Clarence S. Campbell Bowl
| Clarence S. Campbell Bowl | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Awarded for | Western Conference playoff champions of the National Hockey League |
| History | |
| First award | 1967–68 NHL season |
| First winner | Philadelphia Flyers |
| Most wins | Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers (7) |
| Most recent | Montreal Canadiens (1) |
The Clarence S. Campbell Bowl,[1] or simply the Campbell Bowl, is a team award presented by the National Hockey League (NHL). Named after Clarence Campbell, who served as president of the NHL from 1946–47 to 1976–77, it has been awarded for different accomplishments throughout its history, serving as a counterpart to the Prince of Wales Trophy since the 1967 NHL expansion by using the same criteria in the opposite competitive grouping. The Campbell Bowl has been awarded to the West Division regular season champions (1967–1974), the Campbell Conference regular season champions (1974–1981), the Campbell Conference playoff champions (1981–1993), and the Western Conference playoff champions (1993–2020).[1]
Due to a modified playoff format held in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Campbell Bowl was awarded to the Montreal Canadiens after they defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Semifinals.
History[]
The Clarence S. Campbell Bowl was donated by the NHL's clubs in recognition of the contributions and services of its namesake, the League President at the start of the Modern Era expansion. Throughout its history it has been a parallel to the Prince of Wales Trophy, using the same criteria in the opposite competitive grouping. From its inception in the 1967–68 season through to 1973–74 it was awarded to the first-place finisher in the West Division during the regular season.[1] With NHL realignment in 1974–75, it was given to the team with the best regular season record in the Campbell Conference (the successor to the West Division) through the 1980–81 season.[1] Beginning with the 1981–82 season, it switched to the Campbell Conference playoff champions, and since the 1993–94 season, when the Campbell Conference became the Western Conference, the trophy has gone to the Western Conference playoff champions.[1]
A traditional superstition that is prevalent among many of today's NHL players is that no player should either touch or hoist the Campbell (Western Conference champion) or Prince of Wales (Eastern Conference champion) trophies after they have won the conference playoffs; these players feel that the Stanley Cup is the true championship trophy and thus it should be the only trophy that they should be hoisting. Instead of touching the conference trophy, the captain of the winning team merely poses (usually looking solemn) with the trophy, and sometimes, the entire team poses as well. There have been other teams, however, that have ignored the superstition and hoisted the conference trophy and then went on to win the Cup anyway.[2][3]
The NHL abolished the conferences and re-aligned the league into four new divisions for the 2020–21 NHL season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the semifinal round of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs was contested between the winners of the divisional playoffs and they were seeded according to their regular season record. Initially the trophy was not going to be awarded,[4] but it was later decided that the trophy would be awarded to the winner of the Stanley Cup Semifinals series between the Montreal Canadiens and the Vegas Golden Knights.[5]
Winners[]
- Key
– Eventual Stanley Cup champions
West Division regular season champions (1967–1974)[]
| Season | Winner | Win # |
|---|---|---|
| 1967–68 | Philadelphia Flyers | 1 |
| 1968–69 | St. Louis Blues | 1 |
| 1969–70 | St. Louis Blues | 2 |
| 1970–71 | Chicago Black Hawks | 1 |
| 1971–72 | Chicago Black Hawks | 2 |
| 1972–73 | Chicago Black Hawks | 3 |
| 1973–74 | Philadelphia Flyers 
|
2 |
Campbell Conference regular season champions (1974–1981)[]
| Season | Winner | Win # |
|---|---|---|
| 1974–75 | Philadelphia Flyers
|
3 |
| 1975–76 | Philadelphia Flyers | 4 |
| 1976–77 | Philadelphia Flyers | 5 |
| 1977–78 | New York Islanders | 1 |
| 1978–79 | New York Islanders | 2 |
| 1979–80 | Philadelphia Flyers | 6 |
| 1980–81 | New York Islanders
|
3 |
Campbell Conference playoffs champions (1981–1993)[]
Western Conference playoffs champions (1993–2020)[]
Stanley Cup Semifinals (2020–21)[]
| Season | Winner | Win # |
|---|---|---|
| 2020–21 | Montreal Canadiens | 1 |
See also[]
References[]
- ^ a b c d e "Clarence S. Campbell Bowl". NHL.com. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
- ^ Kaplan, Emily (2011-05-28). "Conference trophies: to touch, or not to touch?". NHL.com. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
- ^ Coffey, Phil (2006-06-02). "NHL.com - Ice Age: Having another trophy in mind". Retrieved 2006-07-25.[dead link]
- ^ Cotsonika, Nicholas (May 14, 2021). "Stanley Cup Playoffs: Key questions, answers". nhl.com. NHL.
- ^ "#NHLStats: Live Updates – June 10, 2021". media.nhl.com. June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
In addition to a spot in the Stanley Cup Final, the winner of the Golden Knights-Canadiens series will claim the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl, while the Islanders-Lightning will battle for the Prince of Wales Trophy.
External links[]
- Clarence S. Campbell Bowl history at NHL.com
- Clarence S. Campbell Bowl profile at Legends of Hockey.net
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- National Hockey League trophies and awards
- Western Conference (NHL)
- NHL Conference Finals