The Carolina Hurricanes took a page out of their coach's playbook.
After being awarded the Prince of Wales Trophy for winning the Eastern Conference on Friday, they did not touch it. Coach Rod Brind'Amour did not touch the trophy when he was captain of the team in 2006, and the Hurricanes went on to win the Stanley Cup for the first time, defeating the Edmonton Oilers in seven games.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly presented the trophy to captain Jordan Staal following a 6-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. Staal did not touch the trophy before he and his teammates posed for photos with it.
The only other time the Hurricanes won the trophy was in 2002; captain Ron Francis picked it up and the Hurricanes would go on to lose in the Cup Final to the Detroit Red Wings in five games.
Not touching the Prince of Wales Trophy has had mixed results. The Florida Panthers did not touch it each of the past two seasons and went on to win the Cup. Over the past 20 seasons, four of the 10 teams to touch it have not won the Cup.
The Tampa Bay Lightning, who won the trophy from 2020-22, touched it all three times but were defeated in the Cup Final by the Colorado Avalanche in six games in 2022. Prior to that, they won the Cup in 2020 against the Dallas Stars and 2021 against the Montreal Canadiens after touching it each time.
Prior to 2020, Sidney Crosby touched it in 2016 and in 2017 before helping the Pittsburgh Penguins win the Cup each season, and Alex Ovechkin did the same in 2018 with the Washington Capitals, who won the Cup.
Before the 2024 Panthers, the Boston Bruins in 2011 were the most recent team to win the Cup after choosing not to touch the Prince of Wales Trophy.
Bruins captain Zdeno Chara did not touch the trophy in 2019, and Boston lost to the St. Louis Blues in seven games in the Cup Final. The New Jersey Devils (2012), Bruins (2013), New York Rangers (2014) and Lightning (2015) all lost in the Cup Final after refusing to touch the trophy.
The Prince of Wales Trophy has been awarded to the Eastern Conference champion since the 1993-94 season.
The Clarence S. Campbell Bowl has been awarded to the Western Conference champion since the 1993-94 season. The Vegas Golden Knights, who were awarded it on Tuesday, did not touch the trophy.
In 2021, the Canadiens, who normally play in the Eastern Conference, were awarded the bowl after defeating the Golden Knights in what was called the Stanley Cup Semifinals because of the temporary divisional realignment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Hurricanes will play the Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final. Game 1 will be at Lenovo Center on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, CBC, TVAS).
