best team in the West and 15 more than the second-best team in the NHL. The team basically had future Hall of Famers on every single line and some lines had more than one, so it was theirs to lose.
2007-08 Detroit Red Wings
A few years later they became the first team to accomplish the feat of winning both the Presidents’ Trophy and Stanley Cup in the same season. The Red Wings finished 54-21-7 with 115 points, and defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games in the Stanley Cup Final.
2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks
It’s been nearly 10 years since the team that won the Presidents’ Trophy went on to win the Stanley Cup in the same season. The 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks finished the shortened season with 12 combined losses in 48 games as they went 36-7-5 with 77 points, and topped the Pittsburgh Penguins by five points for the league title. By the time it was down to the final two it was the Blackawks and Penguins still standings, and it was Chicago who came out on top in six games in the Stanley Cup Final.
This year it’s either going to be the Colorado Avalanche or the Vegas Golden Knights for the Presidents’ Trophy. Whoever wins it, will they also go on to win the Stanley Cup?
