The President's Trophy deserves way more respect.

[Juxta Position]

The Caps were a long-time bridesmaid in the 2009-2017 period, and it was only after winning the Cup that this sort of take began to sound even remotely reasonable. Until then, it was excruciating being excellent until the playoffs and then bowing out early.

The Cup win rounds out an era, and only then can you appreciate how consistently good a team was for a long stretch. Take away that validation, though, and it's very bittersweet.

The Nationals had the same sort of trajectory over the same period in DC. Very good for a very long time, no postseason success. Then both the Caps and Nats won 15 months apart.

San Jose in the Thornton Marleau era basically.

 

[Jeune Poulet]

The President's trophy is meaningless because the NHL makes the regular season almost meaningless.

There are several ways to chop the regular season into smaller bits, increase the stakes of each games, the stakes of divisional games, etc... and make entry into playoffs a lot more interesting. Each week should be interesting, each week of regular season should be its own story.

But the NHL hasn't caught up to that fact yet. It will eventually.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Yes. Players coast through a regular season. In the playoffs they try give 100% in each moment on the ice.

The intensity is different but saying they're coasting is an insult to them. And 7 games is 7 games. The Bruins had 50% more wins than the Panthers in the regular season. Unless the Panthers played at 50% of the intensity in the regular season I call bullshit.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

No thanks take it to a basketball or MLB forum maybe

 

[tarheelhockey]

It is a great accomplishment, but unless you win the cup also it is quickly forgotten. When Boston got eliminated that one season by Florida in the first round, it completely negated their President's trophy win (and historic season).

At the same time, they would have been negated just as much if they had lost in Finals Game 7 OT. Like the 16-0 Patriots losing the Super Bowl on a last minute drive. As a historically good team they only had two options: GOAT or choke. No in between.

Most years, it isn’t like that. The regular season champion is a good team but not 135 points good or 16-0 good.

 

[Ace Card Bedard]

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

It’s just the mindset with North American sports. If you don’t win the playoffs tournament you’re not worth jack shit you might as well come in last place

Yes, I can seriously claim that they've been more successful than the Capitals AND the Bruins.

To parrot @Jumptheshark winning the cup is everything. The ultimate goal of every player and every team is to win the cup. More cups = more success.

The cup is the ultimate goal. I'm sure nearly every player would trade 10 President's trophies for a single Stanley Cup victory. There are varying degrees of success which are lower than winning a cup, but the Cup is everything when it comes down to it.

I feel like the President's Trophy gets the right amount of respect. It's nice to have a good regular season, but without a cup it's meaningless.

Edit to add: I do love your Ocelot picture by the way.

It’s like the Packers with Rodgers vs the Giants with Manning.

Giants were mid af, shit a lot of the time, but went on 2 crazy fluke runs. Packers top of the NFC every year but only won that 1 Super Bowl

 

[cbcwpg]

If the players don't care... why should I?

 

[josra33]

Quick was awesome and a big reason they dusted each team quickly, but the Kings were the better team each series. He deserved the Smythe but the OPs “entirely on the back of Quick” is a big exaggeration

I completely disagree. Quick made many saves early in the games that prevented them from going down 2 or 3 throughout the entire playoffs.

 

[x Tame Impala]

European soccer leagues determine champions by season standings and don't have playoffs.

Yeah and who the f*** would ever want that? It sounds stupid and awful.

They should make it so the PT winner needs only 3 wins in the first round instead of 4 or something to give it any real meaning. This is North America. We care about playoffs and championships, not regular season champions.

 

[Master P]

Hey mods, can we pin the thread about the Rangers Regular Season Champions Banner to the top of the site.

As a sign of respect for how incredible their achievement was?

Rangers Raise “Regular season Champions” banner.

