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 2018 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.

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

Among the current 31 NHL teams, 12 have never won the Stanley Cup, including one (the St. Louis Blues) that is among the five oldest expansion teams. Additionally, one of the Original Six franchises – the Toronto Maple Leafs – has a Stanley Cup drought that includes the entire expansion era (50 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 Arizona Coyotes (previously the Winnipeg Jets) (35 seasons), while the Maple Leafs and the Blues have even longer droughts (50 and 47 seasons, respectively). 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 (and second-longest) at 50 seasons and counting. The Chicago Blackhawks had the third-longest ever Stanley Cup championship drought at 47 seasons, which was broken in 2010. 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 Columbus Blue Jackets are the only team that have never won a playoff series, though they are just 17 seasons old; one other franchise (the Florida Panthers) has a longer win drought (21 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

Post-season appearance droughts

A post-season appearance drought is continued by not making the NHL playoffs after the regular season. Since the first round of the playoffs 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.

The other 16 teams – the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vegas Golden Knights, Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets – all qualified for the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Team Last appearance in post-season Post-season drought
Carolina Hurricanes2008–099 seasons
Buffalo Sabres2010–117 seasons
Arizona Coyotes12011–126 seasons
Vancouver Canucks2014–153 seasons
Dallas Stars2015–162 seasons
Detroit Red Wings2015–162 seasons
Florida Panthers2015–162 seasons
New York Islanders2015–162 seasons
Calgary Flames2016–171 season
Chicago Blackhawks2016–171 season
Edmonton Oilers2016–171 season
Montreal Canadiens2016–171 season
New York Rangers2016–171 season
Ottawa Senators2016–171 season
St. Louis Blues2016–171 season
1 the Arizona Coyotes last qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2012 as the Phoenix Coyotes

Post-season series win droughts

A post-season series win drought is continued either by not making the playoffs in a season or by making the playoffs in a season but subsequently losing the first round series. Since the first round of the NHL playoffs consist of 8 series (16 teams), there will always be 23 teams in this list – the 15 teams that do not qualify for the post-season, plus the 8 teams that lose their first round series.

The other 8 teams – the Boston Bruins, Nashville Predators, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights, Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets – all won a post-season series in the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Team Last post-season
series win		 Subsequent post-season
series losses		 Post-season
series win drought
Florida Panthers1995–964 : 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2011–12, 2015–1621 seasons
Columbus Blue Jacketsnever (inception of franchise in 2000–01)4 : 2008–09, 2013–14, 2016–17, 2017–1817 seasons
Toronto Maple Leafs2003–043 : 2012–13, 2016–17, 2017–1813 seasons
Buffalo Sabres2006–072 : 2009–10, 2010–1111 seasons
Colorado Avalanche2007–083 : 2009–10, 2013–14, 2017–1810 seasons
Carolina Hurricanes2008–099 seasons
Vancouver Canucks2010–113 : 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–157 seasons
Arizona Coyotes12011–126 seasons
New Jersey Devils2011–121 : 2017–186 seasons
Philadelphia Flyers2011–123 : 2013–14, 2015–16, 2017–186 seasons
Detroit Red Wings2012–133 : 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–165 seasons
Los Angeles Kings2013–142 : 2015–16, 2017–184 seasons
Calgary Flames2014–151 : 2016–173 seasons
Chicago Blackhawks2014–152 : 2015–16, 2016–173 seasons
Minnesota Wild2014–153 : 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–183 seasons
Montreal Canadiens2014–151 : 2016–173 seasons
Dallas Stars2015–162 seasons
New York Islanders2015–162 seasons
Anaheim Ducks2016–171 : 2017–181 season
Edmonton Oilers2016–171 season
New York Rangers2016–171 season
Ottawa Senators2016–171 season
St. Louis Blues2016–171 season
1 the Arizona Coyotes last won a post-season series in 2012 as the Phoenix Coyotes

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 2018 Stanley Cup Finals: the Vegas Golden Knights and the Washington Capitals.

