Winning the Presidents' Trophy is an incredible accomplishment, but the ultimate goal for every NHL team is to win a Stanley Cup and surprisingly, winning the Presidents' Trophy hasn't translated to success in the playoffs.
The reason we bring this up right now is Monday night, the Lightning clinched the Presidents' Trophy for the first time in franchise history with a win over the Coyotes.
Every hockey fan would agree that Tampa Bay's the best team in the NHL, but the postseason is a totally different beast. Anything can happen and that's part of the reason we love playoff hockey.
Back to the Presidents' Trophy translating to postseason success, specifically winning the Stanley Cup, it doesn't happen as often as you might think as you'll see below.
The Presidents' Trophy was first awarded during the 1985/86 season. The winner of the trophy has gone on to win the Stanley Cup only eight times.
Furthermore, just three other teams that won the Presidents' Trophy managed to reach the Stanley Cup Final (Bruins 89/90, Red Wings 94/95, Canucks 2010/11)
If that isn't enough to scare Lightning fans, there are nearly as many teams that won the Presidents' Trophy and lost in the first round, six, than there are teams that won it and captured the Cup.
(H/T: Hockey Reference)
