List of NHL franchise post-season droughts

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.

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 32 teams in the NHL, there will always be 16 teams that did not make the most recent playoffs on this list.

The other 16 teams – the Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Vegas Golden Knights, Washington Capitals, and Winnipeg Jets – all qualified for the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Team Last appearance in post-season Post-season drought
Buffalo Sabres2010–1113 seasons
Detroit Red Wings2015–168 seasons
Ottawa Senators2016–177 seasons
Anaheim Ducks2017–186 seasons
San Jose Sharks2018–195 seasons
Arizona Coyotes2019–204 seasons
Chicago Blackhawks2019–204 seasons
Columbus Blue Jackets2019–204 seasons
Philadelphia Flyers2019–204 seasons
Montreal Canadiens20213 seasons
Calgary Flames2021–222 seasons
Pittsburgh Penguins2021–222 seasons
St. Louis Blues2021–222 seasons
Minnesota Wild2022–231 season
New Jersey Devils2022–231 season
Seattle Kraken2022–231 season

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, Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, New York Islanders, San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues – all won a post-season series in the 2019 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, 2015–1622 seasons
Toronto Maple Leafs2003–044 : 2012–13, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–1914 seasons
Buffalo Sabres2006–072 : 2009–10, 2010–1112 seasons
Vancouver Canucks2010–113 : 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–158 seasons
Arizona Coyotes12011–127 seasons
New Jersey Devils2011–121 : 2017–187 seasons
Philadelphia Flyers2011–123 : 2013–14, 2015–16, 2017–187 seasons
Detroit Red Wings2012–133 : 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–166 seasons
Los Angeles Kings2013–142 : 2015–16, 2017–185 seasons
Calgary Flames2014–152 : 2016–17, 2018–194 seasons
Chicago Blackhawks2014–152 : 2015–16, 2016–174 seasons
Minnesota Wild2014–153 : 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–184 seasons
Montreal Canadiens2014–151 : 2016–174 seasons
Anaheim Ducks2016–171 : 2017–182 seasons
Edmonton Oilers2016–172 seasons
New York Rangers2016–172 seasons
Ottawa Senators2016–172 seasons
Nashville Predators2017–181 : 2018–191 season
Pittsburgh Penguins2017–181 : 2018–191 season
Tampa Bay Lightning2017–181 : 2018–191 season
Vegas Golden Knights2017–181 : 2018–191 season
Washington Capitals2017–181 : 2018–191 season
Winnipeg Jets2017–181 : 2018–191 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 2019 Stanley Cup Finals: the Boston Bruins and the St. Louis Blues.

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, 2001–0251 seasons
Arizona Coyotesnever (franchise entered the NHL in 1979–80)1: 2011–1239 seasons1
New York Islanders1983–841: 1992–9334 seasons
Montreal Canadiens1992–932: 2009–10, 2013–1425 seasons
Florida Panthers1995–9622 seasons
Buffalo Sabres1998–992: 2005–06, 2006–0719 seasons
Winnipeg Jetsnever (inception of franchise in 1999–2000)1: 2017–1819 seasons2
Dallas Stars1999–20001: 2007–0818 seasons
Columbus Blue Jacketsnever (inception of franchise in 2000–01)18 seasons
Minnesota Wildnever (inception of franchise in 2000–01)1: 2002–03 18 seasons
Colorado Avalanche2000–011: 2001–0217 seasons
Calgary Flames2003–0414 seasons
Carolina Hurricanes2005–062: 2008–09, 2018–1913 seasons
Edmonton Oilers2005–0613 seasons
Anaheim Ducks2006–072: 2014–15, 2016–1712 seasons
Ottawa Senators2006–071: 2016–1712 seasons
Detroit Red Wings2008–0910 seasons
Philadelphia Flyers2009–109 seasons
Vancouver Canucks2010–118 seasons
New Jersey Devils2011–127 seasons
Los Angeles Kings2013–145 seasons
New York Rangers2013–141: 2014–155 seasons
Chicago Blackhawks2014–154 seasons
Tampa Bay Lightning2014–152: 2015–16, 2017–184 seasons
San Jose Sharks2015–161: 2018–193 seasons
Nashville Predators2016–172 seasons
Pittsburgh Penguins2016–172 seasons
Vegas Golden Knights2017–181 season
Washington Capitals2017–181 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)

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 St. Louis Blues.

