What is the NHL's Prince of Wales Trophy and why the Florida Panthers refuse to touch it
The Prince of Wales Trophy is more than just hardware—it's a symbol of Eastern Conference supremacy in the NHL. For the Florida Panthers, it's also a superstition. Despite winning it three years straight, they won't touch it, keeping their eyes on the Stanley Cup.
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Prince of Wales Trophy — A trophy rich in history, now part of Florida's legacy
For the third straight year, the Florida Panthers are Eastern Conference champions—an incredible run that now sees them eyeing a second consecutive Stanley Cup. Their 5-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 5 sealed the series, but the Panthers made headlines not just for the win, but for what they didn't do afterward: touch the Prince of Wales Trophy.
This has become Florida's postseason ritual—an unshakable superstition born from hard-learned lessons.
Back in 2023, the Panthers reached the Finals and touched the trophy. Result? A bitter loss to Vegas. In 2024, they kept their hands off and went on to defeat the Oilers to capture their first-ever Stanley Cup. Now in 2025, the trophy was once again left untouched on the ice as players skated by it, eyes locked on the bigger prize.
The Prince of Wales Trophy has a legacy of its own. First awarded in 1925 by the Prince of Wales (who later became King Edward VIII), it was once handed to everything from playoff champions to regular-season division winners.
But since 1993, it has belonged exclusively to the Eastern Conference champions. And for the past three seasons, it's practically lived in South Florida.
Florida's dominance has been anything but a fluke. They knocked out Tampa Bay 4-1, edged out Toronto in a tight 4-3 series, and overwhelmed Carolina 4-1. Led by head coach Paul Maurice and powered by stars like Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Carter Verhaeghe, and Sergei Bobrovsky, this team is dialed in.
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Maurice summed it up perfectly after Game 5: 'That was all the elements that make our sport great.' Meanwhile, Tkachuk, the team's emotional engine, kept it simple: 'It's all business. We've got a bigger goal in mind.'
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For the Panthers, the Prince of Wales Trophy isn't the celebration—it's just the checkpoint. With the Oilers and Stars still duking it out in the West, Florida is staying rested, ready, and deadly focused. This isn't about superstition alone. It's about belief, discipline, and knowing exactly what it takes to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup once again.
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