Prince of Wales Trophy

Lore & Background

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). Due to a modified playoff format held in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Wales Trophy was awarded to the Tampa Bay Lightning after defeating the New York Islanders in the Stanley Cup semifinals.

In Their Own Story

Inside Maple Leaf Gardens, the air hung heavy with ice fog and anticipation. The scoreboard flickered, sealing a season of dominance: Toronto had claimed the top spot in the league. In the quiet aftermath, the captain cradled the heavy silver cup beneath the locker room lights. It wasn't the Stanley Cup—not yet—but the Prince of Wales Trophy carried its own weight. For those who wore the blue and white, it was proof that excellence was a standard to be met, not merely hoped for.

Reader's Guide

The Prince of Wales 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 championships 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. A superstition that is prevalent among many of today's NHL players is that no player should eith

Did You Know?

• The trophy was first presented on December 15, 1925, to the winner of the first game in Madison Square Garden.
• From 1927–1938 it was awarded to the American Division regular season champion, and from 1938–1967 to the overall regular season champion.
• From 1967–1974 it was awarded to the East Division regular season champion, not the playoff champion.
• The playoff champion designation for the conference began in 1981.
• In 2021, due to a modified playoff format, the trophy was awarded to the winner of the Stanley Cup semifinals between the East and Central divisions.