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This article is a list of the active and all-time National Hockey League (NHL) franchise post-season appearance, post-season series win, Stanley Cup Finals and Stanley Cup droughts up to and including the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs. Those teams which have never made it in franchise history are listed by the season that they entered the league, either as a new franchise or when they merged into the NHL from the disbanded World Hockey Association (WHA) league.

Note: These lists do not include the cancelled 2004–05 NHL season when calculating "number of seasons".

Among the current thirty-two active NHL teams, twelve have never won the Stanley Cup, with the oldest of them being the Vancouver Canucks and the Buffalo Sabres (50 seasons). The longest Stanley Cup drought in NHL history belongs to the Toronto Maple Leafs (54 seasons). New York ended their drought in 1994, while Toronto's drought is still active, as they have not made the Finals since winning the last Stanley Cup before the expansion era. Five teams have never reached the Stanley Cup Finals, with the oldest of them being the Winnipeg Jets/Arizona Coyotes franchise (41 seasons). Toronto's active 54-season drought from the Finals is the longest in NHL history. In 2010, the Chicago Blackhawks ended what was the second-longest Stanley Cup championship drought at 47 seasons (now the sixth-longest). The end of that drought was the first of three consecutive years in which one of the eleven longest such droughts was broken (Chicago Blackhawks in 2010, Boston Bruins in 2011, and Los Angeles Kings in 2012).

The Toronto Maple Leafs have the longest active playoff series winning drought at 17 seasons. The Florida Panthers have the longest playoff series winning drought in league history at 24 seasons. The Buffalo Sabres have the longest active drought for missing the playoffs at 11 consecutive seasons. It is also a league record.

Longest active droughts[]

Post-season appearance droughts[]

Further information: List of NHL franchise post-season appearance streaks

A postseason appearance drought is continued by not making the NHL playoffs after the regular season. Since the first round of the playoffs normally consists of eight series (sixteen teams) and there were thirty-two active teams in the NHL during the 2021–22 season, there are sixteen teams that did not make the most recent playoffs on this list.

Team Last appearance in post-season Post-season drought
Buffalo Sabres 2010–11 11 seasons
Detroit Red Wings 2015–16 6 seasons
Ottawa Senators 2016–17 5 seasons
Anaheim Ducks 2017–18 4 seasons
New Jersey Devils 2017–18 4 seasons
San Jose Sharks 2018–19 3 seasons
Arizona Coyotes 2019–20 2 seasons
Chicago Blackhawks 2019–20 2 seasons
Columbus Blue Jackets 2019–20 2 seasons
Philadelphia Flyers 2019–20 2 seasons
Vancouver Canucks 2019–20 2 seasons
Montreal Canadiens 2020–21 1 season
New York Islanders 2020–21 1 season
Seattle Kraken never (inception of franchise in 2021–22) 1 season
Vegas Golden Knights 2020–21 1 season
Winnipeg Jets 2020–21 1 season

Post-season series winning droughts[]

A post-season series winning drought is continued either by not making the playoffs in a season or by making the playoffs in a season but subsequently lost the first round series. Since the first round of the NHL playoffs consists of eight series (sixteen teams), there will be twenty-four teams in this list – the sixteen teams that do not qualify for the post-season, plus the eight teams that lose their first round series.

