List of NHL franchise post-season droughts

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 2020 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 defunct World Hockey Association (WHA) league.

For an explanation of the NHL season and post-season, see Season structure of the NHL.

Note: These lists do not include the cancelled 2004–05 NHL season.

Among the current 31 NHL teams, 11 have never won the Stanley Cup. Additionally, one of the Original Six franchises – the Toronto Maple Leafs – has a Stanley Cup drought that includes the entire expansion era (52 seasons and counting). With the Vegas Golden Knights winning the Western Conference in 2018, there are only four franchises that have never reached the Stanley Cup Finals. Of those four, the oldest is the Winnipeg Jets/Arizona Coyotes franchise (38 seasons), while the Maple Leafs have an even longer drought (52 seasons). The longest Stanley Cup championship drought in history was that of the New York Rangers, broken in 1994 after 53 seasons. The Maple Leafs have the current longest active Stanley Cup championship drought at 52 seasons and counting. In 2010, the Chicago Blackhawks ended what was the second-longest ever 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 Florida Panthers have the longest active playoff series win drought (23 seasons). The longest drought between series wins was that of the Winnipeg Jets/Arizona Coyotes franchise, broken in 2012 after 25 seasons. The Buffalo Sabres have the longest active playoff appearance drought (9 seasons). The longest playoff droughts in history were by the Panthers and Edmonton Oilers at 10 seasons, which ended in 2012 and 2017 respectively.

Longest active droughts

Postseason appearance droughts

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 8 series (16 teams) and there are 31 teams in the NHL, there will always be 15 teams that did not make the most recent playoffs on this list, except for 2020 as the league expanded the playoffs to 24 teams due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as a result only 7 teams did not make the playoffs.

The other 24 teams – the Arizona Coyotes, Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Vegas Golden Knights, Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets – all qualified for the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Further information: List of NHL franchise post-season appearance streaks
Team Last appearance in post-season Postseason drought
Buffalo Sabres2010–119 seasons
Detroit Red Wings2015–164 seasons
Ottawa Senators2016–173 seasons
Anaheim Ducks2017–182 seasons
Los Angeles Kings2017–182 seasons
New Jersey Devils2017–182 seasons
San Jose Sharks2018–191 season

Post-season series win droughts


In the expanded 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, a qualifying round was held to determine which teams would enter a more traditional bracket. Due to this format, between eight and sixteen teams can win a playoff series in 2020. The seventeen teams on this list that did not win a post-season series in the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.

