Which NHL Team Has Never Won the Stanley Cup?

The Stanley Cup is the most prestigious trophy in professional ice hockey. NHL teams that have never won the Stanley Cup include the Arizona Coyotes, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, and Winnipeg Jets.

NHL Teams

The National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America, currently comprising 31 teams: 24 in the United States and 7 in Canada. Of the US teams, 23 are in the Eastern Time Zone and 1 is in the Mountain Time Zone.

List of teams that have never won the Stanley Cup

Anaheim Ducks
Atlanta Flames (now Calgary Flames)
Atlanta Thrashers (now Winnipeg Jets)
Buffalo Sabres
Carolina Hurricanes
Columbus Blue Jackets
Dallas Stars (formerly the Minnesota North Stars)
Edmonton Oilers
Florida Panthers
Minnesota Wild
Montreal Canadiens
Nashville Predators
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Ottawa Senators
Philadelphia Flyers
Phoenix Coyotes (formerly the Winnipeg Jets)
Pittsburgh Penguins

San Jose Sharks
St. Louis Blues
Tampa Bay Lightning Washington Capitals

List of teams that have won the Stanley Cup

The Stanley Cup is the most coveted trophy in all of professional hockey, and winning it is the ultimate goal for any team.

Since 1893, when the first Stanley Cup was awarded to the Montreal Hockey Club, only 28 teams have had the privilege of hoisting hockey’s holy grail.

Of those 28 teams, 24 have won it more than once. The exceptions are the Toronto Maple Leafs (13), Colorado Avalanche (1), Florida Panthers (1), Anaheim Ducks (1) and Carolina Hurricanes (1).

Here’s a complete list of teams that have won the Stanley Cup, along with their total number of titles.

Boston Bruins (6)
Chicago Blackhawks (6)
Detroit Red Wings (11)
Montreal Canadiens (24)
New York Islanders (4)
New York Rangers (4)
Philadelphia Flyers (2)
Pittsburgh Penguins (5)
St. Louis Blues (11)* (* denotes team’s most recent title)

Reasons Why

The NHL Stanley Cup is the most prestigious award a hockey team can win. Although many teams have had great players and coaches over the years, there are still some teams who have never won the Stanley Cup. In this article, we will discuss some of the reasons why these teams have never won the Stanley Cup.

Lack of talent

One of the most obvious reasons a team has never won the Stanley Cup is a lack of talent. While there have been some great players on teams that have never won the Stanley Cup, most of these teams have lacked the depth and star power to be true contenders year in and year out. In order to win the Stanley Cup, a team needs to be consistently good at both ends of the ice and have multiple players who can take over a game when necessary.

Poor management

One of the primary reasons why the Buffalo Sabres have never won a Stanley Cup is poor management. The Sabres have had many great players over the years, but the team has often been hamstrung by wrongheaded coaching decisions and front office infighting.

Another reason is simply bad luck. The Sabres have had some close calls, but they’ve never been able to put it all together and win the big prize. In overtime of game six in the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals, for example, the Sabres were seconds away from winning the Cup when the Philadelphia Flyers’ Bobby Clarke scored to send the game to overtime. The Flyers would go on to win in overtime, and the Sabres haven’t been back to the Finals since.

Bad luck

The Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, and Detroit Red Wings are three of the most storied NHL franchises. They have a combined total of 11 Stanley Cup wins, but none since the turn of the century. Each team has had its share of bad luck, near misses, and heartbreaking losses.

The Blackhawks have been one of the best teams in the league over the past decade, but they have only made it to the Stanley Cup Finals once in that time period. They lost to the Los Angeles Kings in 2014 in a seven-game series. The Blackhawks have had some great players in recent years, including Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, but they have been unable to get over the hump.

The Bruins have been to the Stanley Cup Finals twice since 2010, but they lost to the Blackhawks in 2013 and the St. Louis Blues in 2019. The Bruins have had some great teams in recent years, led by stars like Patrice Bergeron and Tuukka Rask. However, they have not been able to win the big one.

The Detroit Red Wings are one of the most successful franchises in NHL history, with 11 Stanley Cup wins. However, they have not won a championship since 1998. The Red Wings have made it to the playoffs every year since 1991, but they have only made it to the Stanley Cup Finals twice in that time period. They lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2008 and 2009. The Red Wings are a team on the decline, as their star players from those championship teams (e.g., Steve Yzerman and Nicklas Lidstrom) have retired or moved on to other teams.