The Hockey News: Ken Campbell's blog: THN.com Playoff Blog: Not touching conference champion trophies absurd

THN.com Playoff Blog: Not touching conference champion trophies absurd

Nicklas Lidstrom didn't touch the Clarence Campbell Bowl after beating Dallas in the Western Conference final. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Ken Campbell
2008-05-20 14:35:54

Are hockey players really that superstitious? Are they really that out of touch with reality?

It appears so, given how most players treat the Prince of Wales Trophy and the Clarence Campbell Bowl after winning it in recent years. Somehow, these guys think if they treat the conference championship trophy as though it has a case of cooties, that will significantly enhance their chances of winning the trophy they really want – the Stanley Cup.

Do these guys really believe what ultimately transpires in the Stanley Cup final will have anything to do with whether or not they actually celebrated the accomplishment of winning the conference playoff championship?

Well, Scott Stevens and Steve Yzerman didn’t think so and things seemed to turn out all right for them. Stevens was captain of the New Jersey Devils and they won four Prince of Wales Trophies and three Stanley Cups. Stevens never hesitated to lift the trophy and at least show the accomplishment and the hardware some respect.

When asked once why he bothered to lift the Prince of Wales Trophy, Stevens said quite simply, “It’s a nice trophy.”

As captain of the Detroit Red Wings, Yzerman also won four conference championships, three of which resulted in Stanley Cup victories and he had no problem lifting the Clarence Campbell Bowl.

Neither of these players hoisted the trophy over his head and did a victory lap around the ice, they simply acknowledged the award and the accomplishment in a fitting way.

And they both went on to have a 75 percent success rate in the Stanley Cup final.

To blow off a trophy that signifies a significant achievement goes beyond superstition.

It’s simply a lack of respect.

THE BOMBASTIC ONE STRIKES AGAIN
Don Cherry misinformed on something? Shocker.

Cherry did nothing to hide his disdain for the NHL’s delay of game penalty that results from a player shooting the puck over the glass in the defensive zone after it cost Canada a gold medal at the World Championship. He went as far as to say, “Some fool, some idiot in the National Hockey League came up with that rule.”

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(Disclaimer: I generally think Cherry is a clown and the media only serves to legitimize him by providing him a forum, but this one is so ridiculous I simply couldn’t let it go by without comment.)

Cherry claims the rule was instituted because players who were getting tired were deliberately putting the puck out of play to get a whistle.

The rule was actually instituted when the league was looking to open the game up after the lockout. The rationale behind the rule was that by penalizing players for even inadvertently shooting the puck over the glass, it would cause defensemen who are under pressure from forecheckers to have to make a skill-based play in order to get the puck out of danger rather than just rattling it off the glass.

The thinking was – and it was sound – it would either result in a more precise first pass out of the defensive zone or a turnover that would likely culminate in an excellent scoring chance.

Of course skill is not one of Cherry’s areas of strength. Neither is the rationale behind penalties. After all, if the league wouldn’t have been such sticklers about having only five skaters on the ice at one time, Cherry might have won his only Stanley Cup as a coach in 1979.

THN.com's Playoff Blogs, featuring analysis and opinion on the action from the night before, with insight on what happened and what it all means going forward, will appear daily throughout the NHL playoffs. Read more entries HERE.

Ken Campbell is a senior writer for The Hockey News and a regular contributor to THN.com. His blog appears Tuesdays and Fridays and his column, Campbell's Cuts, appears Mondays.

For more great profiles, news and views from the world of hockey, Subscribe to The Hockey News magazine.

COMMENTS (28)

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Brian P Posted
(2009-04-30 06:20:50)

I love that Scott Stevens quote. I can just picture a reporter asking Stevens a long, rambling question about why he lifted it when so many superstitious guys wouldn't touch the thing, and him not even missing a beat with that one. "It's a nice trophy." Hey, someone probably worked a long time making it. It looks pretty good. Makes it worth a lift, I'd say.

Dan Posted
(2009-04-30 06:20:37)

Steve i am not saying that Don Cherry is always right , i know that. But when it comes to hockey basics and the games tradition and heritage i believe Don is right "most" of the time

ADKWingsFan Posted
(2009-04-30 06:20:36)

Ken, you completely missed the point. The reason the players don't touch the trophies goes beyond simple superstition. By not touching the trophy they are reminding themselves that there is still plenty of work to be done. In fact, rather than being disrespectful they are being humble and disciplined - instead of celebrating they are keeping themselves grounded and mentally ready to continue further. How many times have you seen a team blow a huge lead in a game because they get complacent and/or cocky? Come on Ken, seriously, put some more thought into your writing!

Maxime Posted
(2009-04-30 06:20:33)

To everyone who says that a penalty called for a puck over the glass is stupid : How many of you go "oh man what a stupid rule" when the opposing team gets called for it? I'll be wating on your hypocritical answers. The point is : it's a rule. You dump it over the glass : you get 2 minutes. It's been 3 years now...the guys had plenty of time to get used to it. If goalies can't throw it over the glass, then why should players be allowed? When i watch a hockey game, i like action. Not incessant stops in play because defensemen find it easier to dump the puck out so it reaches 3/4 of the rink...the second most boring strategy after playing the trap (which is something trap playing teams do defensively). Don't get me wrong. I'm canadian, so i'm just as pissed as anyone else. But i do understand that it is a rule, i understand why it is there, and i understand Nash screwed up on that one. And another thing. Most of the people here complain about how badly the writers are biased, how much the writers have nothing to write about...Don Cherry knows a lot about hockey, but in my humble opinion, there is not a reporter that is more biased than Cherry. There is not a reporter that talks through his hat more than Don Cherry. He let's emotion kick in when he criticizes something, making him the most subjective journalist / analyst ever on TV. Emotion doesn't have its place when you are supposed to report on something. Otherwise, it makes you say unreliable information, most of the time misinterpreted and really badly presented to the viewers, who will believe what he says because he knows that much.

