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Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
DALLAS — The Clarence S. Campbell Bowl was positioned on a black tablecloth adorned with NHL logos, glistening underneath the world lights. It was introduced to the Vegas Golden Knights, who eradicated the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of the Western Convention Ultimate on Monday evening to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
Because the Vegas captains surrounded the desk, the hockey world questioned: Would they contact the trophy or succumb to NHL superstition by leaving it alone?
They didn't contact it. Regardless that the Florida Panthers, whom the Knights will face within the Stanley Cup Ultimate, did contact the Prince of Wales Trophy, which is awarded to the Jap Convention winner.
“The one which we need to contact is 4 wins away,” stated Knights ahead Jonathan Marchessault.
The 2 trophies have been handed out to groups in some vogue since 1967. In 1993-94, the NHL started giving out the Campbell Bowl to the Western Convention playoff champion and the Wales Trophy to the Jap Convention playoff champion.
In 1997, the Philadelphia Flyers gained the Jap Convention title. Their captain Eric Lindros refused to the touch the Wales Trophy, a transfer credited with beginning a peculiar custom within the NHL by which groups that gained a championship refused to correctly acknowledge the trophy they earned.
There are two major motivations for that conduct. The primary one is symbolic. As Marchessault inferred, groups imagine they have not gained something till they hoist the Stanley Cup, so why have a good time one thing much less vital than hockey's Holy Grail?
The opposite one is pure sports activities superstition: The assumption that touching the convention trophy can someway impression a workforce's skill to win the Stanley Cup.
Marchessault might be heard on the ice after Sport 6 encouraging his teammates to not contact the Campbell Bowl. He was there in 2018 when Vegas captain Deryk Engelland touched the trophy and the workforce misplaced within the Stanley Cup Ultimate to the Washington Capitals. He wasn't going to permit his teammates to the touch it this time.
“It is simply a kind of issues the place it did not work out for us the primary 12 months, proper?” stated Marchessault. “So we're again right here and we need to do issues totally different.”
Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy was extra curious than involved about his workforce touching the {hardware}.
“I am not a superstitious man in any respect, so I used to be recreation for no matter they determined,” stated Cassidy, whose Boston Bruins workforce didn't contact the Wales Trophy in 2019. “It is their second. In the event that they wished to go it round, nice. If not, that is tremendous by me too.”
The Panthers have not been to the Stanley Cup Ultimate since 1996, or one 12 months earlier than star ahead Matthew Tkachuk was born. He stated the workforce had no compunction about touching their trophy.
“The very last thing that we'll do is be superstitious about not touching it. Like, no one stated we had been even going to make the playoffs. I believe it is fairly cool to the touch it, carry it round, and take image with it. We earned that factor,” he stated after the Panthers swept the Carolina Hurricanes.
Does it matter?
In keeping with ESPN Stats and Information, 17 groups have touched their convention championship trophy since 2001. Of these 17 groups, 10 have gone on to win the Stanley Cup.
From 2011 via 2015, neither workforce touched the convention trophies. However the Pittsburgh Penguins touched the Wales Trophy in 2016 and 2017, profitable the Stanley Cup in each seasons — similar to they did in 2009 once they touched the Wales Trophy and gained the Cup. In 2008, they did not contact it and misplaced to Detroit within the Ultimate.
The Tampa Bay Lightning touched it in each of their most up-to-date Stanley Cup wins (2020 and 2021) — and their 2022 Stanley Cup Ultimate loss to the Colorado Avalanche, who touched the Campbell Bowl.
Concerning the Golden Knights vs. the Panthers: Every of the final 4 head-to-head contact vs no-touch Cup Ultimate collection has been gained by the workforce who touched the convention title trophy.
Alter your expectations accordingly.