The Bruins used to have individual banners for division champs, etc (mostly to compete with all the Celtics championship banners) but have since consolidated it to 1 banner for each non Cup milestone and they list the years Cool BINGO card.

forums.hfboards.com

 

[Derailed75]

Teams should keep up with who wins the preseason championship and put up a banner, also I think the "We won the TDL" banner would be sweet. And who can forget the "Champion of the off-season moves ring"

 

[kerrabria]

This is a really embarrassing thread lol

why?

Presidents Trophy awards the most wins

 

[The Pale King]

I agree with this take. Why is the regular season so goddamn long if it is essentially meaningless beyond establishing seeding for the playoffs?

Fans need to realize that with 32 teams, the bar for "successful season" doesn't have to be a Stanley Cup.

 

[BB79]

Can anybody seriously claim that they've been more successful than the Capitals and Bruins? Does anybody really believe that they're more comparable to the Lightning and Blackhawks than the Blues and Red Wings?

You beat our asses in our first 2 meetings of the season now you troll us with this? Man...

Not sure if this is trolling or not but as a Bruins fan (or fan of any team for that matter) I'd take Tampa Bay's playoff success/Cups over Presidents trophy banners all day.

I see it as the opposite- winning the President's trophy is more of a curse that means your team ain't winning shit in the playoffs

 

[kerrabria]

You beat our asses in our first 2 meetings of the season now you troll us with this? Man...

Not sure if this is trolling or not but as a Bruins fan (or fan of any team for that matter) I'd take Tampa Bay's playoff success/Cups over Presidents trophy banners all day.

I see it as the opposite- winning the President's trophy is more of a curse that means your team ain't winning shit in the playoffs

1) I’m not trolling
2) of course you’d take Tampa’s success, they’ve won two cups, four ECFs, and a Presidents trophy
3) I don’t understand why you would rather see your team lose more games and have not trophy rather than win more games and have a compensatory trophy.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

It’s just the mindset with North American sports. If you don’t win the playoffs tournament you’re not worth jack shit you might as well come in last place


It’s like the Packers with Rodgers vs the Giants with Manning.

Giants were mid af, shit a lot of the time, but went on 2 crazy fluke runs. Packers top of the NFC every year but only won that 1 Super Bowl

Solid comparison. Im sure Rodgers and every packers player would trade all those other seasons for 2 Super Bowl rings.

Also, calling those runs Flukes is unfair. Those Giants teams got it done and beat the then almost immortal Patriots.

End of the day though, they won it all.

 

[MadLuke]

I see it as the opposite- winning the President's trophy is more of a curse that means your team ain't winning shit in the playoffs

Which is a bit of a strange superstition, the best cup-winning record among playoff is seed is the team that finish first.

8 win in 37 years, 16 playoff run, that not really bad, not special but maybe even good, not enough math instinct to know, they won more than second and third combined...

In reverse, we have the opposite saying about once you get in the tournament anything is possible, yet seed 14-15-16 never won and outside the top 10 won 2 cups in 37 years.

 

[Harvey Birdman]

It might be just copium but there's a ton of random variance in a seven game series between two good teams that can swing a result. But over an 82 game sample size you have a good picture of he quality of the team.

European soccer leagues determine champions by season standings and don't have playoffs.

It comes down to what the ultimate goal is. If there were no playoffs like in European football. Then the Presidents Trophy would hold the same amount of prestige as the Stanely Cup. But there are playoffs. So the Stanely Cup is the trophy that matters most. Unless magically the NHL got rid of the playoffs it will always be Presidents Trophy plays a 2nd fiddle across a large divide to the Stanley Cup. It will always be the participation ribbon of awards as long as the playoffs and Stanely Cup exist.

 

[RogerRogerr]

The year we won the President trophy, our play style was exhilarating and so hyped. I was a lot of fun to watch the games. But it's the regular season, the stakes are low, and tension is nonexistent. The season wouldn't have been less fun if they had been the runner up for the President.
Winning the Cup is incomparable in terms of joy and how cathartic it was. And the thrill of the playoffs, hope, despair, ecstasy. It all matters so much more.