The other fourteen teams – the Arizona Coyotes, Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vancouver Canucks and Vegas Golden Knights – all won a post-season series in the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Team Last post-season
series win		 Subsequent post-season
series losses		 Postseason
series win drought
Florida Panthers1995–965 : 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2011–12, 2015–16, 2019–2023 seasons
Toronto Maple Leafs2003–045 : 2012–13, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–2015 seasons
Buffalo Sabres2006–072 : 2009–10, 2010–11013 seasons
New Jersey Devils2011–121 : 2017–1808 seasons
Detroit Red Wings2012–133 : 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–1607 seasons
Los Angeles Kings2013–142 : 2015–16, 2017–1806 seasons
Minnesota Wild2014–154 : 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2019–2005 seasons
Anaheim Ducks2016–171 : 2017–1803 seasons
Edmonton Oilers2016–171 : 2019–2003 seasons
New York Rangers2016–171 : 2019–2003 seasons
Ottawa Senators2016–1703 seasons
Nashville Predators2017–182 : 2018–19, 2019–2002 seasons
Pittsburgh Penguins2017–182 : 2018–19, 2019–2002 seasons
Winnipeg Jets2017–182 : 2018–19, 2019–2002 seasons
Washington Capitals2017–182 : 2018–19, 2019–2002 seasons
San Jose Sharks2018–1901 season
St. Louis Blues2018–191 : 2019–2001 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 2020 Stanley Cup Finals: the Dallas Stars and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Team Last appearance
in Stanley Cup Finals		 Subsequent Conference
Finals losses		 Stanley Cup
Finals drought
Toronto Maple Leafs1966–675: 1977–78, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1998–99, 2001–0252 seasons
Arizona Coyotesnever (franchise entered the NHL in 1979–80)1: 2011–1240 seasons1
New York Islanders1983–842: 1992–93, 2019–2035 seasons
Montreal Canadiens1992–932: 2009–10, 2013–1426 seasons
Florida Panthers1995–9623 seasons
Buffalo Sabres1998–992: 2005–06, 2006–0720 seasons
Winnipeg Jetsnever (inception of franchise in 1999–2000)1: 2017–1820 seasons2
Minnesota Wildnever (inception of franchise in 2000–01)1: 2002–03 19 seasons
Columbus Blue Jacketsnever (inception of franchise in 2000–01)19 seasons
Colorado Avalanche2000–011: 2001–0218 seasons
Calgary Flames2003–0415 seasons
Edmonton Oilers2005–06014 seasons
Carolina Hurricanes2005–062: 2008–09, 2018–19014 seasons
Anaheim Ducks2006–072: 2014–15, 2016–17013 seasons
Ottawa Senators2006–071: 2016–17013 seasons
Detroit Red Wings2008–09011 seasons
Philadelphia Flyers2009–10010 seasons
Vancouver Canucks2010–1109 seasons
New Jersey Devils2011–1208 seasons
Los Angeles Kings2013–1406 seasons
New York Rangers2013–141: 2014–1506 seasons
Chicago Blackhawks2014–1505 seasons
San Jose Sharks2015–161: 2018–1904 seasons
Nashville Predators2016–1703 seasons
Pittsburgh Penguins2016–1703 seasons
Washington Capitals2017–182 seasons
Vegas Golden Knights2017–181: 2019–202 seasons
Boston Bruins2018–191 season
St. Louis Blues2018–191 season
1 includes 17 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (1979–80 through to 1995–96) + 23 seasons for Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes (1996–97 through to 2019–20)
2 includes 11 seasons for Atlanta Thrashers (1999–2000 through to 2010–11) + 9 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (2011–12 through to 2019–20)

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 Tampa Bay Lightning.

Team Last Stanley Cup Subsequent Stanley Cup
Finals losses		 Stanley Cup
drought
Toronto Maple Leafs1966–6752 seasons
Buffalo Sabresnever (inception of franchise in 1970–71)2 : 1974–75, 1998–9949 seasons
Vancouver Canucksnever (inception of franchise in 1970–71)3 : 1981–82, 1993–94, 2010–1149 seasons
Philadelphia Flyers1974–756 : 1975–76, 1979–80, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1996–97, 2009–1044 seasons
Arizona Coyotesnever (franchise entered the NHL in 1979–80)40 seasons1
New York Islanders1982–831 : 1983–8436 seasons
Calgary Flames1988–891 : 2003–0430 seasons
Edmonton Oilers1989–901 : 2005–0629 seasons
San Jose Sharksnever (inception of franchise in 1991–92)1 : 2015–1628 seasons
Ottawa Senatorsnever (inception of franchise in 1992–93)1 : 2006–0727 seasons
Florida Panthersnever (inception of franchise in 1993–94)1 : 1995–9626 seasons
Montreal Canadiens1992–9326 seasons
New York Rangers1993–941 : 2013–1425 seasons
Nashville Predatorsnever (inception of franchise in 1998–99)1 : 2016–1721 seasons
Winnipeg Jetsnever (inception of franchise in 1999–2000)20 seasons2
Dallas Stars1998–992 : 1999–2000, 2019–2020 seasons
Columbus Blue Jacketsnever (inception of franchise in 2000–01)19 seasons
Minnesota Wildnever (inception of franchise in 2000–01)19 seasons
Colorado Avalanche2000–0118 seasons
New Jersey Devils2002–031 : 2011–1216 seasons
Carolina Hurricanes2005–06014 seasons
Anaheim Ducks2006–07013 seasons
Detroit Red Wings2007–081 : 2008–09012 seasons
Boston Bruins2010–112 : 2012–13, 2018–1909 seasons
Los Angeles Kings2013–1406 seasons
Chicago Blackhawks2014–1505 seasons
Pittsburgh Penguins2016–1703 seasons
Vegas Golden Knightsnever (inception of franchise in 2017–18)1 : 2017–1803 seasons
Washington Capitals2017–1802 seasons
St. Louis Blues2018–1901 season
1 includes 17 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (1979–80 through to 1995–96) + 23 seasons for Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes (1996–97 through to 2019–20)
2 includes 11 seasons for Atlanta Thrashers (1999–2000 through to 2010–11) + 9 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (2011–12 through to 2019–20)