James Posted
(2009-04-30 06:20:31)

One, what difference does it make to anyone if you do or don't touch the conference championship trophy whenever you make it to the finals? That is the main purpose of the playoffs, to get to the "big dance". People who whine, complain and make a big deal out of it obviously have nothing better to do with their time than wasting it by picking on irrelevant elements of the game like Mr. Cambell here. Two, Don Cherry is not a moron, pinhead or whatever derogatory term you wish to call him. There's a reason he has been going strong for 28 years on one of the highest Canadian rated T.V show. He speaks his mind to the millions of people who watch it like myself every Saturday. Those who call him things like a "moron" are one themselves for not reconizing the success he has had on the C.B.C. for many memorable years. Hopefully, this ragging on one of Canada's most iconic figures will end soon. It likely won't because someone will always resent his success on the C. B.C., as well as the nerve he has for speaking what he has on his mind, something that many people lack now-a-days.

steven Noble Posted
(2009-04-30 06:20:30)

Okay folks, that's it, everything Don Cherry says is correct, take it at face value and repeat it ad naseum: no team with heavy european or french influence can go far in the playoffs, europeans have no heart, anyone who wears a visor is a wimp, the earth is no warmer than it's ever been despite the facts, it's okay for Darcy Tucker and Kirk Maltby to run around like an idiot agitating people but not for anyone with the last name Rutuu, Detroit is a "redneck town" despite having never lived there, he is the modern day man of the people — except when the millionaire is relaxing in his Mississauga Rd. mansion. Sure he tells it like it is, but you guys that say Don always tells the truth or speaks accurately are idiots. Actually he doesn't tell it like it is, he tells it like he thinks it is. There's a big difference.

Crash Davis Posted
(2009-04-30 06:20:29)

I'm going to quote Crash Davis from Bull Durham in regards to superstitions. "If you believe you're playing well because you're getting laid, or because you're not getting laid, or because you wear women's underwear, then you ARE! And you should know that!" No one wants to settle for Conference Champs. Lord Stanley's Cup is the only trophy that matters, and if you think not touching the others gets you there, then don't touch the other trophies. The LA Lakers don't hang division or championship banners, only NBA championship banners. Some people just accept excellence and nothing else.

Dan Posted
(2009-04-30 06:20:25)

I love it when media folk rip on Don Cherry. You all think because he wears goofy suits and yells all the time that he is stupid. Well as a "true" hockey fan i think he is great. Don tells it like it is, he doesn't say what people want to hear.Don looks at the game in a true, original 6, CANADIAN way. He knows and i know that Gary Bettman (who looks like Homer Simpsons boss) has no hockey knowledge whatsoever. He knows and i know that hockey will never be bigger than baseball, football, and basketball. SO WHAT i like it that way. Quit trying to change the game evry 3 months so hockey can get a newer fan-base. WHAT ABOUT THE FANS WHO LOVE THE GAME NOW ??? Every time the league "tinkers" with the game true hockey fans get disgusted. And for my last point, what does a sold out crowd do when a hockey fight breaks out ??? They stand up and cheer. So as a TRUE hockey fan my one wish would be to see Don Cherry replace Gary Bettman as commisioner, and see new teams in Quebec, Winnipeg, and Hamilton, not Las Vegas and Kansas City. And while we are at it get rid of teams in Atlanta,Florida,Tampa Bay. DON CHERRY FOREVER !!!!!

Steven Noble Posted
(2009-04-30 06:20:25)

Dan, Don Cherry can be entertaining. But, just because you like his style doesn't mean he's always right. I actually like Cherry myself, I grew up watching him, but no matter who's doing the talking I've never yet come across someone who I agree with, no matter what, without question. For instance, when I was 14 I agreed with his anti-European tirades. Now I think they're sadly outdated, irrelevant, and wrong. But I do agree with his point about equipment, you know the segments when he pulls out the elbow pad that looks like it came from Robocop and slams it against the his desk... I don't think the point of the article was dissing Don as much as it was to say Don's wrong on this particular point.

JR Posted
(2009-04-30 06:20:25)

Being a long time hockey fan, and subscriber to the Hockey News, I have watched Don Cherry since he came on and read THN longer than I can remember and I can safely state in my opinion there is only one "clown" getting a media forum to state misinformed opinions and that would be the name in the author's bock. Don Cherry although not politically correct does back up his statements with proof on most occasions, and his credentials in hockey I'm sure surpass that of scholastic writer. At least Mr. Cherry will state what he feels about someone or an issue, right or wrong, and doesn't worry about being on the wrong side of NHL Execs because heavn forbid you'd have to make an article based on experience rather than simply writing down facts from a rulebook or the HHL VP's blog. Calling him a clown is totally unprofessional and unnecessary in my opinion. Stick to what Bill Daly allows you to write instead of trying to grab ratings fro yourself by attacking others that have been in the game at ground level for their entire adult life. Shameful.

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