Oilers explain decision not to touch Clarence Campbell Bowl
No, it wasn’t a dream — the Edmonton Oilers really are going to the Stanley Cup Final.
But before they face off against the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of the NHL’s championship series beginning on Saturday, the Oilers were awarded another trophy: the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl, given each year to the Western Conference playoff victors.
And keeping with recent tradition, Edmonton opted against putting their hands on the trophy, keeping up with the mindset that there’s still potentially a bigger prize around the corner.
PRESENTING THE 2023-24 WESTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS. ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/9NM6kQxUgM
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 3, 2024
A video compilation from the account @VintageOilers on X showed how Edmonton handled things each of the last seven times they won their conference, previously known as the Clarence S. Campbell Conference from 1974 through 1993.
The #Oilers have won the Clarence Campbell Bowl a record 8 times.
1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 2006, 2024.
This clip shows all 8.
Did it make a difference if they touched the trophy?#LetsGoOilers @EdmontonOilers pic.twitter.com/ZAkiWHVexi— Vintage Oilers (@VintageOilers) June 3, 2024
In each of 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990, Edmonton opted to celebrate with the trophy, long before internet discourse about such matters ever existed. They fell in the 1983 Stanley Cup Final, but won each of their next five appearances for a nearly unprecedented run in the modern NHL. In 2006, however, the Oilers went against team tradition, with then-captain Jason Smith opting against picking up the bowl.
“There wasn’t a whole [lot] of discussion,” Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. “It just came about it. Obviously, we’ve never been in this situation. We didn’t talk about it before and that was the decision.”
As per NHL.com, only two Western Conference teams have touched the trophy since 2006: the 2018 Vegas Golden Knights, who lost in the final to the Washington Capitals, and the 2022 Colorado Avalanche, who won over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Florida Panthers, meanwhile, are in their second straight Stanley Cup Final and touched the Eastern Conference’s Prince of Wales Trophy in 2023, but held off doing it this year.
“We didn’t really talk about it at all until the end of the game there,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid said. “I know [the Panthers] didn’t touch [the Prince of Wales Trophy]. We didn’t touch it. Someone’s going to win [the Stanley Cup Final].”
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