Which NHL Teams Have Never Won A Stanley Cup?
The NHL has been around for well over 100 years, so it isn’t surprising that the majority of current franchises have won the Stanley Cup. However, 11 clubs are still waiting to hoist Lord Stanley’s hardware.
Most online sportsbooks allow NHL enthusiasts to wager on first-time Stanley Cup winners, giving bettors two options: “yes” or “no.” The odds are usually stacked against first-time winners, as it’s usually a perennial contender that lifts the iconic trophy at the end of the postseason.
That said, let’s look at the NHL teams still searching for their first championship.
How Many NHL Teams Have Never Won A Stanley Cup?
There are 11 teams that have yet to win a Stanley Cup:
- Arizona Coyotes
- Buffalo Sabres
- Columbus Blue Jackets
- Florida Panthers
- Minnesota Wild
- Nashville Predators
- Ottawa Senators
- San Jose Sharks
- Seattle Kraken
- Vancouver Canucks
- Winnipeg Jets
Here’s a closer look at those 11 teams and how close some of them have come to reaching the top of the mountain.
Arizona Coyotes
The Arizona Coyotes’ drought goes back to 1979 when they were the Winnipeg Jets (they moved to the desert in 1996).
The Coyotes have made nine playoff appearances since moving to Arizona, with only one coming in the last decade. They haven’t qualified for the playoffs since 2020, when they lost in the first round to the Colorado Avalanche.
The Coyotes have never reached the Stanley Cup Final. The closest they’ve come was when they reached the Western Conference Finals in 2012.
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are one of the oldest active franchises, having joined the NHL in 1970. And while they haven’t been competitive recently, they’ve reached the Stanley Cup Final twice.
The first instance occurred in 1975. After breezing by the Chicago Blackhawks and Montreal Canadiens, the Sabres faced the Philadelphia Flyers for the Stanley Cup, where they lost in six games.
While that was heartbreaking, it pales in comparison to the Sabres’ second shot at the title. Buffalo took on the Dallas Stars to decide the 1999 Stanley Cup, which ended in controversy when the Stars’ Brett Hull scored the series-winning goal in triple overtime in Game 6 despite his left skate entering the crease.
The Sabres haven’t returned to the Finals since then and haven’t qualified for the playoffs since 2011.
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets haven’t had much playoff success since joining the league before the 2000-01 season. In fact, they only qualified for the playoffs once in their first 12 seasons.
Although the Blue Jackets have made the playoffs five times since 2013, the franchise has yet to enjoy a deep run. Their deepest postseason journey came in 2019 when they made it to the second round.
Florida Panthers
Although the Florida Panthers have never won a Stanley Cup, they’ve made it to the Stanley Cup Final twice. In fact, it only took them three seasons to reach hockey’s biggest stage after joining the NHL in 1993.
The Panthers’ first Stanley Cup appearance came in 1996 after they got past the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins in the first three rounds. Goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck stood on his head throughout the playoffs, but it wasn’t enough to win the Cup as Florida was swept by the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Finals.
The Panthers didn’t enjoy much postseason success after that, making the playoffs four times in the 22 subsequent seasons. The likes of Sergei Bobrovsky, Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart have turned things around recently and helped Florida make the Stanley Cup Final in 2023.
The Panthers fell short once again, however, losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games.
Minnesota Wild
Like the Blue Jackets, the Minnesota Wild have experienced limited postseason success since joining the NHL in 2000. The Wild are one of five active franchises that have yet to reach the Stanley Cup Final.
They came close in their third season, however. Thanks to stellar play from the goaltending duo of Manny Fernandez and Dwayne Roloson, the Wild made it to the 2003 Western Conference Finals before losing in four games to the Anaheim Ducks.
Minnesota hasn’t advanced that far since despite consistent regular-season success, reaching the playoffs in 10 of the last 11 seasons.
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators have an intriguing postseason history. On one hand, they racked up 15 postseason appearances from 2004 to 2022. On the other hand, they only made it past the second round once.
That sole instance was when the Predators reached the 2017 Stanley Cup Final and lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games. Nashville went out with a whimper, getting outscored 8-0 during the final two games of the series.
The Predators followed that up with five consecutive postseason appearances but only won one series during that time.
Ottawa Senators
The modern-day Ottawa Senators had massive boots to fill when they made their NHL debut in 1992, considering the original Senators won 11 Stanley Cups from 1903 to 1927.
The new version didn’t qualify for the postseason until 1997, the first of 11 straight playoff appearances. While most of those appearances ended at the hands of the rival Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa did make the Stanley Cup in 2007, losing to the Anaheim Ducks in five games.
The Senators came close to making the Stanley Cup Final again in 2017 but lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
San Jose Sharks
Founded in 1991, the San Jose Sharks were a playoff staple early in their tenure, making 21 postseason appearances through 2019.
