The President's Trophy deserves way more respect.

[VivaLasVegas]

Correct. The cup is about momentum and luck. The President's is about being the best hockey team.

Maybe and maybe not. A good team could win the President's Cup merely by staying healthy and playing the other good teams during times when they were going through injuries, i.e., luck of schedule, but that does not make them the best of the good teams. Also, the best team on the last day of the season may be a team that made some great TDL trades, but their record earlier in the season wasn't so hot. There is also the factor that some teams can play games against random opponents and do very well, but they then have difficulty in a long series against a single opponent.

By contrast, the playoffs involve only the top teams all playing in a compressed time period, and there are long series between each of the teams such that the winner that moves on probably was the better team between the two.

The President's Cup is a nice honor to be sure, but IMHO it's just not even roughly comparable to the Cup in prestige. One comes with a huge parade thrown by the City, the other comes with 10%-off coupons at Olive Garden (mmm, warm breadsticks).

 

[The Macho King]

It really doesn't. Presidents Trophy isn't the goal, so it impacts the behaviors of teams in the regular season. Playoffs players play through shit because they're playing for the Cup and leaving everything on the ice.

 

[JoVel]

the people who deride it are usually fans from teams that are at the bottom of the standings because in their mind they believe "Yeah you got the presidents trophy but you didn't get the cup, Meanwhile our team is getting a top pick in the draft so technically we are the winners! way to try hard LOSERS!"

I've never cared less about the President's trophy than I did about a week after the Lightning won it for the first and only time.

Not that I cared about it previously, but after that I care about even less.

 

[Rehabguy]

Big cheer…. Are you kidding me? What is that??”

 

[BKarchitect]

This is ‘Merica. The trophy for regular season points gets exactly as much respect as it deserves.

Hell, I’d rather my team at least get the Prince of Wales or Clarence over some regular season title.

 

[Xirik]

I've never cared less about the President's trophy than I did about a week after the Lightning won it for the first and only time.

Not that I cared about it previously, but after that I care about even less.

cool story bro.

 

[elmaco]

More like a 75% award (at the lowest) but

There's the regular season and then there's the playoffs. I consider them a separate experience.

 

[Grifter3511]

There's the regular season and then there's the playoffs. I consider them a separate experience.

That's fine. But one is 82 games and 7 months. The other is 28 games max and 7 weeks. That's not a halfway point

 

[Shev]

As an aside, comparisons between sports are often redundant. As a Brit, there are some key reasons why playoffs would not work in soccer, and why a "regular season championship" does.

Firstly, soccer is so exhausting that three days between games is the bare minimum (and tournaments tend to go with 4). Hockey is more physical but is in shifts, rather than 90 minutes of (mostly) running around like crazy. Any kind of post season series would take FOR EVER. Take the World Cup, where the winner plays 7 games, but over the course of a month.

Secondly, in the case of the Premier League, there are only 20 teams, meaning you can have a balanced 38 game home and away season against common opponents.

Thirdly - and very importantly - we have RELEGATION. Relegation serves more than one purpose, as besides flushing the three Cleveland Browns every season, it means most matches preserve meaning to the very end, as teams are desperately trying to avoid the drop while others try to win the league or qualify for Europe. In the NHL a regular season Stanley Cup would mean a MASSIVE amount of meaningless games at the business end of a season, as very few teams would be in the hunt.

Ultimately, soccer has developed over time into a nice rhythm. The various cups give you a chance to win something, but the different rounds are sprinkled as one-off games in the midst of the long league season. These cups have history in their own right, as small clubs in lower divisions may get drawn against a Premier league heavy weight, and even beat them. The FA Cup, for instance, dates to 1872, 16 years before the first league in 1888.

This is an interesting debate, but as far as soccer, it is apples and oranges.

Either way, I was at the parade for my Avs in 2022, so I can die happy on that count!

 

[VivaLasVegas]

That's fine. But one is 82 games and 7 months. The other is 28 games max and 7 weeks. That's not a halfway point

But one is meaningless other than clinching a playoff seeding and preparing for the part of the season that does matter. It might mean something to some fans who are terribly misguided about what is actually going on, but we can't worry about them.

 

[Mr Positive]

I get it, but the main issue is that many teams realize they want the cup more than everything so they build their teams in a way that isn't meant to succeed in the regular season, and even do things like rest players rather than win games. So it just doesn't feel quite as great

 

[983 others]

no it doesnt

nba/mlb/nfl dont give away lame trophies for "winning" the regular season for a reason

because its stupid and lame and nobody cares about it...just like the original six

 

[Grifter3511]

But one is meaningless other than clinching a playoff seeding and preparing for the part of the season that does matter. It might mean something to some fans who are terribly misguided about what is actually going on, but we can't worry about them.

That's irrelevant. That's not even what we're discussing. How is the start of the playoffs the EXACT halfway point of the season, which the poster I was discussing with stated?

 

[Brookbank]

Maybe and maybe not. A good team could win the President's Cup merely by staying healthy and playing the other good teams during times when they were going through injuries, i.e., luck of schedule, but that does not make them the best of the good teams. Also, the best team on the last day of the season may be a team that made some great TDL trades, but their record earlier in the season wasn't so hot. There is also the factor that some teams can play games against random opponents and do very well, but they then have difficulty in a long series against a single opponent.

By contrast, the playoffs involve only the top teams all playing in a compressed time period, and there are long series between each of the teams such that the winner that moves on probably was the better team between the two.

The President's Cup is a nice honor to be sure, but IMHO it's just not even roughly comparable to the Cup in prestige. One comes with a huge parade thrown by the City, the other comes with 10%-off coupons at Olive Garden (mmm, warm breadsticks).

You can't fake it till you make it or luck your way into a Presidents trophy. But that's what you're inferring. That's so not true.

There's a compressed schedule in the regular season too. And back to backs

Playoff match-ups can easily work in favour of certain teams with weaker match-ups. While 2 good teams eliminate one of each. It's a lot less meritocraric than you think

 

[Brookbank]

no it doesnt

nba/mlb/nfl dont give away lame trophies for "winning" the regular season for a reason

because its stupid and lame and nobody cares about it...just like the original six

The world doesn't revolve around north American sports.