The other eight teams – the Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, and Tampa Bay Lightning – all won a post-season series in the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Team Last post-season
series win
Subsequent post-season
series losses
Postseason
series winning drought
Toronto Maple Leafs 2003–04 7 : 2012–13, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22 17 seasons
Buffalo Sabres 2006–07 2 : 2009–10, 2010–11 015 seasons
New Jersey Devils 2011–12 1 : 2017–18 010 seasons
Detroit Red Wings 2012–13 3 : 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16 09 seasons
Los Angeles Kings 2013–14 3 : 2015–16, 2017–18, 2021–22 08 seasons
Minnesota Wild 2014–15 6 : 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22 07 seasons
Anaheim Ducks 2016–17 1 : 2017–18 05 seasons
Ottawa Senators 2016–17 05 seasons
Nashville Predators 2017–18 4 : 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22 04 seasons
Pittsburgh Penguins 2017–18 4 : 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22 04 seasons
Washington Capitals 2017–18 4 : 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22 04 seasons
San Jose Sharks 2018–19 03 seasons
Arizona Coyotes 2019–20 02 seasons
Chicago Blackhawks 2019–20 02 seasons
Columbus Blue Jackets 2019–20 02 seasons
Dallas Stars 2019–20 1 : 2021–22 2 seasons
Philadelphia Flyers 2019–20 02 seasons
Vancouver Canucks 2019–20 02 seasons
Boston Bruins 2020–21 1 : 2021–22 1 season
Montreal Canadiens 2020–21 1 season
New York Islanders 2020–21 1 season
Seattle Kraken never (inception of franchise in 2021–22) 1 season
Vegas Golden Knights 2020–21 1 season
Winnipeg Jets 2020–21 1 season

Stanley Cup Finals droughts[]

This is a list of the teams and the number of seasons since they have reached the Stanley Cup Finals. This list does not include the two teams that made the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals: the Colorado Avalanche and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Team Last appearance
in Stanley Cup Finals
Subsequent Conference
Finals losses
Stanley Cup
Finals drought
Toronto Maple Leafs 1966–67 5: 1977–78, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1998–99, 2001–02 54 seasons
Arizona Coyotes never (franchise entered the NHL in 1979–80) 1: 2011–12 42 seasons1
New York Islanders 1983–84 3: 1992–93, 2019–20, 2020–21 37 seasons
Florida Panthers 1995–96 25 seasons
Buffalo Sabres 1998–99 2: 2005–06, 2006–07 22 seasons
Winnipeg Jets never (inception of franchise in 1999–2000) 1: 2017–18 22 seasons2
Columbus Blue Jackets never (inception of franchise in 2000–01) 21 seasons
Minnesota Wild never (inception of franchise in 2000–01) 1: 2002–03 21 seasons
Calgary Flames 2003–04 17 seasons
Carolina Hurricanes 2005–06 2: 2008–09, 2018–19 016 seasons
Edmonton Oilers 2005–06 1: 2021–22 16 seasons
Anaheim Ducks 2006–07 2: 2014–15, 2016–17 015 seasons
Ottawa Senators 2006–07 1: 2016–17 015 seasons
Detroit Red Wings 2008–09 013 seasons
Philadelphia Flyers 2009–10 012 seasons
Vancouver Canucks 2010–11 011 seasons
New Jersey Devils 2011–12 010 seasons
Los Angeles Kings 2013–14 08 seasons
New York Rangers 2013–14 2: 2014–15, 2021–22 08 seasons
Chicago Blackhawks 2014–15 07 seasons
San Jose Sharks 2015–16 1: 2018–19 06 seasons
Nashville Predators 2016–17 05 seasons
Pittsburgh Penguins 2016–17 05 seasons
Vegas Golden Knights 2017–18 2: 2019–20, 2020–21 4 seasons
Washington Capitals 2017–18 4 seasons
Boston Bruins 2018–19 3 seasons
St. Louis Blues 2018–19 3 seasons
Dallas Stars 2019–20 2 seasons
Montreal Canadiens 2020–21 1 season
Seattle Kraken never (inception of franchise in 2021–22) 1 season
1 includes 17 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (1979–80 through to 1995–96) + 25 seasons for Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes (1996–97 through to 2021–22)
2 includes 11 seasons for Atlanta Thrashers (1999–2000 through to 2010–11) + 11 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (2011–12 through to 2021–22)

Stanley Cup droughts[]

This is a list of the teams and the number of seasons since they have won the Stanley Cup. This list does not include the most recent Stanley Cup champions: the Colorado Avalanche.

