History of the President's Trophy Quiz

Answer: 1986

The league first awarded the President's Trophy in 1986. The Oilers were the first recepients.

Answer: Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers, led by Hall-of-Famers Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, and Paul Coffey, won the first two President's Trophies in 1986 and 1987, piling up 119 and 106 points respectively in those two seasons.

Answer: No

Edmonton did not win the Cup in '85-86, losing their conference semifinal series to Calgary in seven games. They did win it in '86-87, edging the Philadelphia Flyers in seven games.

Answer: Calgary Flames

Calgary was the NHL's best regular season team in 1988 with 105 points, and again in 1989 with a club record 117. The Flames won the Sanley Cup in '89, beating the Montreal Canadiens in six games.

Answer: first President's Trophy winner to lose in the first round

The 1990-91 Blackhawks somehow were eliminated from the playoffs by the eighth-seeded Minnesota North Stars in the first round in six games. There was not too much shame in that, as Minnesota advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals before losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six.

Answer: New York Rangers

The New York Rangers were the only team to pass 100 points in 1991-92, finishing with 105. The Rangers did not make it past the second round though, losing to the eventual champion Penguins in six games. They did win it all in 1994, beating the Vancouver Canucks in a full seven games to win their first Cup since 1940.

Answer: Detroit Red Wings

Detroit was the best team during the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season, putting up 70 points in 48 games. They also won it in 1995-96, setting an NHL record with 62 wins and ranking second in history at the time, with 131 points.

Answer: 62

The 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings set an NHL record by winning 62 games that year, going 62-13-7 for a total of 131 points. The Red Wings were nearly unbeatable at home, posting a spectacular 36-3-2 record at Joe Louis Arena.

Answer: False

Detroit made the finals in 1995, only to be swept out of the postseason by the New Jersey Devils. The 1996 Red Wings, under the immense pressure of being the winningest regular season team ever, could not even make the finals, losing to Colorado in six games in the Western Conference Finals.

Answer: 8

The Western Conference showed its dominance for those eight years by having the NHL's best regular season team every year from 1995-2002. This honor was bestowed upon Detroit three times, Colorado twice, Dallas twice, and St. Louis once.

Answer: Dallas Stars

The Dallas Stars had the two best regular seasons in franchise history in '98 and '99, posting 109 and 114 points in those seasons, respectively. Dallas lost to Detroit in the 1998 Western Finals, but won their first Cup the next season, beating the Buffalo Sabres in six games.

Answer: 3

The end of the 20th century and the start of the 21st, was a good time to be the league's best regular season team. Dallas won the Cup in 1999, with Colorado taking it in 2001 in seven games over New Jersey, and Detroit winning in 2002, beating Carolina in five.

The one unlucky President's Trophy winner during this time was the St. Louis Blues, who were knocked out of the first round by San Jose in 2000.

Answer: Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators put together their best season by far since coming back to the league in 1992, piling up 113 points in 2002-03. This was a huge step for this franchise, often viewed as the league's laughing stock in its first four seasons. Apparently, many of those high draft picks resulting from winning less than 20 games in those seasons panned out.

Answer: Detroit Red Wings

Detroit won four President's Trophies during this ten year span, winning in 1995, 1996, 2002, and 2004. This is by far the most of any team during this span, as no other NHL team had won more than two.

Answer: 1993

Pittsburgh had its best season ever in 1992-93, going an incredible 56-21-7 for 119 points. The Penguins were captained by the league's leading scorer, Mario Lemieux, who led all scorers with 160 points. Somehow, Pittsburgh looking for a three-peat in Stanley Cups, did not even make it to the Eastern Conference Finals, losing to a lousy New York Islanders team in seven games in the conference semifinals.