Winning the Prince of Wales Trophy is weird. Seriously. In almost every other professional sport, winning your conference or league semifinals is a cause for a massive, champagne-soaked celebration. You get the trophy, you hoist it, you kiss it, and you take a team photo. But in the NHL? Touching the Prince of Wales Trophy is seen by many as a one-way ticket to losing the Stanley Cup Finals. It’s the most beautiful, historic piece of silver that almost no hockey player actually wants to lay a finger on.
Honestly, the superstition is a bit much. But that's hockey.
The history of this trophy is actually much deeper than the current "Eastern Conference Champions" label suggests. It has been around since 1924. That is over a century of history packed into a single trophy. It has changed hands, changed meanings, and survived the "Original Six" era, multiple expansions, and the complete restructuring of how professional hockey operates in North America. To understand why it matters today, you kind of have to look at how it started—as a gift from royalty.
From Royalty to the Rink: The Early Days
The Prince of Wales Trophy wasn't originally for the Eastern Conference. It couldn't have been, because the conference didn't exist yet. In 1924, His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales (who later became King Edward VIII before famously abdicating the throne), donated the trophy to the NHL. He had recently visited Canada, fell in love with the game, and wanted to leave a lasting mark. At the time, it cost about $2,500—which was a massive sum of money back then.
In the beginning, it was just given to the winner of the first game played in Madison Square Garden. Then it became the trophy for the NHL playoff champion, before the league and the PCHA (Pacific Coast Hockey Association) merged their playoff structures.
The Montreal Canadiens were the first to get their names etched on it. They beat the Ottawa Senators 1-0 on December 15, 1924, to claim it. For years, the trophy was a symbol of regular-season dominance. If you finished first in the American Division, you got the Wales. If you finished first in the league during the Original Six era (1948–1967), you got the Wales. It was a badge of consistency.
The Curse: To Touch or Not to Touch?
This is where things get spicy. You've seen the footage. A captain like Sidney Crosby or Aleksander Barkov stands next to the trophy while the NHL Deputy Commissioner hands it over. The crowd is screaming. The flashbulbs are going off. And the captain just... stands there. He might give it a polite nod. He might even put a hand on it for a second. But rarely does a modern captain pick it up and skate around the ice like they’ve actually won something.
Why? Because the "real" trophy is the Stanley Cup.
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The superstition is simple: if you celebrate winning the Prince of Wales Trophy, you're telling the hockey gods that you’re satisfied. And if you’re satisfied, you don't have the hunger left to win the Cup.
It’s not just a myth; players take this deeply seriously.
Look at the 2024 Florida Panthers. Aleksander Barkov notably refused to touch the trophy in 2023, and the Panthers got smoked by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Finals. Fast forward to 2024. They win the Eastern Conference again. This time, Barkov decides, "Forget it, the superstition didn't work last year." He picks it up. He carries it. He smiles. And guess what? The Panthers went on to win the Stanley Cup.
The "curse" is hit or miss. Scott Stevens of the New Jersey Devils touched it every time they won it in the 90s and 2000s, and he has three rings. Meanwhile, teams like the 2023 Boston Bruins didn't even get a chance to touch it because they were bounced in the first round after one of the best regular seasons in history. Maybe the trophy is just a mirror for whatever anxiety a team is feeling at the moment.
Evolution of the Eastern Conference Prize
The trophy has moved around more than a fourth-line journeyman.
- 1924–1925: Awarded to the winner of the first game at MSG.
- 1925–1926: Awarded to the NHL playoff champion.
- 1926–1938: Awarded to the winner of the American Division.
- 1938–1967: Awarded to the regular-season champion of the entire NHL.
- 1967–1974: Awarded to the winner of the East Division (after the first big expansion).
- 1974–1981: Awarded to the team with the best regular-season record in the Wales Conference.
- 1981–Present: Awarded to the playoff champion of the Wales/Eastern Conference.
It’s basically the ultimate survivor of NHL rebranding. While the names of divisions and conferences have changed from "Wales" to "Eastern," the trophy itself remains the physical link to the league's infancy.