Team Last Stanley Cup Subsequent Stanley Cup
Finals losses
Stanley Cup
drought
Toronto Maple Leafs 1966–67 54 seasons
Buffalo Sabres never (inception of franchise in 1970–71) 2 : 1974–75, 1998–99 51 seasons
Vancouver Canucks never (inception of franchise in 1970–71) 3 : 1981–82, 1993–94, 2010–11 51 seasons
Philadelphia Flyers 1974–75 6 : 1975–76, 1979–80, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1996–97, 2009–10 46 seasons
Arizona Coyotes never (franchise entered the NHL in 1979–80) 42 seasons1
New York Islanders 1982–83 1 : 1983–84 38 seasons
Calgary Flames 1988–89 1 : 2003–04 32 seasons
Edmonton Oilers 1989–90 1 : 2005–06 31 seasons
San Jose Sharks never (inception of franchise in 1991–92) 1 : 2015–16 30 seasons
Ottawa Senators never (inception of franchise in 1992–93) 1 : 2006–07 29 seasons
Montreal Canadiens 1992–93 1 : 2020–21 28 seasons
Florida Panthers never (inception of franchise in 1993–94) 1 : 1995–96 28 seasons
New York Rangers 1993–94 1 : 2013–14 27 seasons
Nashville Predators never (inception of franchise in 1998–99) 1 : 2016–17 23 seasons
Dallas Stars 1998–99 2 : 1999–2000, 2019–20 22 seasons
Winnipeg Jets never (inception of franchise in 1999–2000) 22 seasons2
Columbus Blue Jackets never (inception of franchise in 2000–01) 21 seasons
Minnesota Wild never (inception of franchise in 2000–01) 21 seasons
New Jersey Devils 2002–03 1 : 2011–12 18 seasons
Carolina Hurricanes 2005–06 016 seasons
Anaheim Ducks 2006–07 015 seasons
Detroit Red Wings 2007–08 1 : 2008–09 014 seasons
Boston Bruins 2010–11 2 : 2012–13, 2018–19 011 seasons
Los Angeles Kings 2013–14 08 seasons
Chicago Blackhawks 2014–15 07 seasons
Pittsburgh Penguins 2016–17 05 seasons
Vegas Golden Knights never (inception of franchise in 2017–18) 1 : 2017–18 05 seasons
Washington Capitals 2017–18 04 seasons
St. Louis Blues 2018–19 03 seasons
Tampa Bay Lightning 2020–21 1: 2021–22 01 season
Seattle Kraken never (inception of franchise in 2021–22) 1 season
1 includes 17 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (1979–80 through to 1995–96) + 25 seasons for Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes (1996–97 through to 2021–22)
2 includes 11 seasons for Atlanta Thrashers (1999–2000 through to 2010–11) + 11 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (2011–12 through to 2021–22)

Closest approaches without winning[]

Team First NHL season First Round
Appearances1
Second Round
Appearances2
Conference Finals
Appearances3
Stanley Cup Finals
Appearances
Fewest wins short of Stanley Cup
Vancouver Canucks 1970–71 27 12 3 3 01 win short : 1993–94, 2010–11
Buffalo Sabres 1970–71 27 15 6 2 02 wins short : 1974–75, 1998–99
San Jose Sharks 1991–92 21 15 5 1 02 wins short : 2015–16
Nashville Predators 1998–99 14 5 1 1 2 wins short : 2016–17
Ottawa Senators 1992–93 16 7 3 1 03 wins short : 2006–07
Vegas Golden Knights 2017–18 4 3 3 1 03 wins short : 2017–18
Florida Panthers 1993–94 7 2 1 1 04 wins short : 1995–96
Arizona Coyotes4 1979–80 20 3 1 07 wins short : 2011–12
Winnipeg Jets5 1999–2000 5 2 1 7 wins short : 2017–18
Minnesota Wild 2000–01 11 3 1 08 wins short : 2002–03
Columbus Blue Jackets 2000–01 6 1 10 wins short : 2018–19
Seattle Kraken 2021–22 16 wins short : N/A
1 includes Preliminary Rounds from 1974–75 through to 1980–81, Division Semi-Finals from 1981–82 through to 1992–93 and Conference Quarterfinals from 1993–94 through to 2012–13
2 includes Quarter-Finals from 1967–68 through to 1980–81, Division Finals from 1981–82 through to 1992–93 and Conference Semifinals from 1993–94 through to 2012–13
3 includes Semi-Finals up to and including 1980–81 and Stanley Cup Semifinals in 2021–22
4 includes 17 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (1979–80 through to 1995–96) + 25 seasons for Arizona Coyotes/Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97 through to 2021–22).
5 includes 11 seasons for Atlanta Thrashers (1999–2000 through to 2010–11) + 11 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (2011–12 through to 2021–22).

