Prince of Wales Trophy < onlyinclude > The Prince of Wales Trophy , or simply the Wales Trophy , is a National Hockey League ( NHL ) trophy awarded to the Eastern Conference ( formerly the Wales Conference ) playoff champions . The trophy is awarded prior to the final series which are the championship games to decide the winner for the Stanley Cup against the Western Conference ' s champions . The Ottawa Senators are the current holders of the trophy after winning the 2007 Eastern Conference playoffs by eliminating the Buffalo Sabres in five games . The trophy was first established in the 1923 - 24 NHL season , for the champion of the NHL playoffs , but it has been the trophy for 8 different accomplishments , which also include being the NHL regular season champions , American Division regular season champions , regular season champions , East Division regular season champions , Wales Conference regular season champions , Wales Conference playoffs champions , and Eastern Conference playoffs champions . History . The Prince of Wales Trophy was donated by His Royal Highness , the Prince of Wales ( later King Edward VIII ) , in 1924 . It was first presented to the playoff champion of the NHL ( replacing the O ' Brien Trophy ) who then went on to face the Western Hockey League ( WHL ) champion for the Stanley Cup . After the WHL folded and the Stanley Cup was awarded exclusively to the NHL playoff champion , the Prince of Wales Trophy was awarded to the regular season champion . From 1927 – 28 onwards it was awarded to the champion of the NHL American Division while the O ' Brien Trophy was awarded to the NHL Canadian Division . It was then repurposed to being the trophy for the overall regular season champion in the 1938 - 39 NHL season when the NHL reverted to a single division . With the Modern Era expansion in the 1967 – 68 season and the creation of the West Division , the Wales Trophy was awarded to the team that finished in first place in the East Division during the regular season . When the league formed two conferences in the season of 1974 – 75 , the award was transferred to the team that finished with the best regular - season record in the Wales Conference . Starting with the 1981 – 82 campaign , when the league changed its playoff format so that the two teams meeting in the Stanley Cup finals could no longer come from the same conference , the trophy was presented to the Wales Conference playoff champions , and since the 1993 – 94 season , the Eastern Conference playoff champions have won the award . Once awarded , the deputy commissioner , currently Bill Daly , would present the trophy to the winning team ' s captain . However , a traditional superstition that is prevalent among many of today ' s NHL players is that no player should either touch or hoist the Wales Trophy ( or the Western Conference ' s trophy , the Clarence S . Campbell Bowl ) when they have won the conference playoffs as the Eastern Conference champions . Players feel that the Stanley Cup is the only true championship trophy and thus it should be the only trophy that should be hoisted . Notes . " Refers to the original Ottawa Senators NHL franchise ( 1917 – 1934 ) . "