List of NHL franchise post-season droughts

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

These are lists of active and all-time NHL team post-season, post-season series win, Stanley Cup Final and Stanley Cup droughts up to and including the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Those teams which have never made it in team history are listed by the season that they entered the league, either as a new team or when they merged into the NHL from the WHA. These lists do not include the canceled 2004–05 NHL season.

Post-season appearance droughts

     Active franchise streak is highlighted

Team	Previous post-season appearance	Next post-season appearance	Post-season drought
Florida Panthers	1999–2000	2011–12	10 seasons1
Edmonton Oilers	2005–06	2016–17	010 seasons
Colorado Rockies/New Jersey Devils	1977–78	1987–88	09 seasons2
Carolina Hurricanes	2008–09	2018–19	09 seasons
California Golden Seals/Cleveland Barons3	1969–70	never (merger of franchise after 1977–78)	08 seasons4
Boston Bruins	1958–59	1967–68	08 seasons
Washington Capitals	never (inception of franchise in 1974–75)	1982–83	08 seasons
Buffalo Sabres	2010–11		010 seasons
Detroit Red Wings	1969–70	1977–78	07 seasons
New York Islanders	1993–94	2001–02	07 seasons
Calgary Flames	1995–96	2003–04	07 seasons
New York Rangers	1996–97	2005–06	07 seasons
Columbus Blue Jackets	never (inception of franchise in 2000–01)	2008–09	07 seasons
Toronto Maple Leafs	2003–04	2012–13	07 seasons
Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets	2006–07	2014–15	07 seasons5
Arizona Coyotes	2011–12		07 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 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 Coyotes1	1986–87	12 : 1987–88, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2009–10, 2010–11	2011–12	25 seasons2
New York Islanders	1992–93	07 : 1993–94, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2012–13, 2014–15	2015–16	23 seasons
Florida Panthers	1995–96	04 : 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2011–12, 2015–16		22 seasons
New York Rangers	1949–50	08 : 1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1961–62, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70	1970–71	20 seasons
Atlanta Thrashers / Winnipeg Jets	never (inception of franchise in 1999–2000)	02 : 2006–07, 2014–15	2017–18	17 seasons3
Columbus Blue Jackets	never (inception of franchise in 2000–01)	04 : 2008–09, 2013–14, 2016–17, 2017–18	2018–19	17 seasons
Chicago Black Hawks	1943–44	04 : 1945–46, 1952–53, 1958–59, 1959–60	1960–61	16 seasons
Hartford Whalers / Carolina Hurricanes	1985–86	08 : 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1998–99, 2000–01	2001–02	15 seasons4
Calgary Flames	1988–89	06 : 1989–90, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96	2003–04	14 seasons
Toronto Maple Leafs	2003–04	4 : 2012–13, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19		14 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 Leafs	1966–67	5: 1977–78, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1998–99, 2001–02		51 seasons
St. Louis Blues	1969–70	4: 1971–72, 1985–86, 2000–01, 2015–16	2018–19	47 seasons
Winnipeg Jets / Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes	never (franchise entered the NHL in 1979–80)	1: 2011–12		39 seasons1
New York Islanders	1983–84	1: 1992–93		34 seasons
Detroit Red Wings	1965–66	2: 1986–87, 1987–88	1994–95	28 seasons
Los Angeles Kings	never (inception of franchise in 1967–68)	1: 1968–69	1992–93	25 seasons
Montreal Canadiens	1992–93	2: 2009–10, 2013–14		25 seasons
Buffalo Sabres	1974–75	2: 1979–80, 1997–98	1998–99	23 seasons
Pittsburgh Penguins	never (inception of franchise in 1967–68)	1: 1969–70	1990–91	23 seasons
Washington Capitals	never (inception of franchise in 1974–75)	1: 1989–90	1997–98	23 seasons
San Jose Sharks	never (inception of franchise in 1991–92)	3: 2003–04, 2009–10, 2010–11	2015–16	23 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 Rangers	1939–40	3 : 1949–50, 1971–72, 1978–79	1993–94	53 seasons1
Toronto Maple Leafs	1966–67			51 seasons
St. Louis Blues	never (inception of franchise in 1967–68)	3 : 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70	2018–19	50 seasons
Buffalo Sabres	never (inception of franchise in 1970–71)	2 : 1974–75, 1998–99		48 seasons
Vancouver Canucks	never (inception of franchise in 1970–71)	3 : 1981–82, 1993–94, 2010–11		48 seasons
Chicago Black Hawks2	1960–61	5 : 1961–62, 1964–65, 1970–71, 1972–73, 1991–92	2009–10	47 seasons
Los Angeles Kings	never (inception of franchise in 1967–68)	1 : 1992–93	2011–12	43 seasons
Philadelphia Flyers	1974–75	6 : 1975–76, 1979–80, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1996–97, 2009–10		43 seasons
Washington Capitals	never (inception of franchise in 1974–75)	1 : 1997–98	2017–18	42 seasons
Detroit Red Wings	1954–55	6 : 1955–56, 1960–61, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1965–66, 1994–95	1996–97	41 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.

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 Canucks	26	11	3	3	01 win short : 1993–94, 2010–11
Buffalo Sabres	27	15	6	2	02 wins short : 1974–75, 1998–99
San Jose Sharks	20	14	4	1	02 wins short : 2015–16
Nashville Predators	11	5	1	1	2 wins short : 2016–17
Ottawa Senators	16	7	3	1	03 wins short : 2006–07
Vegas Golden Knights	1	1	1	1	03 wins short : 2017–18
Florida Panthers	5	1	1	1	04 wins short : 1995–96
Arizona Coyotes4	19	3	1		07 wins short : 2011–12
Winnipeg Jets5	3	1	1		7 wins short : 2017–18
Minnesota Wild	9	3	1		08 wins short : 2002–03
Columbus Blue Jackets	4	1			10 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) + 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).

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
Buffalo	480	1974–75, 1998–99	Buffalo Sabres
Minneapolis–Saint Paul	441	1980–812, 1990–912	Minnesota Wild
San Francisco Bay Area	363	2015–16	San Jose Sharks
South Florida	250	1995–96	Florida Panthers
Phoenix	220	Never	Arizona Coyotes
Columbus, Ohio	204	Never	Columbus Blue Jackets
Nashville	200	2016–17	Nashville Predators
Las Vegas	2	2017–18	Vegas Golden Knights

¹ includes 26 seasons of the Minnesota North Stars (1967–68 through to 1992–93) and 18 seasons of the Minnesota Wild (2000–01 through to 2018–19).

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 27 seasons of the San Jose Sharks (1991–92 through to 2018–19).

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 2018–19).

• Although the Vancouver Canucks have not won a Stanley Cup in their 48 seasons of play (inception of franchise in 1970–71 through to 2018–19), Vancouver has one Stanley Cup to its credit - the Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association won the Stanley Cup in 1915 prior to the founding of the NHL in 1917.
• While the current Ottawa Senators have never won the Stanley Cup in their 26 seasons of play (inception of franchise in 1992–93 through to 2018–19), Ottawa celebrated 11 Stanley Cup championships with the original era Ottawa Senators, the last one in 1927.
• While neither team called the Winnipeg Jets ever won the Stanley Cup in their combined 25 seasons playing in Winnipeg (as of 2018–19), the city celebrated three Stanley Cup championships by the Winnipeg Victorias, the last in 1902, prior to the founding of the NHL in 1917.

Related pages

• List of NHL franchise post-season appearance streaks