Prince of Wales Trophy

Lore & Background

The trophy was first announced in December 1925. It was sponsored by the then Prince of Wales, Prince Edward, and thus bore the Prince of Wales' feathers and the shield of the Royal Coat of Arms of Canada. Costing $2,500, the trophy was said to be in the possession of the league champion, duplicating the already existing O'Brien Cup for that purpose. To introduce the new trophy into the NHL, it was awarded as a place keeper to the winner of the first game played in Madison Square Garden, held on December 15, 1925 (Montreal Canadiens 3 at New York Americans 1). The trophy was held onto by the Canadiens until the end of the season, when it was presented, for the first time, for its founding purpose—to honour the NHL playoff champion. While the new trophy was in their possession, the Canadiens—who had been the O'Brien Cup-winning NHL playoff champions in 1923–24 and 1924–25—retroactively engraved their name on the trophy for those seasons. The Prince of Wales Trophy was then awarded to the NHL playoff champion in 1925–26 and 1926–27, along with the pre-existing O'Brien Cup, before that team would go on to face the Western Hockey League (WHL) champion for the Stanley Cup at the end of those seasons. From the 1927–28 season on, the trophy was awarded to the champion of the American Division of the NHL, while the O'Brien Cup was presented to the Canadian Division champion, until 1938, when, after the NHL reverted to a single division, the Wales Trophy was made the award for the overall regular season champion. With the expansion of the NHL in 1967, and the creation of the West Division, the Wales Trophy was given to the team that finished in first place in the East Division, during the regular season. When the league formed two conferences in 1974, the trophy transferred to the team that finished with the best regular season record in the Wales Conference, until 1981. The NHL changed its playoff format so that the two conference playoff champions would meet for the Stanley Cup. The Prince of Wales Trophy was presented to the Wales Conference playoff champions. In the summer of 1993 the Wales Conference was renamed the Eastern Conference. The Prince of Wales Trophy has been awarded to the Eastern Conference playoff champions since the 1993–94 season. Due to a modified playoff format held in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Wales Trophy was awarded to the

In Their Own Story

The Zamboni had just cleared the ice at the Forum, leaving behind a pristine sheet of white under the harsh arena lights. In the quiet hum of the empty building, the weight of history seemed to press down on the display case where the Prince of Wales Trophy sat. It wasn't just glass and silver; it was a time machine to 1931. Old photographs lined the walls: Howie Morenz skating with impossible grace, Georges Vézina guarding the net with stoic determination. They had won this cup three times when it meant everything—the league was theirs to hold before the final battle for the Stanley Cup even began. The trophy sat silent now, a relic of an era where Montreal didn't just compete; they dictated the pace of the game. In that stillness, one could almost hear the roar of the crowd from 1931, celebrating not just a win, but total supremacy. It was a time when the Canadiens' name alone struck fear into every opponent who stepped onto the ice.

Reader's Guide

The trophy was first presented on December 15, 1925, to the winner of the first game in Madison Square Garden. That was also the last season for which the Stanley Cup was not yet exclusive to the NHL, so the trophy was presented to that season's NHL playoffs champion and retroactively presented to the playoff champion of the previous two NHL seasons. The Wales Trophy was then awarded to the champion of the American Division (1927–1938) and later the NHL regular season champions (1938–1967). Since the 1967 NHL expansion, it has served as a counterpart to the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl by using the same criteria in the opposite competitive grouping. The Wales Trophy has been awarded to the East Division regular season champions (1967–1974), the Wales Conference regular season champions (1974–1981), the Wales Conference playoff champions (1981–1993), and the Eastern Conference playoff champions (1993–2020, 2021–present).

Did You Know?

• The trophy was first presented on December 15, 1925, to the winner of the first game in Madison Square Garden, which was the Montreal Canadiens defeating the New York Americans 3–1.
• The Montreal Canadiens retroactively engraved their name on the trophy for the 1923–24 and 1924–25 NHL playoff championships.
• A superstition among many NHL players is that no player should touch or hoist the Wales Trophy after winning the conference playoffs; instead, the captain usually poses solemnly with it.