To touch or not to touch.
The superstition of not touching the conference trophy began with the Eric Lindros and the Flyers in 1997. Before that, everyone touched it (Lemieux, Gretzky, Yzerman, Messier, Sakic). So...should you or shouldn't you?
- From 1997-2021 (24 seasons), teams who DON'T touch the conference finals trophy are only 11-16 in the SCF.
- On the other hand, teams who touch the conference finals trophy are 13-8.
- In seasons where one conference champ touched the trophy and the other didn't, the team that DID touch it won the Cup 8 of 11 times.
- Western Conference champs have only touched the Campbell bowl 8 of 23 times (and Montreal did not touch it when the Habs won the Bowl in 2021).
- Western Conference champs won the Cup in 13 of 23 seasons. They touched the Campbell Bowl in 5 of those 13 seasons.
- Eastern Conference champs have touched the Wales Trophy 12 of 23 times (and Tampa Bay touched it when the Lightning won the Trophy in 2021).
- Eastern Conference champs won the Cup in 10 of 23 seasons (plus 2021 when both finalists were Eastern Conference teams). They touched the Wales Trophy in 7 of those 10 seasons (plus the Lightning in 2021).
- In seasons where both teams touched the conference trophy, the Western Conference has a 3-2 advantage.
- In seasons where both teams didn't touch the conference trophy, the Western Conference has a 6-2 advantage.
Conclusions?
None of this really matters, but it was statistically unwise for Landeskog to touch the Campbell Bowl, and it will be statistically wise for the Eastern Conference champ to touch the Wales Trophy.