When you see the Montreal Canadiens' logo all over the base, it’s a reminder of their dominance. They’ve won the Prince of Wales Trophy 25 times. The Boston Bruins are second with 18. These aren't just stats; they are eras of hockey history literally engraved in silver.
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The Physicality of the Trophy
The trophy itself is a beautiful piece of silversmithing. It’s an ornate bowl with intricate carvings and a tiered wooden base that has been expanded over the years to fit more names. Unlike the Stanley Cup, which is essentially a giant chimney of silver, the Prince of Wales has a more "classic" trophy look.
It weighs significantly less than the 34.5-pound Stanley Cup, but it carries a different kind of weight. It represents the grueling three rounds of playoffs a team just survived. Think about the shot blocks, the overtime periods, and the broken noses it took to get there. Whether a captain touches it or not, that trophy is the evidence of two months of absolute war on ice.
Misconceptions and Oddities
A lot of casual fans think the Prince of Wales Trophy is just "the second-place trophy." That's wrong. You can't win it if you're in the Western Conference. If you're the Edmonton Oilers or the Colorado Avalanche, you’ll never see your name on the Wales. You’re playing for the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl.
Another weird fact: the trophy was actually "donated" by the Prince of Wales, but he didn't exactly hand-deliver it. It was arranged through the British Governor General of Canada. The Prince was a fan, but his involvement was largely a PR move to strengthen ties between the Monarchy and Canada through its favorite pastime.
There was also a period where the trophy was basically ignored. During the Original Six era, because it was a regular-season award, teams would often just leave it in the locker room. There was no ceremony. No deputy commissioner. Just a "hey, good job, here's some silver." The modern ceremony we see on TV is a relatively new invention designed to create "TV moments" before the Finals start.
Why It Still Matters in 2026
In a world where sports are becoming increasingly corporate and digitized, the Prince of Wales Trophy is a tangible connection to 1924. It’s one of the few things in the NHL that hasn't been "modernized" into a sleek, boring piece of glass or plastic.
It matters because it represents the gatekeeper. To get to the Stanley Cup, you have to go through the Wales.
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For fans in cities like Raleigh, Tampa, or Sunrise, the trophy is a symbol of their team's rise. When the Tampa Bay Lightning won it three years in a row (2020, 2021, 2022), it solidified them as a dynasty. They didn't care about the curse. They touched it. They hoisted it. They won.
Actionable Insights for Hockey Fans
If you're following the NHL playoffs or just getting into the history of the game, here is how you can actually "use" this knowledge:
Track the Captain's Reaction
Next time the Eastern Conference Finals end, watch the captain's hands. If he touches the trophy, look up the betting odds for the Finals. Historically, there is no statistical advantage to not touching it, but the media narrative will shift instantly. Use this to understand the "mental game" of the locker room.
Check the Engravings
If you ever visit the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, don't just stand in the 3-hour line for the Stanley Cup. Go find the Prince of Wales Trophy. Look at the names from the 1920s and 30s. It’s a literal map of how hockey spread across North America.
Identify the Trends
Keep an eye on the "Eastern vs. Western" dominance. For a long time, the Prince of Wales winner was considered the underdog to the bigger, heavier Western Conference teams. Recently, the speed and skill of the East have flipped that script. The trophy is a marker of which style of hockey is currently winning the "meta" of the NHL.
The Prince of Wales Trophy isn't just a consolation prize. It is a century-old survivor of a sport that has changed beyond recognition. Whether a player treats it like a holy relic or a radioactive bomb, its presence on the ice is the ultimate signal: the real battle is about to begin.
Keep an eye on the trophy's journey this season. The next time it comes out of its travel case, you'll be the one in the room who knows exactly why it’s there—and why the guy in the "C" jersey is looking at it with such a mix of pride and pure terror.
Next Steps for the Serious Fan:
- Visit the NHL Records site to see the full list of every winner since 1924; it’s a trip to see how many defunct teams like the Montreal Maroons are on there.
- Watch the 1997-2000 New Jersey Devils highlights to see Scott Stevens defy the superstition; it’s the best evidence that the "curse" is just a head game.
- Monitor the Eastern Conference standings in March; the race for home-ice advantage in the "Wales" bracket usually dictates who has the best shot at the silver.