Every NHL season gives teams a chance to hoist the Stanley Cup. Yet, it’s a moment only two-thirds of the league’s organizations have experienced.
Hockey’s signature prize has undergone changes across its 131-year history, but a half-dozen teams have hogged it. The NHL’s Original Six franchises have combined to win 64 Stanley Cups dating back to 1916. The Edmonton Oilers (five), Pittsburgh Penguins (five) and New York Islanders (four) also have their fair share of titles in that span.
That leaves a sizable chunk of the NHL with no championships. In some cases, the teams haven’t even gotten to the Stanley Cup Final, let alone take the Cup home.
Let’s take a look at the NHL teams that have never won a Stanley Cup title.
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Which NHL teams have never won the Stanley Cup?
The following 11 NHL franchises have never won the Stanley Cup:
- Vancouver Canucks
- Buffalo Sabres
- Florida Panthers
- Ottawa Senators
- San Jose Sharks
- Nashville Predators
- Columbus Blue Jackets
- Minnesota Wild
- Seattle Kraken
- Winnipeg Jets
- Arizona Coyotes
Of those 11, four have a chance to win it all this year after qualifying for the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Canucks, Panthers, Predators and Jets
NHL
Which NHL teams have never reached the Stanley Cup Final?
Six teams from the group of 11 have made it to the Stanley Cup Final, while the other five are still seeking their first appearance.
The Panthers were just on the precipice of their first title. They upset the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Boston Bruins in the 2023 first round before cruising through the next two rounds to make their second ever Stanley Cup Final appearance and first since 1996. Florida squared off against another franchise that had never won the Stanley Cup in the Vegas Golden Knights, and it was the Golden Knights that made franchise history with a gentleman’s sweep in the series.
The Canucks (1982, 1994 and 2011) and Sabres (1975 and 1999) also have multiple Cup Final appearances but no titles. The Predators (2017), Sharks (2016) and Senators (2007) all made – and lost – their lone Stanley Cup Final appearances.
The Blue Jackets, Wild, Kraken, Jets and Coyotes are still looking to reach the NHL’s biggest stage for the first time.
Has every NHL team reached the conference finals in its history?
Of the five teams to never appear in the Stanley Cup Final, three have at least made the conference finals, while the other two have never advanced past the second round of the playoffs.
The Jets made the 2018 Western Conference Finals before bowing out in five games against the Golden Knights. The Coyotes reached the 2012 Western Conference Finals and have only made one playoff appearance since. The Wild reached the 2003 Western Conference Finals in just their third year of existence but have not made it back over the last 20 seasons.
Then there are the Blue Jackets and Kraken.
Columbus has just six playoff appearances across 23 seasons since it entered the NHL and only made it out of the first round once. The team stunned the Tampa Bay Lightning to open the 2018-19 playoffs and then lost 4-2 to the Bruins in its ensuing series.
Seattle became the NHL’s newest expansion franchise in 2021 and has already been on the cusp of the Western Conference Finals. After missing the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Kraken reached the 2023 postseason and got their first ever playoff series triumph by ousting the defending Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. They then pushed their second-round series against the Dallas Stars to seven games, but they were unable to win Game 7 in Dallas and punch their ticket to the conference finals.
