Slap Shot, the New York Times hockey blog, reports on the Rangers, the National Hockey League and anything that glides quickly across a frozen surface anywhere on the globe, from the snowy prairies of Saskatchewan to the frigid steppes of Russia and beyond, like, say, Phoenix.
The latest edition is an interview with Wayne Gretzky during a recent EA Sports Champions of Gaming Finals, staged by Gillette in Manhattan. Read Interview
Check out this gallery featuring photos from around the restaurant. New pictures will be added including ones of our Oasis roof-top patio that will be opening again this spring. Gallery
Wayne Gretzky Estate Winery is proud to announce that the world’s greatest hockey dad, Walter Gretzky will be appearing at a LCBO in Niagara this Saturday for a special autograph session of Wayne Gretzky Estate Wines.
Walter will be at the newest LCBO in St. Catharines located at 420 Vansickle Rd, between 12:00 and 3:00pm this Saturday April 10th. Walter will be signing customers’ bottles of Wayne Gretzky wines available at the store.
This is a wonderful opportunity for the public to meet one of hockey’s most popular and enigmatic icons and have a bottle of Wayne’s premium VQA wines become a true collector’s item.
Mick Kern appears courtesy of Live From Wayne Gretzky’s
Time keeps on ticking, ticking, ticking, as that old Steve Miller chestnut tells us. With 30 franchises in the National Hockey League, even if every team were to take a turn winning the Stanley Cup, let’s say in alphabetical order, that would still mean a 30 year wait between Cup victories, and since that type of ultimate parity is never going to happen, then the sober fact is, most NHL fans will never see their team hoist the big mug.
Last season, the Pittsburgh Penguins were the champions, a season after making it to the Stanley Cup Final, and falling short to the Detroit Red Wings. When captain Sidney Crosby accepted the Cup from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, it had been 17 years since the Penguins were crowned Stanley Cup Champions.
17 years is a long time; a generation of Pittsburgh hockey fans would have grown up never having seen Jaromir Jagr and Mario Lemieux play together. Yet 17 years is nothing if you’re a fan of the Chicago Blackhawks or the Toronto Maple Leafs.
To have experienced a Stanley Cup celebration in Chicago, if you go with the thought that most childhood memories are retained beginning at the age of five, then the youngest you could be as a Blackhawks fans, and vividly recall the Cup being won, is the age of 54.
Chicago has not won the Cup since 1961. In comparison, Maple Leafs fans aren’t so bad off. Using that same measurement, the age of the youngest Toronto fan to witness, and remember, a Maple Leafs’ Stanley Cup parade would be 48, as the Leafs haven’t won it all since 1967.
Those are the two longest current Cup droughts in the NHL. Still, that’s nothing on long-suffering New York Rangers fans. When the Broadway Blueshirts won it all in 1940, back in the days of a seven-team NHL, if you had suggested that the Rangers would take another 54 years to win it again, you probably would have been laughed at. No team could be that unfortunate, especially considering the era of the so-called Original Six began shortly after and lasted 25 years.
Yet, as the years wore on, even a losing appearance by the Rangers in the Cup Final was rare. After falling to the Red Wings in 1950, it was another 22 years before Ranger fans could once again experience the agony of coming up short in the Final, when they lost in six games in 1972 to the Boston Bruins.
The mocking cry of 1940 rang in the ears of Rangers’ fans as the decades piled up. In one four-year stretch, the rival expansion New York Islanders won more Stanley Cups (4) than the Rangers had won in their entire history.
The 1994 Cup win by the Rangers ended that 54-year drought, but hey, it’s now been 16 years, and counting.
The years can pile up very quickly.
Just ask a fan of the Boston Bruins. When Bobby Orr flew through the air after putting the puck past Glenn Hall to end the 1970 Stanley Cup Final, putting the Bruins at the top of the hockey world, it had been a long 29 years since Boston had won it all.
Two years later, they repeated the feat. Two Cups in three years. The future looked bright.
The Bruins would make it back to the Big Show in 1974, 1977, 1978, 1988 and 1990.
In 1974, they fell to the expansion Philadelphia Flyers. The powerhouse Montreal Canadiens bested them in 1977 and 1978 (and 1979, for that matter, for that semi-final was the de facto Stanley Cup Final).
Both of the Bruins’ Final appearances in the 80’s ran smack dab into the run-and-gun Edmonton Oilers, the first time with Wayne Gretzky, the second time without.
As we enter the 2010 NHL playoffs, the Boston Bruins have now gone 38 years without winning the Stanley Cup. Of the Original Six teams, only fans of the Blackhawks and Maple Leafs have been waiting longer.
And for all those smug Montreal Canadiens fans, your team hasn’t won the Cup since 1993, which is 17 years ago. Yes, there was that non-hockey year of 2004-05, but that applies to every team, which is why we’re calculating years here, not seasons.
That 17-year gap…and counting…is the longest in franchise history, with no indication that it will come to an end any time soon.
The previous dry period for the Habs was during the Dirty Thirties. Montreal won the 1930-31 Cup, and then didn’t get to taste glory again until 1943-44, a very lengthy 13 years later.
That leaves the Detroit Red Wings as the only Original Six team with a Cup win in recent memory, that being in 2008. The Red Wings also walked through Valley of the Shadow of Death, going from 1955 until 1997 before winning it all again. That was a 42 year drought, which only goes to prove the Cup Curse, if there is one, can indeed be broken.
Then again, fans of the Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, Buffalo Sabres, and Washington Capitals might say whatever; at least you have a Cup. All these long-time NHL franchises have made the Stanley Cup Final at least once, but returned home with nothing to show for it. Which means the Kings and Blues are right behind the Blackhawks and Maple Leafs for longest current Stanley Cup droughts.
