Presidents' Trophy The Presidents' Trophy winner is guaranteed home-ice advantage in all four rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs, provided the team advances that far. However, it does not guarantee that success, as only eight of all the Presidents' Trophy winners have gone on to win the Stanley Cup in their respective years, leading to a popular superstition that the Trophy may be cursed. In addition, six Presidents' Trophy winners have been eliminated in the preliminary round of the playoffs, with first-round upsets being common in the NHL compared to other major professional sports. NHL broadcaster Darren Eliot attributes the apparent lack
Bob Paine Trophy Bob Paine Trophy The Bob Payne Trophy was awarded to the play-off champion of the now-defunct Atlantic Coast Hockey League. The Payne Trophy was awarded to teams since the ACHL's inaugural season of 1981–82 until the ACHL's final season of 1986–87. The trophy is named after Bob Payne, an executive with several teams in the Southern Hockey League and Eastern Hockey League. The trophy was loaned to the winning team for one year and was returned at the start of the following year's playoffs. The Payne Trophy has been awarded six different times to four different franchises. The Carolina Thunderbirds