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, 2001–0250 seasons
St. Louis Blues1969–704: 1971–72, 1985–86, 2000–01, 2015–1647 seasons
Arizona Coyotesnever (franchise entered the NHL in 1979–80)1: 2011–1238 seasons1
New York Islanders1983–841: 1992–9333 seasons
Montreal Canadiens1992–932: 2009–10, 2013–1424 seasons
Florida Panthers1995–9621 seasons
Buffalo Sabres1998–992: 2005–06, 2006–0718 seasons
Winnipeg Jetsnever (inception of franchise in 1999–2000)1: 2017–1818 seasons2
Dallas Stars1999–20001: 2007–0817 seasons
Columbus Blue Jacketsnever (inception of franchise in 2000–01)17 seasons
Minnesota Wildnever (inception of franchise in 2000–01)1: 2002–03 17 seasons
Colorado Avalanche2000–011: 2001–0216 seasons
Calgary Flames2003–0413 seasons
Carolina Hurricanes2005–061: 2008–0912 seasons
Edmonton Oilers2005–0612 seasons
Anaheim Ducks2006–072: 2014–15, 2016–1711 seasons
Ottawa Senators2006–071: 2016–1711 seasons
Detroit Red Wings2008–099 seasons
Philadelphia Flyers2009–108 seasons
Vancouver Canucks2010–117 seasons
New Jersey Devils2011–126 seasons
Boston Bruins2012–135 seasons
Los Angeles Kings2013–144 seasons
New York Rangers2013–141: 2014–154 seasons
Chicago Blackhawks2014–153 seasons
Tampa Bay Lightning2014–152: 2015–16, 2017–183 seasons
San Jose Sharks2015–162 seasons
Nashville Predators2016–171 season
Pittsburgh Penguins2016–171 season
1 includes 17 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (1979–80 through to 1995–96) + 21 seasons for Arizona/Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97 through to 2017–18)
2 includes 11 seasons for Atlanta Thrashers (1999–2000 through to 2010–11) + 7 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (2011–12 through to 2017–18)

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 Washington Capitals.

Team Last Stanley Cup Subsequent Stanley Cup
Finals losses		 Stanley Cup
drought
Toronto Maple Leafs1966–6750 seasons
St. Louis Bluesnever (inception of franchise in 1967–68)3 : 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–7050 seasons
Buffalo Sabresnever (inception of franchise in 1970–71)2 : 1974–75, 1998–9947 seasons
Vancouver Canucksnever (inception of franchise in 1970–71)3 : 1981–82, 1993–94, 2010–1147 seasons
Philadelphia Flyers1974–756 : 1975–76, 1979–80, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1996–97, 2009–1042 seasons
Arizona Coyotesnever (franchise entered the NHL in 1979–80)38 seasons1
New York Islanders1982–831 : 1983–8434 seasons
Calgary Flames1988–891 : 2003–0428 seasons
Edmonton Oilers1989–901 : 2005–0627 seasons
San Jose Sharksnever (inception of franchise in 1991–92)1 : 2015–1626 seasons
Ottawa Senatorsnever (inception of franchise in 1992–93)1 : 2006–0725 seasons
Montreal Canadiens1992–9324 seasons
Florida Panthersnever (inception of franchise in 1993–94)1 : 1995–9624 seasons
New York Rangers1993–941 : 2013–1423 seasons
Nashville Predatorsnever (inception of franchise in 1998–99)1 : 2016–1719 seasons
Dallas Stars1998–991 : 1999–200018 seasons
Winnipeg Jetsnever (inception of franchise in 1999–2000)18 seasons2
Columbus Blue Jacketsnever (inception of franchise in 2000–01)17 seasons
Minnesota Wildnever (inception of franchise in 2000–01)17 seasons
Colorado Avalanche2000–0116 seasons
New Jersey Devils2002–031 : 2011–1214 seasons
Tampa Bay Lightning2003–041 : 2014–1513 seasons
Carolina Hurricanes2005–0612 seasons
Anaheim Ducks2006–0711 seasons
Detroit Red Wings2007–081 : 2008–0910 seasons
Boston Bruins2010–111 : 2012–137 seasons
Los Angeles Kings2013–144 seasons
Chicago Blackhawks2014–153 seasons
Pittsburgh Penguins2016–171 season
Vegas Golden Knightsnever (inception of franchise in 2017–18)1 : 2017–181 season
1 includes 17 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (1979–80 through to 1995–96) + 21 seasons for Arizona/Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97 through to 2017–18)
2 includes 11 seasons for Atlanta Thrashers (1999–2000 through to 2010–11) + 7 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (2011–12 through to 2017–18)

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 Canucks2611331 win short : 1993–94, 2010–11
Buffalo Sabres2715622 wins short : 1974–75, 1998–99
San Jose Sharks2014412 wins short : 2015–16
Nashville Predators115112 wins short : 2016–17
Ottawa Senators167313 wins short : 2006–07
Vegas Golden Knights11113 wins short : 2017–18
St. Louis Blues3323734 wins short : 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70
Florida Panthers51114 wins short : 1995–96
Arizona Coyotes419317 wins short : 2011–12
Winnipeg Jets53117 wins short : 2017–18
Minnesota Wild9318 wins short : 2002–03
Columbus Blue Jackets414 wins short : 2013–14, 2017–18
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) + 21 seasons for Arizona Coyotes/Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97 through to 2017–18).
5 includes 11 seasons for Atlanta Thrashers (1999–2000 through to 2010–11) + 6 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (2011–12 through to 2017–18).

