The Hurricanes prioritized superstition over silverware, leaving the Eastern Conference prize untouched in pursuit of the Cup.
The hockey world is riddled with superstition and one that has continued to stand the test of time is the decision to not touch the conference final trophies, as the Carolina Hurricanes elected to do on Friday.
"It seemed like that was the consensus around the room," said captain Jordan Staal. "We have bigger and better things ahead of us."
The Prince of Wales Trophy and the Clarence Campbell Bowl have been awarded to the winners of the Eastern and Western Conference respectively since the 1993-94 season.
Throughout that span, multiple teams have chosen to either hold the trophy or avoid touching it all together because their goal is always something greater.
That isn't always necessarily a decision backed by hard science, as plenty of teams have won the Cup even after handling the conference final hardware, but for the Hurricanes, they at least have some results to show for each decision.
When the team won the East in 2002, Ron Francis did touch the Prince of Wales Trophy and Carolina went on to lose to Detroit in the finals.
However, in 2006, Rod Brind'Amour chose to not touch the trophy and Carolina went on to defeat the Edmonton Oilers in seven games for their first ever Stanley Cup.
"I had a few guys ask me what I thought and I said, 'You can do what you want... but don't touch it,'" Brind'Amour said postgame.
The Vegas Golden Knights, who Carolina will face in the Stanley Cup Final, also did not touch their trophy.
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