Longest all-time droughts[]

Post-season appearance droughts[]

     Active franchise streak is highlighted

Team Previous post-season appearance Next post-season appearance Post-season drought
Buffalo Sabres 2010–11 011 seasons
Florida Panthers 1999–2000 2011–12 10 seasons1
Edmonton Oilers 2005–06 2016–17 010 seasons
Colorado Rockies / New Jersey Devils 1977–78 1987–88 09 seasons2
Carolina Hurricanes 2008–09 2018–19 09 seasons
California Golden Seals / Cleveland Barons3 1969–70 never (merger of franchise after 1977–78) 08 seasons4
Boston Bruins 1958–59 1967–68 08 seasons
Washington Capitals never (inception of franchise in 1974–75) 1982–83 08 seasons
Detroit Red Wings 1969–70 1977–78 07 seasons
New York Islanders 1993–94 2001–02 07 seasons
Calgary Flames 1995–96 2003–04 07 seasons
New York Rangers 1996–97 2005–06 07 seasons1
Columbus Blue Jackets never (inception of franchise in 2000–01) 2008–09 07 seasons1
Toronto Maple Leafs 2003–04 2012–13 07 seasons1
Atlanta Thrashers / Winnipeg Jets 2006–07 2014–15 07 seasons5
Phoenix / Arizona Coyotes 2011–12 2019–20 07 seasons6
1 no post-season occurred in 2005, due to the 2004–05 NHL Lockout
2 includes 4 seasons for Colorado Rockies (1978–79 through to 1981–82) + 5 seasons for New Jersey Devils (1982–83 through to 1986–87)
3 franchise dissolved in 1978 in a merger with the Minnesota North Stars (current Dallas Stars)
4 includes 6 seasons for California Golden Seals (1970–71 through to 1975–76) + 2 seasons for Cleveland Barons (1976–77, 1977–78)
5 includes 4 seasons for Atlanta Thrashers (2007–08 through to 2010–11) + 3 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (2011–12 through to 2013–14)
6 franchise changed its name in 2014 from Phoenix to Arizona Coyotes

Post-season series winning droughts[]

