The cover jinx is nonexistent for EA’s NHL franchise.
At the NHL Awards Wednesday night, the winner of the EA Sports NHL 13 cover vote will be announced. Whoever dons the cover, whether it is Claude Giroux or Pekka Rinne, won’t have to worry about any sort of jinx next season – at least not when you look at recent history.
EA Sports’ cover jinx phenomenon originates from the Madden NFL franchise. Some NFL players flat out do not want any part of the Madden cover because of the jinx, also known as the Madden Curse. In fact, future Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson once declined the opportunity to grace the Madden cover.
Michael Vick is said to be the poster boy of the Madden Curse.
After Vick was put on the cover of Madden NFL 2004 he broke his leg in a preseason game and played just five games in 2003. Almost every player that has donned the cover of Madden has suffered some sort of injury or performance drop-off.
The cover jinx, whether you believe in it or not, doesn’t exist for EA’s NHL franchise.
Steven Stamkos was the featured player for NHL 12 and put up career-high numbers. Stamkos hit the 60-goal plateau, claiming his second Rocket Richard Trophy in his young career. He also set a career-high with 97 points on a Tampa Bay Lightning club that took a step back after a surprising 2010-11 campaign.
Chicago’s Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, who respectively donned NHL 10 and NHL 11, also posted career-highs in their years on the cover. In Kane’s case, he racked up 88 points in 2009-10 and his Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup. Meanwhile, Toews racked up 76 points in 2010-11.
As you can see, these recent cover boys actually saw an increase in on-ice performance – but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been any drop-offs in performance in the past.
Owen Nolan (NHL 2001), Jarome Iginla (NHL 2003), Alexander Ovechkin (NHL ’07), Dion Phaneuf (NHL ’09) each saw their point totals decline after posting career-high numbers the year before.
Dany Heatley (NHL 2004) was taken off the cover (replaced by Joe Sakic) when he was involved in a car accident that killed Dan Snyder, his Atlanta Thrashers teammate. Don’t forget Mario Lemieux (NHL 2002) either, as he only played in 24 games in the 2001-02 due to various injuries.
Those respective steps back still don’t match what the Madden Curse – again, if you believe in it – has done to some well-known NFLers over the years. Quarterback Donovan McNabb tore his ACL. Running backs Marshall Faulk and Shaun Alexander were slowed by injuries and never and were the same after donning the cover.
For EA’s NHL franchise, cover boy career seasons didn’t just start with Stamkos, Toews and Kane.
Defenseman Chris Pronger was put on the cover of NHL 2000 and, that season, became the first defenseman since Bobby Orr to win the Hart Trophy. As the cover boy of NHL ’99, Eric Lindros saw a spike of 22 points in his production. The same can be said for Eric Staal (NHL 08) and Vincent Lecavalier (NHL 06).
Can Giroux or Rinne benefit from the same fortune?
After what they’ve accomplished in the last two seasons, it will be difficult for either of them to have a career year. Giroux burst onto the NHL superstar scene last year and recorded a career-high 93 points for the Flyers, while Rinne has been a Vezina Trophy finalist in each of the last two seasons.
Still, both of them will be able to rest easy knowing that there won’t be any EA cover jinx that haunts them next season.
Unless I, for some reason, I am jinxing them right now.
