WordsOfWisdom Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 One of the downsides to the East/West conference name change in the NHL has been the value that players (and fans) place in these trophies. It was nice to see the Sharks actually pose with the trophy in a group photo. It beats the tired cliche of the team captain standing next to it for a photo and then walking away. Given just how difficult they are to win, I would hope that players follow along in the Sharks footsteps going forward and at least pretend to be happy about being a conference champion. It is three rounds of hockey, and that same effort would net you a World Series trophy in baseball. The people behind the trophies: Clarence Campbell (Third President of the NHL) Prince of Wales (Prince Edward, who would later become King Edward VIII) Source: Wikipedia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted May 27, 2016 Author Share Posted May 27, 2016 For me personally, I think the Campbell Trophy looks like the quintessential trophy, and very impressive looking. If someone created "trophy.gif", it would look like the Campbell Trophy. The Wales Trophy looks both stunning and unique to me. The long tower-like design with the hockey stick pillars and the two toned color scheme is incredible. Nobody does trophies quite like the NHL. These two trophies alone look better than any trophy in any other major pro sport. That's why I think the league should show them off a bit more. If the players are going to be superstitious/silly about it, I think the league should strongly "encourage" them to do a group photo with the trophy as the Sharks did, just out of respect for what these trophies represent, and the hard work that went into making them. It doesn't take away from the ultimate Stanley Cup victory to enjoy the moment a bit after round three. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poulin20 Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Well said! The tradition of not touching the Conference Championship trophies is one of the stupidest things in sports I have ever seen. #1 Touching it or not does not affect the outcome in ANY way of the finals...you win and lose on skill and merit. #2 Nobody on your team, on the other team, or in the media (in their right) mind think that you are satisfied with this over the Stanley Cup. #3 It is disrespectful to the game to ignore these 2 beautiful pieces of hardware. If I were in charge I would say if you don't claim it then you lose your spot in the finals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted May 31, 2016 Author Share Posted May 31, 2016 10 hours ago, Poulin20 said: #1 Touching it or not does not affect the outcome in ANY way of the finals...you win and lose on skill and merit. History confirms this for superstitious players as well, yet some of them still avoid touching it. It's really a lame excuse. 10 hours ago, Poulin20 said: #2 Nobody on your team, on the other team, or in the media (in their right) mind think that you are satisfied with this over the Stanley Cup. While players say that reason #1 is why they don't touch it, #2 is probably the actual reason for their decision. They don't want to be seen celebrating anything but the big one, which is silly because normal people celebrate all of their accomplishments. The bigger the accomplishment, the bigger the celebration. I'll bet the team that loses the Stanley Cup final probably wishes in hindsight that they had celebrated their conference win a bit. 10 hours ago, Poulin20 said: #3 It is disrespectful to the game to ignore these 2 beautiful pieces of hardware. If I were in charge I would say if you don't claim it then you lose your spot in the finals Yeah no doubt! I don't expect the players to carry it around on the ice and wave it over head, but an enthusiastic group photo isn't asking too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Well it's been said many times hockey players are some of the most superstitious players in all of sports so i understand that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.