     Active franchise streak is highlighted

Team Previous post-season
series win
Intervening post-season
series losses
Next post-season
series win
Post-season
series winning drought
Florida Panthers 1995–96 6 : 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2011–12, 2015–16, 2019–20, 2020–21 2021–22 24 seasons
Winnipeg Jets / Phoenix Coyotes1 1986–87 12 : 1987–88, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2009–10, 2010–11 2011–12 23 seasons2
New York Islanders 1992–93 07 : 1993–94, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2012–13, 2014–15 2015–16 21 seasons
New York Rangers 1949–50 08 : 1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1961–62, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70 1970–71 20 seasons
Atlanta Thrashers / Winnipeg Jets never (inception of franchise in 1999–2000) 02 : 2006–07, 2014–15 2017–18 17 seasons3
Columbus Blue Jackets never (inception of franchise in 2000–01) 04 : 2008–09, 2013–14, 2016–17, 2017–18 2018–19 17 seasons
Toronto Maple Leafs 2003–04 7 : 2012–13, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22 17 seasons
Chicago Black Hawks 1943–44 04 : 1945–46, 1952–53, 1958–59, 1959–60 1960–61 16 seasons
Hartford Whalers / Carolina Hurricanes 1985–86 08 : 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1998–99, 2000–01 2001–02 15 seasons4
Buffalo Sabres 2006–07 2 : 2009–10, 2010–11 15 seasons
Calgary Flames 1988–89 06 : 1989–90, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96 2003–04 14 seasons
1 franchise renamed in 2014 as Arizona Coyotes
2 includes 9 seasons of the Winnipeg Jets (1987–88 through to 1995–96) + 14 seasons of the Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97 through to 2010–11)
3 includes 11 seasons for Atlanta Thrashers (1999–2000 through to 2010–11) + 6 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (2011–12 through to 2016–17)
4 includes 11 seasons of the Hartford Whalers (1986–87 through to 1996–97) + 4 season of the Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) through to 2000–01

Stanley Cup Finals droughts[]

     Active franchise streak is highlighted

Team Previous Stanley Cup Finals Intervening Conference
Finals losses
Next Stanley Cup Finals Stanley Cup Finals drought
Toronto Maple Leafs 1966–67 5: 1977–78, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1998–99, 2001–02 54 seasons
St. Louis Blues 1969–70 4: 1971–72, 1985–86, 2000–01, 2015–16 2018–19 47 seasons
Arizona Coyotes never (franchise entered the NHL in 1979–80) 1: 2011–12 42 seasons1
New York Islanders 1983–84 3: 1992–93, 2019–20, 2020-21 37 seasons
Detroit Red Wings 1965–66 2: 1986–87, 1987–88 1994–95 28 seasons
Montreal Canadiens 1992–93 2: 2009–10, 2013–14 2020–21 26 seasons
Los Angeles Kings never (inception of franchise in 1967–68) 1: 1968–69 1992–93 25 seasons
Florida Panthers 1995–96 25 seasons
Buffalo Sabres 1974–75 2: 1979–80, 1997–98 1998–99 23 seasons
Pittsburgh Penguins never (inception of franchise in 1967–68) 1: 1969–70 1990–91 23 seasons
Washington Capitals never (inception of franchise in 1974–75) 1: 1989–90 1997–98 23 seasons
San Jose Sharks never (inception of franchise in 1991–92) 3: 2003–04, 2009–10, 2010–11 2015–16 23 seasons
1 includes 17 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (1979–80 through to 1995–96) + 25 seasons for Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97 through to 2021–22)

Stanley Cup droughts[]

     Active franchise streak is highlighted

Team Previous Stanley Cup Intervening Stanley Cup
Finals losses
Next Stanley Cup Stanley Cup drought
Toronto Maple Leafs 1966–67 54 seasons
New York Rangers 1939–40 3 : 1949–50, 1971–72, 1978–79 1993–94 53 seasons1
Buffalo Sabres never (inception of franchise in 1970–71) 2 : 1974–75, 1998–99 51 seasons
Vancouver Canucks never (inception of franchise in 1970–71) 3 : 1981–82, 1993–94, 2010–11 51 seasons
St. Louis Blues never (inception of franchise in 1967–68) 3 : 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70 2018–19 50 seasons
Chicago Black Hawks2 1960–61 5 : 1961–62, 1964–65, 1970–71, 1972–73, 1991–92 2009–10 47 seasons
Philadelphia Flyers 1974–75 6 : 1975–76, 1979–80, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1996–97, 2009–10 46 seasons
Los Angeles Kings never (inception of franchise in 1967–68) 1 : 1992–93 2011–12 43 seasons
Washington Capitals never (inception of franchise in 1974–75) 1 : 1997–98 2017–18 42 seasons
Arizona Coyotes never (inception of franchise in 1979–80) 42 seasons3
Detroit Red Wings 1954–55 6 : 1955–56, 1960–61, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1965–66, 1994–95 1996–97 41 seasons
1 it is common to refer to the duration of the New York Rangers' record Stanley Cup drought as 54 "years" (1940 to 1994), but that only encompasses 53 seasons (1940–41 to 1992–93).
2 the name of the team was Black Hawks for a majority of the drought (25 of the 47 seasons) before being renamed to Blackhawks in 1986.
3 includes 17 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (1979–80 through to 1995–96) + 25 seasons for Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes (1996–97 through to 2021–22)

