It’s all over for Vegas now. They broke the ultimate NHL taboo. You NEVER touch the Conference trophies. There is only one trophy that matters.
Sid the kid touched the trophy the past two years and won so I’m not sure about the taboo. As for the sweetheart deal the team got in the expansion draft. Every team was allowed to protect 8 forwards 3 defensemen and a goalie plus all their players with less than 3 years experience , so everyone they drafted was at best a 3 rd liner or 2nd pairing d man. They got lucky that fleury (who was considered a playoff failure in recent years) was available, plus dale Tallon and the Florida management was stupid enough to pay them to take 2/3 of what is now their first line off his hands.
They touched it??? Oh dear. They either broke a tradition or reinforced it....guess we’ll see :)
While I can appreciate the Cinderella story the odds of them reaching the finals in their first year is somewhat sketchy, of course the league wants a larger fan base and wanted them to do well. Doing THIS well is a little suspect.
The Penguins touched it in 91, 92, 09, 16 and 17 and won. The only time they had it and didn’t touch it was 08. They lost to Detroit.
With expansion comes new traditions.
You NEVER touch the Conference trophies.
Except the Penguins celebrated the conference trophy the last 3 times they won. It’s not an ultimate taboo, it’s a bit of superstition.