The Winnipeg Jets were the 2024-25 NHL regular season champions, winning 56 games and accruing 116 standings points to earn the President's Trophy.
However, that honor hasn't tended to translate into a championship campaign in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for whoever is crowned. In the last 12 seasons, no President's Trophy winner has lifted Lord Stanley's Cup. The 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks were the last team to do it and only the eighth since the trophy's inception in 1985-86.
In 2023, the Boston Bruins became just the seventh franchise to fall flat in the first round of the playoffs after being the best team in the regular season. The Jets will be hoping to avoid that same fate and becoming the eighth this year.
Is the President's Trophy curse real? Why the NHL's regular season champ doesn't always claim the Stanley Cup
Being the most dominant team in the NHL is hard enough a task to complete. Keeping up that dominance in the playoffs is a whole other beast, especially considering injuries and fatigue start to set in after 82 grueling games.
Fan bases have been heartbroken to see their incredibly successful teams see their seasons cut so short. The seven who have suffered such a destiny are as follows:
Team | Playoff Result |
|---|---|
2000 St. Louis Blues | Lost in 7 games to the San Jose Sharks |
2006 Detroit Red Wings | Lost in 6 games to the Edmonton Oilers |
2009 San Jose Sharks | Lost in 6 games to the Anaheim Ducks |
2010 Washington Capitals | Lost in 7 games to the Montreal Canadiens |
2012 Vancouver Canucks | Lost in 5 games to the Los Angeles Kings |
2019 Tampa Bay Lightning | Lost in 4 games to the Columbus Blue Jackets |
2023 Boston Bruins | Lost in 7 games to the Florida Panthers |
The Jets hold a two games to none lead over the St. Louis Blues as of Tuesday, so it seems unlikely they'll be joining this list. However, the 2023 Bruins were up three games to one against the Florida Panthers before that epic collapse was completed.
Of the last 10 President's Trophy winners, only one made the conference finals (2014-15 New York Rangers). Exactly zero made it to the Stanley Cup Final.
Sometimes in hockey it's better to be hot than good. The 2019 St. Louis Blues knew that better than anyone, accruing the most standings points between the end of the All-Star Break and the start of the playoffs on their way to lifting the franchise's first-ever Stanley Cup.
Who will this year's hot playoff team be? Or will the Jets break the President's Trophy curse for the first time in 12 years?