Being first in the NHL is all fun for most of the season. Goal scoring, good defense, stable goaltending, all things clicking all at the same time, that shows that this team really can make a deep run into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, that’s, until you win the Presidents’ Trophy.
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Despite your hard work all season, the collective of fans and media online now hit you with “since you won the Presidents Cup, you’re not going to win, you have the curse”, but is it really a curse? What is the stipulation that, for so long as the best regular-season team doesn’t win the trophy because of some “curse”?
You can say the curse really “started” in the 2013 playoffs, where the last team that won the Presidents’ Trophy was the Chicago Blackhawks, who ended up beating the Boston Bruins in the finals. Since then, no team that has won the trophy has gone on to win the Stanley Cup, especially notable teams that looked destined to win it all but lost in the finals or earlier rounds.
The 2010-2011 Vancouver Cancucks, league high 54 wins, but ended up losing in Game seven of the finals, and is known for what happened after the loss. The 2018-2019 Tampa Bay Lightning tied the NHL record for wins (62) but were swept in the first round by the Columbus Blue Jackets. More recently, the 2022-2023 Boston Bruins broke the NHL records for wins and points in a season, but lost in the first round to the eventual champions, the Florida Panthers.
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In the 2022 post-season, where the Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup, the Florida Panthers won the Presidents’ Trophy but lost in the first round to the Washington Capitals in six games.
The season before that, when the Avalanche won the Presidents’ Trophy, they lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round in six games. All these accumulated losses just fuel the fire that regular-season success doesn’t translate into playoff success.
It’s safe to say that, compared to the last three Colorado Avalanche teams we have seen enter the playoffs, this is by far the best. Forward depth, defensive depth, and a strong goaltending tandem give flashes of the 2022 championship team, with how stacked their lines are.
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Nathan MacKinnon’s Leadership Redefines the Avalanche Power Play in Bednar’s Evolving Tactical System Nathan MacKinnon’s willingness to reshape his role has become the catalyst for a Colorado Avalanche power play resurgence, underscoring Jared Bednar’s experimental system and the team’s rapid post-Olympic evolution.
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Though it raises certainty that this team’s window is now, management knows it and is capitalizing on it. All the trades made by the deadline, how the teams’ caps look for the next three to four seasons, people don’t get younger, and chances with how well everyone is playing need to be capitalized on. With three games remaining, they could match their 2021-2022 season total of 119 points or even beat it.
If there is a “cancellation”, “divert”, or even a “dispel” on this President’s Trophy curse, is that the Colorado Avalanche won a Stanley Cup the same season they won the Presidents’ Trophy, back in the 2000-2001 season.
Beating the New Jersey Devils in seven games, led by Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, and Milan Hejduk, they helped the Colorado Avalanche secure their second Stanley Cup in franchise history, while finishing the regular season with a league-best 52-16-10-4 record (118 points).
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If there is anything that could negate this “curse,” it’s the history of the Avalanche’s past coming to help them, but that all depends on whether you believe what people say about this “curse”. Despite a strong start to the season, the Avalanche have shown flashes of weakness that they will need to either cover up or protect come the playoffs.
It has been an excellent season, with success coming from different players in every game. It should be one to be remembered, but like all sports, it’s not a successful season if you don’t win the championship, and that’s going to be a story to tell if they don’t win it all.
BREAKING NEWS: Jared Bednar Suffers Facial Fractures, Will Not Travel With Team
BREAKING NEWS: Jared Bednar Suffers Facial Fractures, Will Not Travel With Team Avalanche coach Jared Bednar is on the injury report after suffering facial fractures in a freak bench-side incident Saturday night at Ball Arena and will not travel with the team on its upcoming road trip.
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