Jets4Life
Registered User
It's almost time to once again watch the presentations of the Conference Final Trophies- The Campbell Bowl (West) and the Prince of Wales Trophy (East). The question is will the victorious teams touch the trophies or not? I think it's safe to say that Crosby and the Penguins will definitely touch, and possibly skate around the ice with the Prince of Wales Trophy, should they win, considering they did this in 1991, 1992, 2009, and 2016, but failed to do so in 2008 the only year they lost in the Final.
As for Nashville, Ottawa, and Anaheim, who knows? The tradition of not touching the trophies dates back to 1997, when Eric Lindros refused to touch the Prince of Wales Trophy. Lindros and the Flyers would get swept by the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Final. The second time a team refused to touch the Wales Trophy, Mike Peca and the Buffalo Sabres would lose in 6 games to Dallas in the 1999 Final. The third time this happened was when Paul Kariya and Anaheim refused to touch the Campbell Bowl in 2003. The Ducks lost to the Devils in 7 games in the Final.
Despite this superstition never working, it somehow became common place. More often than not, the Trophies are not touched, and on occasion the team will skate by the presenter, and not bother to have a photo taken. In 2004, Iginla touched and posed with the Campbell Bowl, while Dave Andreychuk refused to touch the Wales Trophy. Since that time, more often than not, the trophy is not touched. Statistics do not support that a team is any more likely to win the Stanley Cup by not touching the Conference Trophies, since the lockout years.
So why is this silly tradition still practiced?
As for Nashville, Ottawa, and Anaheim, who knows? The tradition of not touching the trophies dates back to 1997, when Eric Lindros refused to touch the Prince of Wales Trophy. Lindros and the Flyers would get swept by the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Final. The second time a team refused to touch the Wales Trophy, Mike Peca and the Buffalo Sabres would lose in 6 games to Dallas in the 1999 Final. The third time this happened was when Paul Kariya and Anaheim refused to touch the Campbell Bowl in 2003. The Ducks lost to the Devils in 7 games in the Final.
Despite this superstition never working, it somehow became common place. More often than not, the Trophies are not touched, and on occasion the team will skate by the presenter, and not bother to have a photo taken. In 2004, Iginla touched and posed with the Campbell Bowl, while Dave Andreychuk refused to touch the Wales Trophy. Since that time, more often than not, the trophy is not touched. Statistics do not support that a team is any more likely to win the Stanley Cup by not touching the Conference Trophies, since the lockout years.
So why is this silly tradition still practiced?