WASHINGTON 鈥� For the second time in the last seven seasons, the Capitals enter the playoffs as Presidents鈥� Trophy winners after running away with the NHL鈥檚 best record in the regular season.
But as the 2009-10 Capitals discovered, winning the Presidents鈥� Trophy doesn鈥檛 guarantee playoff success. In fact, only eight of the 28 teams to win the Presidents鈥� Trophy since it was first awarded after the 1985-86 regular season have gone on to win the Stanley Cup.
鈥淚 think the Presidents鈥� Trophy is a great reward and a great acknowledgment of having a great regular season,鈥� Capitals General Manager Brian MacLellan said this week.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important to acknowledge that everybody played well, we had good years, but it gets reset here 鈥斅爅ust like it did back [in 2009-10]. You start from scratch here. It鈥檚 a new season.鈥�
While the 2009-10 Capitals fell in seven games in a first-round series against the Canadiens, MacLellan has been part of a Presidents鈥� Trophy winning team turned Stanley Cup champion.
Back in 1989, MacLellan joined the Calgary Flames in a late-season trade from the Minnesota North Stars. The Flames won the Presidents鈥� Trophy with a 54-17-9 record, but before their eventual Stanley Cup triumph, the Flames were nearly upset in their first-round series against the Vancouver Canucks.
鈥淚 think in 鈥�89, which is a long time ago, we were heavily favored over Vancouver,鈥� MacLellan recalled.
鈥淭hey鈥檇 just got in the playoffs and it went to Game 7. And in Canada 鈥� that鈥檚 like a crisis. 鈥榊ou鈥檙e not beating teams four straight when you鈥檙e the best team in the league?鈥� It was intense. And it was important for us to take it one game at a time. And it went to Game 7 and we won in Game 7 [in overtime]. But there was a lot of pressure and a lot of outside noise.鈥�
MacLellan said that a number of Flames veterans, including defenseman Jamie Macoun, kept the team聽loose as the pressure mounted. MacLellan said that veterans on the Capitals like Justin Williams could play a similar role this spring.
鈥淭here were a couple points where teammates, like a Williams, created a loose environment and it helped,” he said.
After eliminating the Canucks in seven games, , before beating the Blackhawks in five games in the Campbell Conference Final, and handling the Canadiens in six games in the Stanley Cup Final.
MacLellan had three goals and five points 21 games that postseason.