Only one of those playoffs produced a Stanley Cup appearance, however, which ended with a six-game loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016. The Sharks lost the first two games by one goal apiece and never recovered.
It’s been nothing but disappointment since then, as San Jose hasn’t made the playoffs since 2019.
Seattle Kraken
It isn’t surprising that the Seattle Kraken are on this list, considering they joined the NHL in 2021
That said, it didn’t take long for the Kraken to get a taste of the playoffs. After going 46-28-8 in the 2022-23 regular season, they upset the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the playoffs.
Unfortunately, that’s where Seattle’s luck ran out. The Kraken took the Dallas Stars to the limit in the second round but couldn’t get any offense going when it mattered the most, losing 2-1 in Game 7.
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks have been around for over 50 years, but a Stanley Cup continues to elude them. The Canucks and Sabres’ Cup drought is officially at 52 seasons, which only trails the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 55-year drought.
In 1982, Vancouver was swept by the New York Islanders in its first Stanley Cup Final. In 1994, the Canucks took the New York Rangers to seven games but struggled to solve Rangers goaltender Mike Richter in a 2-1 Game 7 loss.
Vancouver didn’t reach the Stanley Cup Final again until 2011, when it went head-to-head with the Boston Bruins. The Canucks took a 3-2 lead in the series but couldn’t seal the deal, losing 5-2 in Game 6 before suffering a 4-0 shutout loss in Game 7.
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets joined the NHL as the Atlanta Thrashers in 1999. The Thrashers barely saw any playoff action, making just one quarterfinal appearance across 11 seasons in Atlanta before heading north of the border in 2011.
The Jets failed to make the playoffs in their first three seasons in Winnipeg, but things have turned around of late. They made the playoffs six times from 2015 to 2023.
In 2018, Winnipeg reached the Western Conference Finals before losing in five games to the Vegas Golden Knights.
What Coach Has Won The Most Stanley Cups?
While many players, coaches and teams are still looking for their first Stanley Cup, several coaches have already won several. Some had the good fortune of being in the right place at the right time, while others used their tactical genius to outsmart the competition.
That said, here are the coaches who have led their teams to the most Stanley Cup championships.
Scotty Bowman
Scotty Bowman holds the head coaching record for most Stanley Cup titles with nine. Bowman won nine championships for three different franchises during a 30-year period, with his first coming in 1973 and his last coming in 2002. He’s also the only coach in NHL history with over 1,000 wins.
Bowman had most of his success during the 1970s, guiding the Montreal Canadiens to five championships during the decade, including four straight from 1976 to 1979.
After going titleless in the 1980s, Bowman enjoyed a resurgence with three more championships in the 1990s. He won with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992 before leading the Detroit Red Wings to a trio of titles in 1997, 1998 and 2002, the last of which broke Toe Blake’s record for most Stanley Cups.
Toe Blake
Toe Blake held the record with eight Stanley Cups until Scotty Bowman passed him in 2002, 34 years after Blake retired.
Blake dominated hockey during the 1950s and 1960s, winning eight Stanley Cups in a 13-year stretch from 1956 to 1968. All of his titles came with the Montreal Canadiens (a coaching record for one team), where Blake also won two championships as a player.
Blake led the Habs to five straight titles from 1956 to 1960. He added three championships in a four-year span from 1965 to 1968, retiring on a high note after his final title.
Hap Day
Hap Day and the Toronto Maple Leafs dominated the NHL in the 1940s. In his 10 seasons as a head coach, Day led the Leafs to five titles.
Day won his first coaching championship in 1942, followed by another in 1945. He ended the decade with three straight titles from 1947 to 1949, making Toronto the first NHL dynasty of the post-World War II era.
Day might have won more championships if he’d had a longer coaching career, but he was promoted to assistant general manager in 1950 and never coached again.
Has Any City Won the Super Bowl and Stanley Cup in the Same Year?
Some cities are fortunate enough to win championships in multiple major professional sports in the same year. It’s happened 18 times so far, most recently in 2021.
Since the Super Bowl era began in 1967, there have been two instances of a city winning the Super Bowl and Stanley Cup in the same year.
The first time was in 2009, when the Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super Bowl and the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup. Mike Tomlin and Ben Roethlisberger’s Steelers edged the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 in Super Bowl XLIII, while Sidney Crosby’s Penguins took down the Detroit Red Wings in a thrilling seven-game Stanley Cup Final.
The other instance was in 2021, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Big Game and the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Cup. Tom Brady won his seventh and final Super Bowl in his first season with Tampa Bay, leading the Bucs past Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. Even better for Buccaneers fans, the game was played in Tampa Bay.
A few months later, the Lightning repeated as Stanley Cup champs, dominating the Canadiens in a five-game series for their second straight title.
Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images
