Opinion: You Should Touch The Shit Out Of The Prince of Wales Trophy
I think it's pretty safe to say that out of all the sports, hockey and hockey players are the most superstitious. Compared to hockey, every other sport is just a little stitious. And when it comes to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, those superstitions get ramped up to a point where they are borderline chaotic. One of those being that you shouldn't touch the trophy presented to conference champions, because the end goal is to win the only trophy worth touching, the Stanley Cup.
I'm here today to say that superstitious fucking suuuuuuuuuucks. It's the worst thing to talk about every year when we get to this point. Did so and so touch the Campbell Trophy? Did such and such team touch the Prince of Wales Trophy? It gets nauseating after a while. And listen, I love traditions and I know idiotic shit like this is what helps make the Stanley Cup Playoffs so special. But it's time to get rid of this one. Just touch the shit out of the trophies and have yourself a night, boys.
The thing is that if you don't touch the trophy, you're automatically heading into the Stanley Cup Final with a loser mentality. You're already heading into the most important 7 games of your hockey playing career with the intention to not lose instead of the intention to win. You're already so worried about the potential of losing that you won't even touch a trophy that you just worked your balls off to earn. And for what reason? Because if history has taught us anything, it's that this superstition doesn't mean shit.
Crosby is 3-1 in Stanley Cup Final appearances. Care to guess what the difference between his 3 wins and his only loss?
Touched that shit 3 times, won 3 times.
You think Alexander Ovechkin gave a shit about a silly superstition?
Not a goddamn chance.
What about Steven Stamkos in 2015?
Stammer was still just a young lad at the time. 25. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Probably still believed in Santa, and definitely still believed in superstitions. So he didn't touch the trophy then, and the Bolts would go on to lose to Chicago. Granted, the Hawks were capping off their dynasty so who knows if the outcome would have been different if he touched the trophy, but still.
Advertisement
The point I'm trying to make here is that if you don't touch the trophy, your mentality is already to just not lose.
Give me the Bolts in 7.