Has your team won the Stanley Cup lately? Has your team ever won the Stanley Cup? Will your team make the breakthrough?
Cover image was made using Excel 2007 for the data and MS Paint for light edits. Image of Stanley Cup in cover image comes from Wikimedia.
Introduction
Rivalries make for intense fandoms. Championship rivalries take intense fandoms to a higher level.
Some rivalries feature lopsided histories, where one team is a perennial champion while the other team has to console itself and its fan base with that phrases such as "We'll get 'em next time" or "See you again year."
The dominant championship franchise in the National Hockey League remains the Montreal Canadiens, winners of 24 Stanley Cups, although it is in the midst of championship drought lasting over 30 years.
The longest-- and most infamous-- championship drought in the NHL belongs to the New York Rangers. Before winning it all in the 1993-1994 season, it went 54 seasons after the 1939-1940 season without winning the Stanley Cup. By the time the drought had reached its 40th season, fans of the rival (and dynastic) New York Islanders had been regaling the Rangers with chants of "Nineteen-FOR-ty!!"
LeoThreads for Sports Fans
LeoThreads is a place where (among other things) people let others know about upcoming events on the television calendar. This includes sports, and among the sports with a following here is ice hockey. Professionally, the best ice hockey is played in the National Hockey League. The NHL is home to 32 North American teams, 7 of which are based in Canada. The NHL is also home to perhaps the most impressive championship trophy in all of sports: The Stanley Cup.
Background for This Post
On 2024-January-13 @ericburgoyne posted this thread:
The Edmonton Oilers take on the Montreal Canadiens at 5 p.m. mountain time in NHL hockey action. Game may be seen on CBC, and Sportsnet One #hockey #sports
This thread caught my eye because of the histories of these 2 teams:
- Almost as soon as the Edmonton Oilers of the defunct World Hockey Association merged with the NHL to start the 1979-1980 season they were challenging for the Stanley Cup. From Day 1 in the NHL, the Oilers were blessed to have numerous future Hockey Hall of Fame players such as (among others) Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, and Paul Coffey. 5 years after the WHA merged with the NHL, the Oilers won their first Stanley Cup. After the 1989-1990 season, the Oilers had won 5 Stanley Cups over 7 seasons.
- The Montreal Canadiens, meanwhile, are the flagship franchise of the NHL. This team had won 24 Stanley Cups, and for a while it was winning them in bunches: a league-record 5 consecutive championships between the 1955-1956 season and the 1959-1960 season, and 4 consecutive Cups from the 1976-1977 season through the 1978-1979 season. The 1992-1993 Canadiens defeated the Los Angeles Kings-- led by Wayne Gretzky-- for its 24th Stanley Cup.
Since 1993, the years have not been kind to either team.
By 1993, the Oilers had become a run-of-the-mill team like most teams in the NHL. That's what happens when the Hall of Fame-bound players depart over time. As for the Canadiens, they would be overshadowed by teams both old (Detroit Red Wings) and new (Pittsburgh Penguins).
With this history in mind, I replied to the thread this way:
"These aren't your father's Oilers and Canadiens," as the whippersnappers and anklebiters like to say, but it should still be a fun game to watch
This got me thinking about the last time NHL teams had won the Stanley Cup. It also got me thinking about those NHL teams still seeking their first Stanley Cup (for two teams, the quest enters their respective 53rd seasons).
For NHL fans, where does your team rank among the champions? Is your team in the Stanley Cup Club? Will your team be regaled with its own chant? To which group does your nemesis' team belong? Find out in the tables below!
Stanley Cup Champions by Latest Cup
While there are tables elsewhere showing how many championships a team has won in its league's history, this isn't that table. Of the 32 teams currently in the NHL, 21 have won at least one Stanley Cup.
Below is the table showing the 21 Stanley Cup winners currently in the NHL:
| Number | Last Cup Year | Team Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2023 | Vegas Golden Knights |
| 2 | 2022 | Colorado Avalanche |
| 3 | 2021 | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| 4 | 2019 | St. Louis Blues |
| 5 | 2018 | Washington Capitals |
| 6 | 2017 | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 7 | 2015 | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 8 | 2014 | Los Angeles Kings |
| 9 | 2011 | Boston Bruins |
| 10 | 2008 | Detroit Red Wings |
| 11 | 2007 | Anaheim Ducks |
| 12 | 2006 | Carolina Hurricanes |
| 13 | 2003 | New Jersey Devils |
| 14 | 1999 | Dallas Stars |
| 15 | 1994 | New York Rangers |
| 16 | 1993 | Montreal Canadiens |
| 17 | 1990 | Edmonton Oilers |
| 18 | 1989 | Calgary Flames |
| 19 | 1983 | New York Islanders |
| 20 | 1975 | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 21 | 1967 | Toronto Maple Leafs |
Source: NHL.com
(Even though this would be an embarrassing scene, Montreal Canadiens fans can chant "1-9-6-7" to the Toronto Maple Leafs, but Leafs fans can chant "Nineteen-NINETY-three" to the Canadiens. Despite being ranked 1st and 2nd in Stanley Cups won, glory days for both teams seem like ancient history.)
