NHL Presidents' Trophy Winners & Playoff Success

The Presidents' Trophy is awarded annually to the team with the best NHL regular season record. Since its inaugural offering in 1986, it has been awarded 37 times to 18 different franchises. The recipient is guaranteed home ice advantage for all four rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs. 

Unfortunately for recipients, regular season success and home-ice advantage does not always translate in postseason success. The chart below shows each Presidents' Trophy winner by year and playoff result.

Year	Presidents' Trophy	Playoff Result
2023	Boston Bruins	Lost Preliminary (Florida)
2022	Florida Panthers	Lost Quarterfinal (Tampa Bay)
2021	Colorado Avalanche	Lost Quarterfinal (Vegas)
2020	Boston Bruins	Lost Quarterfinal (Tampa Bay)
2019	Tampa Bay Lightning	Lost Preliminary (Columbus)
2018	Nashville Predators	Lost Quarterfinal (Winnipeg)
2017	Washington Capitals	Lost Quarterfinal (Pittsburgh)
2016	Washington Capitals	Lost Quarterfinal (Pittsburgh)
2015	New York Rangers	Lost Semifinal (Tampa Bay)
2014	Boston Bruins	Lost Quarterfinal (Montreal)
2013	Chicago Blackhawks	Won Stanley Cup
2012	Vancouver Canucks	Lost Preliminary (Los Angeles)
2011	Vancouver Canucks	Lost Final (Boston)
2010	Washington Capitals	Lost Preliminary (Montreal)
2009	San Jose Sharks	Lost Preliminary (Anaheim)
2008	Detroit Red Wings	Won Stanley Cup
2007	Buffalo Sabres	Lost Semifinal (Ottawa)
2006	Detroit Red Wings	Lost Preliminary (Edmonton)
2004	Detroit Red Wings	Lost Quarterfinal (Calgary)
2003	Ottawa Senators	Lost Semifinal (New Jersey)
2002	Detroit Red Wings	Won Stanley Cup
2001	Colorado Avalanche	Won Stanley Cup
2000	St. Louis Blues	Lost Preliminary (San Jose)
1999	Dallas Stars	Won Stanley Cup
1998	Dallas Stars	Lost Semifinal (Detroit)
1997	Colorado Avalanche	Lost Semifinal (Detroit)
1996	Detroit Red Wings	Lost Semifinal (Colorado)
1995	Detroit Red Wings	Lost Final (New Jersey)
1994	New York Rangers	Won Stanley Cup
1993	Pittsburgh Penguins	Lost Quarterfinal (New York)*
1992	New York Rangers	Lost Quarterfinal (Pittsburgh)
1991	Chicago Blackhawks	Lost Preliminary (Minnesota)^
1990	Boston Bruins	Lost Final (Edmonton)
1989	Calgary Flames	Won Stanley Cup
1988	Calgary Flames	Lost Quarterfinal (Edmonton)
1987	Edmonton Oilers	Won Stanley Cup
1986	Edmonton Oilers	Lost Quarterfinal (Calgary)

* New York Islanders
^ Minnesota North Stars

Of the 37 recipients through 2023, eleven (30%) qualified for the Final and eight (22%) won the Stanley Cup (1987, 1989, 1994, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2013). Of the 26 others, eight (21%) were ousted in the Preliminary round (1991, 2000, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2019, 2023), twelve (32%) were eliminated in the Quarterfinal (1986, 1988, 1992, 1993, 2004, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022), and six (16%) stalled in the Semifinal (1996, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2007, 2015).

Only once in the past eleven seasons has a Presidents' Trophy winner won the Stanley Cup (Chicago 2013). In fact, five teams during the past fifteen years saw their season end in the opening round (San Jose 2009, Washington 2010, Vancouver 2012, Tampa Bay 2019, Boston 2023). Interesting, only three times in the prior 26 seasons did winners suffer such a fate (Chicago 1991, St. Louis 2000, Detroit 2006).

This postseason, the Presidents' Trophy winning Boston Bruins were defeated by the Florida Panthers in the opening round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Despite posting a NHL record for most points in a season, besting their first round opponent by 43 points, they managed to blow a 3-1 series lead and 3-2 third period lead in the final minute of Game 7, marking one of the most spectacular collapses in NHL history.

* See also NHL Playoff First Round Upsets.
* See also NHL Playoff Seeding And Stanley Cup Wins.
* See also Presidents' Winners & Defending Cup Champions.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Qualification Droughts

At the outset of every season, all 32 teams aspire to win the Stanley Cup. Six months later, the playoff seeding is set and only 16 teams continue to chase that dream. The remaining 16 clubs must wait until next season to renew their quest for the Cup. For them, the playoff drought begins.

The chart below describes, in descending order, the number of seasons each of the current 16 teams has gone without making the Stanley Cup playoffs, showing the last year they qualified for the postseason.