Team Last Stanley Cup Subsequent Stanley Cup
Finals losses		 Stanley Cup
drought
Toronto Maple Leafs1966–6751 seasons
Buffalo Sabresnever (inception of franchise in 1970–71)2 : 1974–75, 1998–9948 seasons
Vancouver Canucksnever (inception of franchise in 1970–71)3 : 1981–82, 1993–94, 2010–1148 seasons
Philadelphia Flyers1974–756 : 1975–76, 1979–80, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1996–97, 2009–1043 seasons
Arizona Coyotesnever (franchise entered the NHL in 1979–80)39 seasons1
New York Islanders1982–831 : 1983–8435 seasons
Calgary Flames1988–891 : 2003–0429 seasons
Edmonton Oilers1989–901 : 2005–0628 seasons
San Jose Sharksnever (inception of franchise in 1991–92)1 : 2015–1627 seasons
Ottawa Senatorsnever (inception of franchise in 1992–93)1 : 2006–0726 seasons
Montreal Canadiens1992–9325 seasons
Florida Panthersnever (inception of franchise in 1993–94)1 : 1995–9625 seasons
New York Rangers1993–941 : 2013–1424 seasons
Nashville Predatorsnever (inception of franchise in 1998–99)1 : 2016–1720 seasons
Dallas Stars1998–991 : 1999–200019 seasons
Winnipeg Jetsnever (inception of franchise in 1999–2000)19 seasons2
Columbus Blue Jacketsnever (inception of franchise in 2000–01)18 seasons
Minnesota Wildnever (inception of franchise in 2000–01)18 seasons
Colorado Avalanche2000–0117 seasons
New Jersey Devils2002–031 : 2011–1215 seasons
Tampa Bay Lightning2003–041 : 2014–1514 seasons
Carolina Hurricanes2005–0613 seasons
Anaheim Ducks2006–0712 seasons
Detroit Red Wings2007–081 : 2008–0911 seasons
Boston Bruins2010–112 : 2012–13, 2018–198 seasons
Los Angeles Kings2013–145 seasons
Chicago Blackhawks2014–154 seasons
Pittsburgh Penguins2016–172 seasons
Vegas Golden Knightsnever (inception of franchise in 2017–18)1 : 2017–182 seasons
Washington Capitals2017–181 season
1 includes 17 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (1979–80 through to 1995–96) + 22 seasons for Arizona/Phoenix Coyotes (1996–97 through to 2018–19)
2 includes 11 seasons for Atlanta Thrashers (1999–2000 through to 2010–11) + 8 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (2011–12 through to 2018–19)

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
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 Jackets4110 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).

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 Hurricanes2008–092018–199 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
Buffalo Sabres2010–1110 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
Arizona Coyotes2011–127 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 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, 2015–1622 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, 2017–182018–1917 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
Toronto Maple Leafs2003–044 : 2012–13, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–1914 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, 2001–0251 seasons
St. Louis Blues1969–704: 1971–72, 1985–86, 2000–01, 2015–162018–1947 seasons
Winnipeg Jets / Phoenix/Arizona Coyotesnever (franchise entered the NHL in 1979–80)1: 2011–1239 seasons1
New York Islanders1983–841: 1992–9334 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, 2013–1425 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 Leafs1966–6751 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, 1998–9948 seasons
Vancouver Canucksnever (inception of franchise in 1970–71)3 : 1981–82, 1993–94, 2010–1148 seasons
Chicago Black Hawks21960–615 : 1961–62, 1964–65, 1970–71, 1972–73, 1991–922009–1047 seasons
Los Angeles Kingsnever (inception of franchise in 1967–68)1 : 1992–932011–1243 seasons
Philadelphia Flyers1974–756 : 1975–76, 1979–80, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1996–97, 2009–1043 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
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
Buffalo481974–75, 1998–99Buffalo Sabres
Minneapolis–Saint Paul4411980–812, 1990–912Minnesota Wild
San Francisco Bay Area3632015–16San Jose Sharks
South Florida251995–96Florida Panthers
Phoenix22NeverArizona Coyotes
Columbus, Ohio204NeverColumbus Blue Jackets
Nashville202016–17Nashville Predators
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.
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