At the moment, fans of the remaining 31 NHL teams can regale the Toronto Maple Leafs with chants of "1-9-6-7" or "Nineteen-SIXTY-seven" or even "SIX-ty-SEV-en". The way things have been going since 1993, Montreal Canadiens fans can find themselves in the same boat. Fans of the Philadelphia Flyers (1975) and New York Islanders (1983) have nothing to brag about, either.
Where Is Your Team?
If your team was blessed with numerous Hockey Hall of Fame-caliber players-- whether it's dynastic teams such as the Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, or New York Islanders; or great teams such as the Detroit Red Wings or New Jersey Devils-- then it may be a while before they are so blessed again.
If your team has a couple of HHOF-caliber players and has been in contention for the last decade or two, then there's a good chance it will get to hoist the Stanley Cup again in the near future.
If your team is an also-ran as a Stanley Cup contender, be glad it's not a member of The NIF Club (which will be explained next).
The NIF Club
For 11 teams in the NHL as of 2024, the next Stanley Cup will be the first. This detail puts these teams in the Next-Is-First (NIF) Club (not to be confused with the NFT Club).
All expansion eras but the first are represented in the NIF Club. Expected NIF Club members such as the Seattle Kraken and Columbus Blue Jackets appear, but they are also joined by greybeard franchises such as the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks. Of the 11 teams on a continued quest for their first Stanley Cup, they represent all expasnsion eras going back to 1970-1971.
(When the St. Louis Blues won their first Stanley Cup in 2018-2019, they became the last team from that first expansion era which started in the 1967-1968 season to win the most prized trophy in all of professional sports.)
Below is the table showing the 11 current members of the NIF Club:
| Number | Expansion Season | Team Name |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | 2021-2022 | Seattle Kraken |
| 2 | 2011-2012 | Winnipeg Jets [!] |
| 3 | 2000-2001 | Columbus Blue Jackets |
| 4 | 2000-2001 | Minnesota Wild |
| 5 | 1998-1999 | Nashville Predators |
| 6 | 1993-1994 | Florida Panthers |
| 7 | 1993-1993 | Ottawa Senators [!!] |
| 8 | 1991-1992 | San Jose Sharks |
| 9 | 1979-1980 | Arizona Coyotes [!!!] |
| 10 | 1970-1971 | Buffalo Sabres |
| 11 | 1970-1971 | Vancouver Canucks |
--
[!] The current edition of the Winnipeg Jets is the 2nd NHL expansion team to bear this name. This team began as the Atlanta Thrashers, who entered the NHL in time for the 2011-2012 season. Had they not moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, the Atlanta Thrashers would still be members of The NIF Club.
[!!] The current Ottawa Senators have no relation to the 1926-1927 Stanley Cup Championship team bearing the same name. These Ottawa Senators are considered an expansion team.
[!!!] The original Winnipeg Jets entered the NHL in the 1979-1980 season via merger with the World Hockey Association. The WHA-era Winnipeg Jets moved to Arizona for the 1996-1997 season to become first the Phoenix Coyotes and then the Arizona Coyotes. Both today's Jets and today's Coyotes are members of the NIF Club.
Source: TSN.ca
Just My Two Sats
There was a time when certain teams were expected to take turns as Stanley Cup champions, that's how often they won the NHLs's championship trophy. Along the way to 2024, those teams have faded into memory. They may still be good enough to qualify for the playoffs each year, but they are no longer in the class of their legendary, near-mythic, predecessors. Among these franchises are the Montreal Canadiens (1993) and the Edmonton Oilers (1990).
Due to a number of factors, these days a team is lucky to win 2 consecutive Stanley Cups with help from one or two Hockey Hall of Fame-caliber players. Now a new crop of teams challenges for the Stanley Cup annually. Even teams just a few years from expansion are good enough to win the Stanley Cup-- Vegas Golden Knights (2023)-- whereas in times past established teams treated them as doormats to rack up easy wins and points in the league standings.
Out of the 32 teams in the NHL in 2024, 21 have won the Stanley Cup. Many of these teams win the Stanley Cup periodically, and a number have become first-time winners. Other teams, sadly, are fading into history as their championship droughts become longer. These teams are led by the Toronto Maple Leafs (1967), but even dynastic teams such as the Canadiens, Oilers, and New York Islanders (1983) are becoming known as answers to trivia questions.
The first major expansion of the NHL took place in the 1967-1968 season, and the second in the 1970-1971 season. As of 2019, when the St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup, all expansion teams from the 1967-1968 had won the Stanley Cup. This means 11 teams continue their quest for their first Stanley Cup, and these teams represent all expansion eras going back to 1970-1971 (Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks). These 11 teams are in The NIF Club (Next-Is-First).
Where is your favorite NHL team on the list of most recent Stanley Cup championships?