NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly presented the trophy to captain Steven Stamkos and alternate captains Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh and Alex Killorn following the Lightning's 2-1 overtime win against the New York Islanders in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Thursday. Hedman picked up the trophy before he and his teammates posed for photos with it, then skated it off the ice to the locker room.
"That was a no-brainer for us," Hedman said. "We're not superstitious but obviously didn't touch it last time (2015), so this year we did. … We won one trophy and we'll try for the next."
The Lightning did not touch the Prince of Wales Trophy the previous two times they advanced to the Stanley Cup Final. It worked in 2004, when captain Dave Andreychuk didn't lift it and they went on to defeat the Calgary Flames in seven games, but not in 2015, when Stamkos didn't touch it and they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games.
Stamkos has not played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs because of a lower-body injury but has not been ruled out for the Cup Final against the Dallas Stars. Game 1 is in Edmonton, the hub city for the conference finals and Cup Final, on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS).
"Even though [Stamkos] is not playing, he's still the leader of this team," Hedman said. "He's such a good influence in the room during practices and morning skates He's still a big reason that we're here where we are."
The tradition of not touching the Prince of Wales Trophy hasn't worked out well for Eastern Conference champions in recent years. The Boston Bruins in 2011 were the last team to win the Cup after choosing not to touch it. The past five teams to do so went on to lose in the Cup Final.
Last season, Bruins captain Zdeno Chara did not touch the trophy, 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.
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 in 2018 with the Washington Capitals, who went on to win the Cup.
Stars captain Jamie Benn did not touch the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl after they won it with a 3-2 overtime win against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final on Monday.
The Prince of Wales Trophy has been awarded to the Eastern Conference playoff winner since the 1993-94 season.
