Prince of Wales Trophy
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The Prince of Wales Trophy, or simply the Wales Trophy, is a National Hockey League trophy awarded to the Eastern Conference playoff champions. The Montreal Canadiens have won this trophy 25 times, followed by the Boston Bruins with 15 times.
History
The Wales Trophy was donated by His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII of the United Kingdom), in 1924. It was first presented to the regular season champion of the American Division of the NHL, but was repurposed to being the trophy for the overall regular season champion in the 1938-39 season when the NHL reverted to a single division.
With the Modern Era expansion in the 1967-68 season and the creation of the Western Division, the Wales Trophy was awarded to the team that finished in first place in the Eastern Division during the regular season. When the league formed two conferences in the 1974-75 season, the award was transferred to the team that finished with the best regular-season record in the Wales Conference. Starting with the 1981-82 season, when the league changed its playoff format so that the two teams meeting in the Stanley Cup finals could no longer come from the same conference, the trophy was presented to the Wales Conference playoff champions, and since the 1993-94 season the Eastern Conference playoff champions have won the award.
List of Prince of Wales Trophy Winners
- 1923-24 - Montreal Canadiens
- 1924-25 - Montreal Canadiens
- 1925-26 - Montreal Maroons
- 1926-27 - Ottawa Senators
- 1927-28 - Boston Bruins
- 1928-29 - Boston Bruins
- 1929-30 - Boston Bruins
- 1930-31 - Boston Bruins
- 1931-32 - New York Rangers
- 1932-33 - Boston Bruins
- 1933-34 - Detroit Red Wings
- 1934-35 - Boston Bruins
- 1935-36 - Detroit Red Wings
- 1936-37 - Detroit Red Wings
- 1937-38 - Boston Bruins
- 1938-39 - Boston Bruins
- 1939-40 - Boston Bruins
- 1940-41 - Boston Bruins
- 1941-42 - New York Rangers
- 1942-43 - Detroit Red Wings
- 1943-44 - Montreal Canadiens
- 1944-45 - Montreal Canadiens
- 1945-46 - Montreal Canadiens
- 1946-47 - Montreal Canadiens
- 1947-48 - Toronto Maple Leafs
- 1948-49 - Detroit Red Wings
- 1949-50 - Detroit Red Wings
- 1950-51 - Detroit Red Wings
- 1951-52 - Detroit Red Wings
- 1952-53 - Detroit Red Wings
- 1953-54 - Detroit Red Wings
- 1954-55 - Detroit Red Wings
- 1955-56 - Montreal Canadiens
- 1956-57 - Detroit Red Wings
- 1957-58 - Montreal Canadiens
- 1958-59 - Montreal Canadiens
- 1959-60 - Montreal Canadiens
- 1960-61 - Montreal Canadiens
- 1961-62 - Montreal Canadiens
- 1962-63 - Toronto Maple Leafs
- 1963-64 - Montreal Canadiens
- 1964-65 - Detroit Red Wings
- 1965-66 - Montreal Canadiens
- 1966-67 - Chicago Blackhawks
- 1967-68 - Montreal Canadiens
- 1968-69 - Montreal Canadiens
- 1969-70 - Chicago Blackhawks
- 1970-71 - Boston Bruins
- 1971-72 - Boston Bruins
- 1972-73 - Montreal Canadiens
- 1973-74 - Boston Bruins
- 1974-75 - Buffalo Sabres
- 1975-76 - Montreal Canadiens
- 1976-77 - Montreal Canadiens
- 1977-78 - Montreal Canadiens
- 1978-79 - Montreal Canadiens
- 1979-80 - Buffalo Sabres
- 1980-81 - Montreal Canadiens
- 1981-82 - New York Islanders
- 1982-83 - New York Islanders
- 1983-84 - New York Islanders
- 1984-85 - Philadelphia Flyers
- 1985-86 - Montreal Canadiens
- 1986-87 - Philadelphia Flyers
- 1987-88 - Boston Bruins
- 1988-89 - Montreal Canadiens
- 1989-90 - Boston Bruins
- 1990-91 - Pittsburgh Penguins
- 1991-92 - Pittsburgh Penguins
- 1992-93 - Montreal Canadiens
- 1993-94 - New York Rangers
- 1994-95 - New Jersey Devils
- 1995-96 - Florida Panthers
- 1996-97 - Philadelphia Flyers
- 1997-98 - Washington Capitals
- 1998-99 - Buffalo Sabres
- 1999-2000 - New Jersey Devils
- 2000-01 - New Jersey Devils
- 2001-02 - Carolina Hurricanes
- 2002-03 - New Jersey Devils
- 2003-04 - Tampa Bay Lightning
- 2004-05 - Nonede:Prince of Wales Trophy