Cities/regions awaiting first Stanley Cup[]

This list only includes cities/regions currently hosting an NHL franchise.      Teams competing for the 2022 Stanley Cup are highlighted

City/Region Seasons waiting Stanley Cup
Finals appearances
Current NHL team
Buffalo 510 1974–75, 1998–99 Buffalo Sabres
Minneapolis–Saint Paul 471 1980–812, 1990–912 Minnesota Wild
San Francisco Bay 393 2015–16 San Jose Sharks
Miami 280 1995–96 Florida Panthers
Phoenix 250 Never Arizona Coyotes
Nashville 230 2016–17 Nashville Predators
Columbus 21 Never Columbus Blue Jackets
Las Vegas Valley 5 2017–18 Vegas Golden Knights
1 includes 26 seasons of the Minnesota North Stars (1967–68 through to 1992–93) and 20 seasons of the Minnesota Wild (2000–01 through to 2020–21).
2 both Stanley Cup Finals appearances by the Minnesota North Stars.
3 includes 9 seasons of the California Seals, Oakland Seals, California Golden Seals franchise (1967–68 through to 1975–76) and 30 seasons of the San Jose Sharks (1991–92 through to 2021–22).

Canadian droughts[]

Despite having fewer Canadian-based teams than U.S.-based ones throughout much of the NHL's existence (dating back to the Original Six era when it was two Canadian clubs to four American ones, and now seven to twenty-five since 2021), there have been only two times in league history where none of the Canadian teams qualified for the postseason: 1969–70 and 2015–16.[1] The 1992–93 Montreal Canadiens remain the last Canadian club to go all the way and win the Stanley Cup.[2]

See also[]

References[]

  1. Stubbs, Dave (March 31, 2016). Woe Canada. No playoffs this year north of border. NHL Enterprises, L.P..
  2. Tim Warnsby (June 15, 2011). Bruins win Stanley Cup. CBC Sports. “The Canucks weren't going to become the first Canadian-based team since the 1992-93 Montreal Canadiens to win the Stanley Cup with such little production.”
List of NHL-related topics
History Original Six · 1967 NHL Expansion · Timeline of the National Hockey League · List of NHL seasons · Most frequent NHL playoff series · Stanley Cup champions · Rivalries · Defunct teams · Retired numbers
NHL personnel List of NHL players · NHL statistical leaders (by country of birth) · NHL players with 1000 points · NHL players with 500 goals · NHL players with 100 point seasons · List of famous ice hockey linemates · NHL head coaches · NHL General Managers · Notable families in the NHL · NHL Presidents and Commissioners
Records Individual records · Team records · League records · Post-season streaks · Post-season droughts · Wayne Gretzky's records · 50 goals in 50 games
Related leagues, tournaments and games International competitions · National Women's Hockey League · American Hockey League · World Cup of Hockey · NHL All-Star Game · NHL Challenge · NHL All-Star Celebrity Challenge · World Hockey Association
Other NHL arenas · NHL Entry Draft · NHL awards · NHL All-Rookie Team · NHL trade deadline · NHL player salaries · Violence in ice hockey · NHL mascots
This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at List of NHL franchise post-season droughts. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA).


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