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 Oilers2005–062016–1710 seasons
Colorado Rockies/New Jersey Devils1977–781987–889 seasons2
Carolina Hurricanes2008–099 seasons
California Golden Seals/Cleveland Barons31969–70never (merger of franchise after 1977–78)8 seasons4
Boston Bruins1958–591967–688 seasons
Washington Capitalsnever (inception of franchise in 1974–75)1982–838 seasons
Detroit Red Wings1969–701977–787 seasons
New York Islanders1993–942001–027 seasons
Calgary Flames1995–962003–047 seasons
New York Rangers1996–972005–067 seasons
Columbus Blue Jacketsnever (inception of franchise in 2000–01)2008–097 seasons
Toronto Maple Leafs2003–042012–137 seasons
Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets2006–072014–157 seasons5
Buffalo Sabres2010–117 seasons
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)

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
New York Islanders1992–937 : 1993–94, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2012–13, 2014–152015–1623 seasons
Florida Panthers1995–964 : 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2011–12, 2015–1621 seasons
New York Rangers1949–508 : 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)2 : 2006–07, 2014–152017–1817 seasons3
Columbus Blue Jacketsnever (inception of franchise in 2000–01)4 : 2008–09, 2013–14, 2016–17, 2017–1817 seasons
Chicago Black Hawks1943–444 : 1945–46, 1952–53, 1958–59, 1959–601960–6116 seasons
Hartford Whalers / Carolina Hurricanes1985–868 : 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1998–99, 2000–012001–0215 seasons4
Calgary Flames1988–896 : 1989–90, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–962003–0414 seasons
Kansas City Scouts / Colorado Rockies / New Jersey Devilsnever (inception of franchise in 1974–75)1 : 1977–781987–8813 seasons5
Toronto Maple Leafs2003–043 : 2012–13, 2016–17, 2017–1813 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)
5 includes 2 seasons of the Kansas City Scouts (1974–75, 1975–76) + 6 seasons for Colorado Rockies (1976–77 through to 1981–82) + 5 seasons of the New Jersey Devils (1982–83 through to 1986–87)

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, 2001–0250 seasons
St. Louis Blues1969–704: 1971–72, 1985–86, 2000–01, 2015–1647 seasons
Winnipeg Jets / Phoenix/Arizona Coyotesnever (franchise entered the NHL in 1979–80)1: 2011–1238 seasons1
New York Islanders1983–841: 1992–9333 seasons
Detroit Red Wings1965–662: 1986–87, 1987–881994–9528 seasons
Los Angeles Kingsnever (inception of franchise in 1967–68)1: 1968–691992–9325 seasons
Montreal Canadiens1992–932: 2009–10, 2013–1424 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
1 includes 17 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (1979–80 through to 1995–96) + 21 seasons for Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97 through to 2017–18)

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 Leafs1966–6750 seasons
St. Louis Bluesnever (inception of franchise in 1967–68)3 : 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–7050 seasons
Chicago Black Hawks21960–615 : 1961–62, 1964–65, 1970–71, 1972–73, 1991–922009–1047 seasons
Buffalo Sabresnever (inception of franchise in 1970–71)2 : 1974–75, 1998–9947 seasons
Vancouver Canucksnever (inception of franchise in 1970–71)3 : 1981–82, 1993–94, 2010–1147 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
Philadelphia Flyers1974–756 : 1975–76, 1979–80, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1996–97, 2009–1042 seasons
Detroit Red Wings1954–556 : 1955–56, 1960–61, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1965–66, 1994–951996–9741 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
St. Louis5111967–682, 1968–692, 1969–702St. Louis Blues
Buffalo471974–75, 1998–99Buffalo Sabres
Minneapolis–Saint Paul4331980–814, 1990–914Minnesota Wild
San Francisco Bay Area3552015–16San Jose Sharks
South Florida241995–96Florida Panthers
Phoenix21NeverArizona Coyotes
Columbus, Ohio196NeverColumbus Blue Jackets
Nashville192016–17Nashville Predators
Las Vegas12017–18Vegas Golden Knights
1 includes 1 season of the St. Louis Eagles (1934–35) and 50 seasons of the St. Louis Blues (1967–68 through to 2017–18).
2 all three Stanley Cup Finals appearances by the St. Louis Blues.
3 includes 26 seasons of the Minnesota North Stars (1967–68 through to 1992–93) and 17 seasons of the Minnesota Wild (2000–01 through to 2017–18).
4 both Stanley Cup Finals appearances by the Minnesota North Stars.
5 includes 9 seasons of the California Seals, Oakland Seals, California Golden Seals franchise (1967–68 through to 1975–76) and 26 seasons of the San Jose Sharks (1991–92 through to 2017–18).
6 includes 2 seasons of the Cleveland Barons franchise (1976–77 through to 1977–78) and 17 seasons of the Columbus Blue Jackets (2000–01 through to 2017–18).

See also

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