Closest approaches without winning


Team First Round
Appearances1		 Second Round
Appearances2		 Conference Finals
Appearances3		 Stanley Cup Finals
Appearances		 Fewest Wins Short of Stanley Cup
Vancouver Canucks27123301 win short : 1993–94, 2010–11
Buffalo Sabres27156202 wins short : 1974–75, 1998–99
San Jose Sharks21155102 wins short : 2015–16
Nashville Predators125112 wins short : 2016–17
Ottawa Senators1673103 wins short : 2006–07
Vegas Golden Knights322103 wins short : 2017–18
Florida Panthers511104 wins short : 1995–96
Arizona Coyotes4203107 wins short : 2011–12
Winnipeg Jets54117 wins short : 2017–18
Minnesota Wild93108 wins short : 2002–03
Columbus Blue Jackets6110 wins short : 2018–19
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
4 includes 17 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (1979–80 through to 1995–96) + 22 seasons for Arizona Coyotes/Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97 through to 2018–19).
5 includes 11 seasons for Atlanta Thrashers (1999–2000 through to 2010–11) + 7 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (2011–12 through to 2018–19).

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
Florida Panthers1999–20002011–1210 seasons1
Edmonton Oilers2005–062016–17010 seasons
Colorado Rockies / New Jersey Devils1977–781987–8809 seasons2
Carolina Hurricanes2008–092018–1909 seasons
Buffalo Sabres2010–1109 seasons
California Golden Seals / Cleveland Barons31969–70never (merger of franchise after 1977–78)08 seasons4
Boston Bruins1958–591967–6808 seasons
Washington Capitalsnever (inception of franchise in 1974–75)1982–8308 seasons
Detroit Red Wings1969–701977–7807 seasons
New York Islanders1993–942001–0207 seasons
Calgary Flames1995–962003–0407 seasons
New York Rangers1996–972005–0607 seasons
Columbus Blue Jacketsnever (inception of franchise in 2000–01)2008–0907 seasons
Toronto Maple Leafs2003–042012–1307 seasons
Atlanta Thrashers / Winnipeg Jets2006–072014–1507 seasons5
Phoenix / Arizona Coyotes2011–122019–2007 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 win 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 win drought
Winnipeg Jets / Phoenix Coyotes11986–8712 : 1987–88, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2009–10, 2010–112011–1225 seasons2
Florida Panthers1995–9605 : 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2011–12, 2015–16, 2019–2023 seasons
New York Islanders1992–9307 : 1993–94, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2012–13, 2014–152015–1623 seasons
New York Rangers1949–5008 : 1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1961–62, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–701970–7120 seasons
Atlanta Thrashers / Winnipeg Jetsnever (inception of franchise in 1999–2000)02 : 2006–07, 2014–152017–1817 seasons3
Columbus Blue Jacketsnever (inception of franchise in 2000–01)04 : 2008–09, 2013–14, 2016–17, 2017–182018–1917 seasons
Chicago Black Hawks1943–4404 : 1945–46, 1952–53, 1958–59, 1959–601960–6116 seasons
Hartford Whalers / Carolina Hurricanes1985–8608 : 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1998–99, 2000–012001–0215 seasons4
Toronto Maple Leafs2003–045 : 2012–13, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–2015 seasons
Calgary Flames1988–8906 : 1989–90, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–962003–0414 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 Leafs1966–675: 1977–78, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1998–99, 2001–0252 seasons
St. Louis Blues1969–704: 1971–72, 1985–86, 2000–01, 2015–162018–1947 seasons
Arizona Coyotesnever (franchise entered the NHL in 1979–80)1: 2011–1240 seasons1
New York Islanders1983–841: 1992–93, 2019–2035 seasons
Detroit Red Wings1965–662: 1986–87, 1987–881994–9528 seasons
Montreal Canadiens1992–932: 2009–10, 2013–1426 seasons
Los Angeles Kingsnever (inception of franchise in 1967–68)1: 1968–691992–9325 seasons
Buffalo Sabres1974–752: 1979–80, 1997–981998–9923 seasons
Pittsburgh Penguinsnever (inception of franchise in 1967–68)1: 1969–701990–9123 seasons
Washington Capitalsnever (inception of franchise in 1974–75)1: 1989–901997–9823 seasons
San Jose Sharksnever (inception of franchise in 1991–92)3: 2003–04, 2009–10, 2010–112015–1623 seasons
Florida Panthers1995–9623 seasons
1 includes 17 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (1979–80 through to 1995–96) + 23 seasons for Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97 through to 2019–20)