Team	Years	Last Playoff
Buffalo Sabres	12	2011
Detroit Red Wings	7	2016
Ottawa Senators	6	2017
Anaheim Ducks	5	2018
San Jose Sharks	4	2019
Arizona Coyotes	3	2020
Chicago Blackhawks	3	2020
Columbus Blue Jackets	3	2020
Philadelphia Flyers	3	2020
Vancouver Canucks	3	2020
Montreal Canadiens	2	2021
Calgary Flames	1	2022
Nashville Predators	1	2022
Pittsburgh Penguins	1	2022
St. Louis Blues	1	2022
Washington Capitals	1	2022

This year's playoff marks the return of four teams (New Jersey, New York Islanders, Seattle, Vegas) after postseason absences ranging from one year (New York Islanders, Seattle, Vegas) to four years (New Jersey).

On the other hand, four teams that qualified for last year's offering fell short this season (Nashville, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Washington). Buffalo extended their NHL record with 12 straight playoff misses, surpassing the previous mark of 10 consecutive misses held by Florida and Edmonton.

For the 16 teams on this list, it's time to get back to where they belong.

* See also NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Series Win Droughts.
* See also NHL Stanley Cup Final Appearance Droughts.
* See also NHL Stanley Cup Championship Droughts.

Presidents' Winners & Defending Cup Champions

Since the inaugural offering of the Presidents' Trophy in 1986, awarded to the team with the best regular season record, its recipient has drawn the defending Stanley Cup champion nine times. The chart below shows each meeting by year, matchup and outcome.

Year	Matchup	Outcome
1988	Edmonton Oilers* over Calgary Flames	4-0 (Q)
1992	Pittsburgh Penguins* over New York Rangers	4-2 (Q)
1998	Detroit Red Wings* over Dallas Stars	4-2 (S)
2001	Colorado Avalanche over New Jersey Devils*	4-3 (F)
2002	Detroit Red Wings over Colorado Avalanche*	4-3 (S)
2011	Vancouver Canucks over Chicago Blackhawks*	4-3 (P)
2013	Chicago Blackhawks over Los Angeles Kings*	4-1 (S)
2017	Pittsburgh Penguins* over Washington Capitals	4-3 (Q)
2022	Tampa Bay Lightning* over Florida Panthers	4-0 (Q)

* Defending Stanley Cup Champion

(P = Preliminary, Q = Quarterfinal, S = Semifinal, F = Final)

Of the nine meetings through 2023, five were won by the prior year's Stanley Cup champs (1988, 1992, 1998, 2017, 2022) and the other four saw the Presidents' Trophy winner prevail (2001, 2002, 2011, 2013). In the first three meetings, the winners went on to hoist consecutive Stanley Cups. Of the nine series winners through 2022, all advanced to skate in Stanley Cup Final with seven winning the Cup. Only Vancouver and Tampa Bay (2011, 2022) failed to hoist.

* See also NHL Consecutive Stanley Cup Wins.
* See also NHL Playoff Seeding And Stanley Cup Wins.
* See also NHL Stanley Cup Playoff First Round Upsets. 

* See also NHL Presidents' Trophy Winners & Playoff Success.

2020 NHL Individual Awards Winners

When it comes to the NHL Awards, a handful are earned on statistical achievement while the rest are won through votes cast by various organizations depending on the award. The chart below shows the award winners for the 2020 NHL season.

NHL Award	Winner
Conn Smythe Trophy	Victor Hedman
Art Ross Trophy	Leon Draisaitl
Maurice Richard Trophy	Alex Ovechkin/David Pastrnak
Hart Trophy	Leon Draisaitl
Ted Lindsay Award	Leon Draisaitl
Selke Trophy	Sean Couturier
Norris Trophy	Roman Josi
Vezina Trophy	Connor Hellebuyck
Jennings Trophy	Tuukka Rask/Jaroslav Halak
Calder Trophy	Cale Makar
Jack Adams Award	Bruce Cassidy
GM of the Year	Lou Lamoriello
Bill Masterton Trophy	Bobby Ryan
Lady Byng Trophy	Nathan MacKinnon
King Clancy Trophy	Matt Dumba
Messier Award	Mark Giordano

2020 NHL First All-Star Team honors went to Hellebuyck (G), Josi (D), Carlson (D), Draisaitl (C), Pastrnak (RW) and Panarin (LW). The 2020 NHL Second All-Star Team roster was Rask (G), Pietrangelo (D), Hedman (D), MacKinnon (C), Kucherov (RW) and Marchand (LW).  

The 2020 NHL All-Rookie Team was comprised of newcomers Elvis Merzlikins (G), Quinn Hughes (D), Cale Makar (D), Dominik Kubalik (F), Victor Olofsson (F) and Nick Suzuki (F).

* See also 2019 NHL Individual Awards Winners.
* See also 2018 NHL Individual Awards Winners.
* See also 2017 NHL Individual Awards Winners.
* See also 2016 NHL Individual Awards Winners.
* See also 2015 NHL Individual Awards Winners.
* See also 2014 NHL Individual Awards Winners.
* See also 2013 NHL Individual Awards Winners.
* See also 2012 NHL Individual Awards Winners.
* See also 2011 NHL Individual Awards Winners.
* See also 2010 NHL Individual Awards Winners.
* See also 2009 NHL Individual Awards Winners.