New York Rangers Win Regular Season Championship, Ryan McDonagh Touches Trophy, Team Officially Jinxed

Hockey has all of the unwritten rules and superstitions and codes that you could ever hope for. Among those imaginary things that aren’t actual things is the belief that it is bad luck to touch any trophy besides the Stanley Cup. Sure, only one team wins the Stanley Cup a year, but I think it’s safe to say that if the rest of the teams had adhered to the unwritten make-believe laws of the Hockey Gods, all those other teams would have won too.

That’s why it was so stupid of New York Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh to touch the Presidents’ Trophy on Thursday night. (That’s right, the NHL gives a team a trophy for winning the regular season championship.) The Rangers’ playoff exit is all but official now.