NHL teams that have never won the Stanley Cup till 2023
Find out which top teams have never won the Stanley Cup in their franchise's history.
Stanley Cup (Credits: NHL)
The Stanley Cup is one of the most prestigious trophies, coveted by all 32 teams in the National Hockey League (NHL) of ice hockey. Every year, all these teams battle all their might to win this trophy at the end of the season. However, this does not mean that all the listed 32 teams in the league have had their chance to hold this prestigious trophy.
The difficulty level for every game in the NHL seems to be increasing with every season. A major reason why many franchises haven’t won a Stanley Cup yet is because of the extreme competitiveness and toughness of the league.
Any team that might even come remotely close and still loses out on the trophy against the opponent team, chances would like climbing a ladder to put a claim on the trophy next season. That being said, here are some of the best teams in the NHL who never had the chance to lift the Stanley Cup.
Top 10 teams to have never won the Stanley Cup
Arizona Coyotes
The Yotes, formerly competing as the Winnipeg Jets, have been in the league since 1979. They were rebranded as the Arizona Coyotes in 2014. However, an interesting thing to note is how they could never lay their hands on the Stanley Cup, despite having reached the playoffs twice in the mid-1980s. The team, however, was eliminated in the second round during that time.
As Arizona Coyotes, the team reached the playoffs four consecutive times. However, they had to face elimination in the first round each time. The franchise’s only significant achievement was winning the division title in 2011-12, where the Jets won their first division title in the franchise’s history. This victory, unfortunately, followed an elimination in the Western Conference Finals by the Los Angeles Kings.
Buffalo Sabres
Since joining the league in 1970, the Buffalo Sabres have reached the Stanley Cup Finals twice. In 1973, they faced defeat from the defending champions, Philadelphia Flyers and in 1999, the Sabres lost their claim to the cup against Dallas Stars in the finals. The 1999 Finals was quite a contested one, given the controversial triple-overtime goal by Dallas’ Brett Hull. The Sabres contended against the goal, claiming it to be illegal. The Sabres fans still feel that the Dallas Stars stole a Stanley Cup victory from them.
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets are a relatively young team in the NHL, having joined the league in 2000. Since then, they have never been able to go past the second round of the playoffs. The Blue Jackets’ best season came in 2018-19 when they defeated the top-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning in four games of the first round. However, they faced a significant upset after losing to the Boston Bruins in the second round of the playoffs.
Florida Panthers
Florida Panthers entered the NHL in 1993 and reached the Stanley Cup Finals once in 1996. John Vanbiesbrouck, their star goaltender, was leading the team. The Colorado Avalanche relatively swept the Panthers in the Championship series, which was a major upset to their season-long performance that year. Since then, they have never come close to reaching the Stanley Cup finals as of yet.
Minnesota Wild
Like the Blue Jackets, the Minnesota Wild are also a relatively young team in the NHL, having joined in 2000. Minnesota reached the Western Conference finals in 2003; however, they faced defeat by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Although the team has made multiple playoff entries since 2003, they never had the chance to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Nashville Predators
Nashville Predators entered the NHL in 1998, and since then, they won their first playoff series only in the 2010-11 season against the Anaheim Ducks. However, they faced a major upset in their performance in the second round to be eliminated from the playoff series.
In 2017-18, Nashville reached their first Stanley Cup Finals to face the mighty Pittsburgh Penguins. The Predators lost the six-game series, and since then, they have played the playoffs several times, not making it past the second round.
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators were a top team during the mid and late 2000s, with their first Stanley Cup appearance in 2006. In that season, they beat the Penguins, the New Jersey Devils and the Buffalo Sabres to reach the finals. However, they lost to the Anaheim Ducks in five games.
Since then, Ottawa once reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2016-17, only to lose to Pittsburgh Penguins in a double-overtime in game seven.
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks joined the NHL in 1991, and since then, they have played in the postseason several times. The Sharks won the Western Conference Championship in 2016, advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals. However, that year, the Sharks faced the mighty Penguins, to whom they lost their claim to the cup in six games. Since then, San Jose has advanced to the playoffs multiple times and faced a scathing defeat in the Western Conference Finals against St. Louis Blues in 2018-19.
Seattle Kraken
The Seattle Kraken is one of the youngest teams to join the league in 2021. Since then, the Kraken has made the NHL playoffs this season in 2023. They seem like a viable team to win the Stanley Cup in the future, standing as a solid contender.
Vancouver Canucks
The Canadian team Vancouver Canucks entered the NHL in 1970, and since then, has appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals thrice. In 1994, the Canucks faced the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup finals, where they could hold the series for seven games. However, they lost the final deciding match 3-2 to lose out on the Stanley Cup.
The Canucks appeared last for Stanley Cup Finals in 2010-11, wherein they had secured the best record in the NHL season. However, once again, the mighty Canucks faced defeat against the Boston Bruins in seven games.
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Kaushani Chatterjee
(2161 Articles Published)