NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly presented the trophy to captain Steven Stamkos and assistant captains Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh and Alex Killorn following a 2-1 win against the New York Rangers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final at Amalie Arena in Tampa on Saturday. Stamkos, Hedman and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy each touched the trophy before Stamkos picked it up and carried it off the ice.
"Listen, you earn that trophy and there's a lot of sacrifice that goes into winning the trophy. You want to celebrate it," Stamkos said. "It's so rare to do it and we've been so fortunate to do it three times in a row now. So we're going to enjoy the night, be proud of ourselves and then get to work tomorrow.
"It's something to be proud of, embrace it, and share it with everyone that's helped you to get here. That's kind of been our motto the last couple of years."
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The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning touched the Prince of Wales Trophy each of the past two seasons. They defeated the Dallas Stars in six games in 2020 and the Montreal Canadiens in five in 2021.
In 2015, when Stamkos didn't touch it, the Lightning lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games in the Cup Final. In 2004, captain Dave Andreychuk didn't lift it, and the Lightning went on to defeat the Calgary Flames in seven games.
Five of the past six teams to win the Cup have touched the Prince of Wales Trophy. Prior to 2020, Sidney Crosby touched it in 2016 and in 2017 before helping the Pittsburgh Penguins win the Cup each season, and Alex Ovechkin did the same for the 2018 Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals.
The tradition of not touching the Prince of Wales Trophy hasn't worked out well for Eastern Conference champions in recent seasons. The 2011 Boston Bruins are the most recent team to win the Cup after choosing not to touch it.
The past five teams to not touch the trophy lost in the Cup Final.
Bruins captain Zdeno Chara did not touch the trophy in 2019, and Boston lost to the St. Louis Blues in seven games in the Cup Final. The New Jersey Devils (2012), Bruins (2013), New York Rangers (2014) and Lightning (2015) all lost in the Cup Final after refusing to touch the trophy.
Last season, because of a temporary divisional realignment due to COVID-19, the third round of the playoffs was renamed the semifinals, instead of the conference finals. The Prince of Wales Trophy was awarded to the Lightning after they defeated the New York Islanders in the semifinals.
The Prince of Wales Trophy has been awarded to the Eastern Conference champion since the 1993-94 season.
The
Colorado Avalanche touched the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl
, awarded to the Western Conference champion, after defeating the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4 on Monday to advance to the Cup Final.
The Stanley Cup Final begins on Wednesday in Colorado (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ABC, CBC, SN, TVAS).