Stanley Cup droughts
  Active franchise streak is highlighted
Team Previous Stanley Cup Intervening Stanley Cup
Finals losses		 Next Stanley Cup Stanley Cup drought
New York Rangers1939–403 : 1949–50, 1971–72, 1978–791993–9453 seasons1
Toronto Maple Leafs1966–6752 seasons
St. Louis Bluesnever (inception of franchise in 1967–68)3 : 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–702018–1950 seasons
Buffalo Sabresnever (inception of franchise in 1970–71)2 : 1974–75, 1998–9949 seasons
Vancouver Canucksnever (inception of franchise in 1970–71)3 : 1981–82, 1993–94, 2010–1149 seasons
Chicago Black Hawks21960–615 : 1961–62, 1964–65, 1970–71, 1972–73, 1991–922009–1047 seasons
Philadelphia Flyers1974–756 : 1975–76, 1979–80, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1996–97, 2009–1044 seasons
Los Angeles Kingsnever (inception of franchise in 1967–68)1 : 1992–932011–1243 seasons
Washington Capitalsnever (inception of franchise in 1974–75)1 : 1997–982017–1842 seasons
Detroit Red Wings1954–556 : 1955–56, 1960–61, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1965–66, 1994–951996–9741 seasons
Arizona Coyotesnever (inception of franchise in 1979–80)40 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.

Cities/regions awaiting first Stanley Cup

This list only includes cities/regions currently hosting an NHL franchise.

City/Region Seasons waiting Stanley Cup
Finals appearances		 Current NHL team
Buffalo4901974–75, 1998–99Buffalo Sabres
Minneapolis–Saint Paul4511980–812, 1990–912Minnesota Wild
San Francisco Bay Area3732015–16San Jose Sharks
Miami2601995–96Florida Panthers
Phoenix220NeverArizona Coyotes
Nashville2102016–17Nashville Predators
Columbus, Ohio204NeverColumbus Blue Jackets
Las Vegas32017–18Vegas Golden Knights
1 includes 26 seasons of the Minnesota North Stars (1967–68 through to 1992–93) and 19 seasons of the Minnesota Wild (2000–01 through to 2019–20).
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 28 seasons of the San Jose Sharks (1991–92 through to 2019–20).
4 includes 2 seasons of the Cleveland Barons franchise (1976–77 through to 1977–78) and 18 seasons of the Columbus Blue Jackets (2000–01 through to 2019–20).

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 7 to 24 since 2017), 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.com. NHL Enterprises, L.P. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  2. Tim Warnsby (June 15, 2011). "Bruins win Stanley Cup". CBC Sports. Retrieved Feb 5, 2012. 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.
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