A Look at the 10 Remaining Teams Who Have Yet to Win the Stanley Cup

On June 24, 2024, the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup for the first time in their franchise history, which began back in 1993. The NHL has seen a lot of first-time champions crowned in recent years. This year marks the fourth time in the last seven years that the Stanley Cup went to a team who hadn't won it before. The trend started with the Washington Capitals in 2018, and in 2019, it was the St. Louis Blues who won it. Last year, the Vegas Golden Knights won the Cup in their sixth season of play.

With this, the number of teams who have yet to hoist the Stanley Cup has decreased vastly. Florida's win now means that there are now ten teams left who have yet to capture the holy grail. Well, technically it's eleven, but I'll explain later. The curious hockey fan in me has to wonder, "Who has the best chance to finally win the Cup?" This story will answer that question and rank the ten teams, from worst chance to best chance.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Seriously, what the hell happened to this team? Granted, the Columbus Blue Jackets have never really shown...well...anything, but 2019 was a hell of a year for them. They pulled off what was the ultimate upset (until 2023); sweeping a 62-win Tampa Bay Lightning team in the first round! It was the only time that the Jackets ever reached the Elite Eight, and I expected Columbus to really build from that. Instead, what we received was Columbus adding to the Toronto Maple Leafs' misery in the 2020 bubble, and after that, misery. The Jackets are absolutely hideous, and it sucks. This team can forget about seeing a Stanley Cup for the next (at least) 10 years.

Utah Hockey Club/Arizona Coyotes

This is an absolute headache. It really sucks what happened with the Arizona Coyotes, but the result is this: the Utah Hockey Club (they will have a name in 2025-26), with the Coyotes' operations being suspended--for now. So yes, it's still a 32-team league, though technically, it's 32 out of 33 teams in play, as Utah serves as the league's 33rd franchise. One thing's for certain: neither team has a Cup. The Yotes only reached the Final Four once, and of course, Utah's an expansion team. However, so was Vegas in 2017-18. Despite that last statement, don't expect much from Utah, but it should be an interesting journey for them in 2024-25.

San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks can forget about seeing a Stanley Cup for a while. I have never seen a team take such a huge nosedive. Once upon a time, this team almost never missed the playoffs. In fact, their longest drought was three years. The Sharks had that run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016, but since almost making it back there in 2019, it's been hell. They have not reached the playoffs in the 2020s. Five seasons, their longest drought. Granted, another team on this list wishes that it would be only five years since their last postseason, but that team has a better chance than the Sharks. It's going to be another 3-5 years until this team even resembles a playoff team, let alone a championship team.

Minnesota Wild

The State of Hockey appears to be destined to never go near the Stanley Cup. At least the old North Stars had their chances. The Wild are absolutely screwed. Their wild (no pun intended) run back in 2003 is becoming more and more distant with each failed season that passes. They have a bonafide superstar in Kirill Kaprizov, but they don't really have much else. Even when the state wins in hockey, they lose. Minnesota won in the PWHL, but they followed it up by drafting Britta Curl, an immensely psychotic homophobe and transphobe. Yikes.

Ottawa Senators

The Colorado Avalanche really did destroy this team, didn't we? It's been seven years since the Ottawa Senators lost in double overtime of Game Seven in that Eastern Conference Final, and sadly, that is the last good memory that the team had. The infamous Matt Duchene trade happened just months later, and while the trade resulted in the Nashville Predators remaining strong, and the Avalanche becoming a playoff contender and Stanley Cup Champions (the latter two years ago today), the Senators ended up suffering. No playoff appearances since they came within a hair of the Cup Final in 2017.

There is some promise, though. The last two years have seen the Senators with some expectations of playoffs, and it was during Game Seven of this year's Final that the news broke that they received Linus Ullmark in a trade with the Boston Bruins. We will see how the next season treats Ottawa. While a Cup is more distant for them, the playoffs seem to be getting closer. That's very good for Brady Tkachuk, especially since he just saw his brother win the Cup.

Seattle Kraken

The Seattle Kraken completed their third season of play, and it was a bit on the disappointing side. They were coming off their first-ever playoff appearance, which saw them come within one win of the Western Conference Final, and I was honestly expecting a return playoff appearance, but it was not to be. The fact that I listed Seattle above some of the other teams is a sign of how screwed those teams are. There is some promise in the Kraken. Maybe not a Cup, that will be a while. Their first decade of existence should see quite a few playoff appearances.

Buffalo Sabres

This really needs to end. I thought it would. The promise was definitely there after last year, but...nothing. 13 years without playoffs. The last time the Buffalo Sabres reached the playoffs was in 2011. Two of the teams on this list didn't exist yet, and a third was in a different city at the time. I really thought the Sabres would end their playoff drought this year, but sadly, that is not the case. The Sabres have been in the NHL since 1970 and haven't won a Cup. The wait for that will be a bit longer, but regarding the playoff drought, I expect that to end within the next two seasons.

Nashville Predators

The Nashville Predators have had a lot of good chances; they've reached the playoffs nine times in the last decade. That stretch includes their big Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2017, though they have only won one series since then. Even so, the chances are there and will continue to come for the Preds. This team will be a playoff team for years to come. The talent's there, and they have a pretty good coach in Andrew Brunette. Will a Cup come for them? It's possible. They do have a good chance, but everything really needs to go right for the Preds for that to happen.

Winnipeg Jets

Do not let Connor Hellebuyck's humiliation fool you. The Colorado Avalanche do this to everybody. The fact of the matter is this: the Winnipeg Jets are a juggernaut, or at least, they've become one. This and the 2017-18 season are the two best seasons they've had since the team debuted as the Atlanta Thrashers in 1999, and I expect the Jets to continue to give my Avs headaches for the next few years. They definitely have a strong chance to win their first Stanley Cup, especially with Hellebuyck in net for them. Plus they have a group of very good scorers, and a potential yearly Norris candidate in Josh Morrissey. I just have one request: the "J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets!" chant should be given to the NHL team, because the NFL team isn't worthy of it anymore.

Vancouver Canucks

I was very happy with the Vancouver Canucks' season; they really kicked ass this year. Sadly, it ended earlier than expected, but they are definitely ready for another run. Out of the 10 teams looking for their first Cup, the Canucks definitely have the best chance. They absolutely have the best chance out of the Canadian clubs (with the Jets second and the Leafs third), and I can see the Canucks winning a Stanley Cup within the next five years. Similar to the Sabres, the Canucks have been in the NHL since 1970, and just like Buffalo, they are empty handed. The Canucks and Sabres are the longest tenured teams to have never won the Cup, but the Nucks definitely do have quite an excellent chance to hoist Lord Stanley for the very first time.

And there you have it; the ten teams who have yet to win the Cup. Who do you think has the best chance to capture Cup #1? Feel free to comment with your thoughts below!