12 of 30 National Hockey League Teams Still Looking For 1st Stanley Cup

Of the thirty teams in the National Hockey League, there are still twelve that have yet to hoist the Stanley Cup. There is just one team from the NHL size doubling expansion in 1967-68 that have yet to win a Stanley Cup. Since the Toronto Maple Leafs last won the Cup in 1966-67, Toronto and the St. Louis Blues are tied for the most years without a Stanley Cup victory.

Both the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild entered the NHL for the 2000-01 season. The Blue Jackets have made the playoffs just once since their inception and they didn’t make it past the first round. The Wild have had mildly better success with a Western Conference finals loss in 2002-03.

The Atlanta Thrashers began play in the NHL one year before Columbus and Minnesota. Atlanta’s one trip to the playoffs was a first round sweep in 2006-07 at the hands of the New York Rangers. Since moving to Winnipeg for the 2011-12 season, the Jets have not reached the post season.

The Nashville Predators have been in the NHL one more year than Atlanta. Nashville has had some success qualifying for the post season. The team has made the playoffs seven times over their short lifetime and have reached the Western Conference semi-finals twice.

The Florida Panthers have made the playoffs just once since 1999-00, losing in the 2011-12 opening round to the New Jersey Devils in seven games. The team came into the league in 1993-94 and had very rapid success, making it to the Stanley Cup finals in just their third year in the league. The Panthers lost to the Colorado Avalanche in the finals at the height of the ‘neutral zone trap’ era.

The latest incarnation of the Ottawa Senators entered the league in 1992-93. Despite being one of the top regular season teams for a number of years, the Senators made it to the Western Conference finals in just 2002-03 (losing to New Jersey Devils) and the Stanley Cup finals in just 2006-07 (losing to the Anaheim Ducks). A team called the Ottawa Senators won four Stanley Cups in the 1920’s before moving to St. Louis then disappearing from the league back in 1930’s.

The San Jose Sharks entered the NHL a year before the Senators. As with the Senators, the Sharks have fielded a top-notch team that has done great during the regular season but has had trouble in the playoffs. The team has made it to the Western Conference finals twice before being knocked out, 2003-04 against the Calgary Flames and 2009-10 against the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Phoenix Coyotes moved to the desert from Winnipeg for the 1996-97 season. The Coyotes didn’t win a single playoff series until 2011-12 when they managed to reach the Western Conference finals before losing to the Los Angeles Kings. The team was originally dubbed the Jets in Winnipeg from the 1979-80 NHL season forward and had no better luck at that location. As a member of the World Hockey Association, however, the Jets won the Avco Cup three times as the league’s playoff champions.

The Washington Capitals have been favoured to compete strongly for the Stanley Cup over the past decade but have provided their fans with perennial post season disappointment. The Capitals entered the league in 1974-75. They have lost in the Conference finals just once, losing to the Boston Bruins in 1988-89, and the Stanley Cup finals just once, losing to the Detroit Red Wings in 1997-98.

The Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks both entered the NHL for the 1970-71 season. Buffalo has lost in the Stanley Cup finals twice while the Canucks have played the role of bridesmaid on three occasions. The Sabres lost out to the Philadelphia Flyers in 1974-75 and the Dallas Stars in 1998-99. The Canucks lost to the mighty New York Islanders in 1981-82, the New York Rangers in 1993-94 and the Boston Bruins in 2010-11.

The only team from the expansion of 1967-68 that is still in search of its first Stanley Cup victory is the St. Louis Blues. The Blues went to the Cup finals in their first three years of existence and haven’t been back since. The Kings made one unsuccessful trip to the finals, a loss to the Montreal Canadiens in 1992-93, before winning the championship in 2011-12 with a victory over the New Jersey Devils in the finals. Los Angeles did it again in 2013-14.
 

 

John Muckler and His 3 Championships

John Muckler coached in professional hockey from 1960 to 2000 so the odds were for him winning a championship or two behind the bench. Actually, Muckler led three teams to playoff championships in three different professional leagues.

John played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey Association for three years from 1951-52 to 1953-54 with the Windsor Spitfires and Galt Black Hawks. His pro playing career consisted of eight years in the Eastern Hockey League with the Charlotte Clippers, New York Rovers and Long Island Ducks. With the Ducks, he was player/head coach from 1960-61 to 1962-63.

As a coach, Muckler found himself behind benches in the EHL, CHL, NHL and AHL. At the highest level, he coached the Minnesota North Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers. Of course, most notable are his years in Edmonton.

Long Island Ducks - EHL

His first championship came in 1964-65 while coaching the Long Island Ducks in the EHL. The team finished the regular season second in the North Division, 17 points behind the division leading Clinton Comets. The Ducks were third overall with the Nashville Dixie Flyers finished first with 108 points.

Long Island faced the Jersey Devils in the opening round and won 3-1. In the semi-finals, they upset the Clinton Comets four games to two. In the finals, they played giant-killer once again, taking down the Dixie Flyers in just five games.

Dallas Black Hawks - CHL

Well over a decade later, Muckler won his second championship, this time in the Central Hockey League. His Dallas Black Hawks finished second in the six team league behind the Salt Lake Golden Eagles. Salt Lake finished with 101 points while the Black Hawks were eight behind with 93. Dallas used eight different goaltenders during the regular season, including Gary Bromley, Eddie Mio, Dunc Wilson and Curt Ridley. They had the most goals for and were the most penalized team in the CHL.

Dallas met the Kansas City Red Wings in the opening round and swept the Detroit affiliate in four games. In the finals, they met up with the Golden Eagles and lost just one game to take the championship.

Edmonton Oilers - NHL

Yet another decade and more passed before John’s third championship. In 1989-90, he was behind the bench for the Mark Messier led Edmonton Oilers. Messier finished second in the race for the Art Ross Trophy with former teammate Wayne Gretzky. Mark had 129 points while Gretzky had 142 with the Los Angeles Kings.

The Oilers finished second in the Smythe Division with 90 points, nine behind the first place Calgary Flames. In the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Winnipeg Jets gave Edmonton a scare, going up 3-1 in the series. The Oilers roared back with three straight to advance. The next round was a four game sweep of the Los Angeles Kings. In the semi-finals, Edmonton found themselves in trouble again, down 2-1 to the Chicago Black Hawks before again winning three straight to take the series. The Oilers took the Boston Bruins in five games in the finals to capture the Stanley Cup.