What is that cliché? Just Win Baby? Not in pro sports. Count on your team NOT winning the Big One. Mathematically, it’s a long shot. Sure, somebody has to win, and the odds are much better than wasting two bucks on a lottery ticket, but it always seems to be the same teams that are either winning the Cup, or at least seriously competing for it.
The following list is ranked in order of NHL team’s that have had the shortest Stanley Cup winning drought. Obviously, a team such as the Atlanta Thrashers has had a shorter dry spell than the Los Angeles Kings, or the Washington Capitals, due to only being in the league for about a decade. (** = teams that have yet to win a Stanley Cup)
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS – 3 Stanley Cups (2009, 1992, 1991)
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – 1 (2008)
DETROIT RED WINGS – 11 Stanley Cups (2008, 2002, 1998, 1997, 1955, 1954, 1952, 1950, 1943, 1937, 1936)
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – 13 (2009, 1995, 1966, 1964, 1963, 1961, 1956, 1949, 1948, 1945, 1941, 1940, 1934)
Current Cup Drought – 2 years
ANAHEIM DUCKS – 1 Stanley Cup (2007)
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – 1 (2003)
Current Cup Drought – 3 years
CAROLINA HURRICANES – 1 Stanley Cup (2006)
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – 1 (2002)
Current Cup Drought – 4 years
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING – 1 Stanley Cup (2004)
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – zero
Current Cup Drought – 6 years
NEW JERSEY DEVILS – 3 Stanley Cups (2003, 2000, 1995)
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – 1 (2001)
Current Cup Drought – 7 years
COLORADO AVALANCHE – 2 Stanley Cups (2001, 1996)
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – zero
Current Cup Drought – 9 years
**COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS – zero Stanley Cups
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – zero
Current Cup Drought – 9 years (since joining the NHL in 2000-01)
**MINNESOTA WILD – zero Stanley Cups
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – zero
Current Cup Drought – 9 years (since joining the NHL in 2000-01)
**ATLANTA THRASHERS – zero Stanley Cups
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – zero
Current Cup Drought – 10 years (since joining the NHL in 1999-2000)
**NASHVILLE PREDATORS – zero Stanley Cups
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – zero
Current Cup Drought – 11 years (since joining the NHL in 1998-99)
DALLAS STARS – 1 Stanley Cup (1999)
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – 3 (2000 as Dallas, 1991 & 1981 as Minnesota)
Current Cup Drought – 11 years
NEW YORK RANGERS – 4 Stanley Cups (1994, 1940, 1933, 1928)
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – 6 (1979, 1972, 1950, 1937, 1932, 1929)
Current Cup Drought – 16 years
**FLORIDA PANTHERS – zero Stanley Cups
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – 1 (1996)
Current Cup Drought – 16 years (since joining the NHL in 1993-94)
MONTREAL CANADIENS – 23 Stanley Cups (1993, 1986, 1979, 1978, 1977, 1976, 1973, 1971, 1969, 1968, 1966, 1965, 1960, 1959, 1958, 1957, 1956, 1953, 1946, 1944, 1931, 1930, 1924) – also one Cup in 1916 before the formation of the NHL
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – 8 (1989, 1967, 1955, 1954, 1952, 1951, 1947, 1925)
note: the 1919 Stanley Cup Final between the Canadiens and Seattle was cancelled due to the Influenza Epidemic
Current Cup Drought – 17 years
**OTTAWA SENATORS – zero Stanley Cups (the previous Ottawa Senators franchise records are kept separate from this current incarnation)
Stanley Cup Final appearances – 1 (2007)
Current Cup Drought – 17 years (since joining the NHL in 1992-93)
**SAN JOSE SHARKS – zero Stanley Cups
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – zero
Current Cup Drought – 18 years (since joining the NHL in 1991-92)
EDMONTON OILERS – 5 Stanley Cups (1990, 1988, 1987, 1985, 1984)
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – 2 (2006, 1983)
Current Cup Drought – 20 years
CALGARY FLAMES – 1 Stanley Cup (1989)
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – 2 (2004, 1986)
Current Cup Drought – 21 years
NEW YORK ISLANDERS – 4 Stanley Cups (1983, 1982, 1981, 1980)
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – 1 (1984)
Current Cup Drought – 27 years
**PHOENIX COYOTES – zero Stanley Cups
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – zero
Current Cup Drought – 30 years (since joining the NHL as the Jets in 1979-80)
**WASHINGTON CAPITALS – zero Stanley Cups
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – 1 (1998)
Current Cup Drought – 35 years (since joining the NHL in 1974-75)
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS – 2 Stanley Cups (1975, 1974)
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – 5 (1997, 1987, 1985, 1980, 1976,)
Current Cup Drought – 35 years
BOSTON BRUINS – 5 Stanley Cups (1972, 1970, 1941, 1939, 1929)
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – 12 (1990, 1988, 1978, 1977, 1974, 1958, 1957, 1953, 1946, 1943, 1930, 1927)
Current Cup Drought – 38 years
**BUFFALO SABRES – zero Stanley Cups
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – 2 (1999, 1975)
Current Cup Drought – 39 years (since joining the NHL in 1970-71)
**VANCOUVER CANUCKS – zero Stanley Cups
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – 2 (1982, 1994)
Current Cup Drought – 39 years (since joining the NHL in 1970-71)
**ST. LOUIS BLUES – zero Stanley Cups
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – 3 (1968, 1969, 1970)
Current Cup Drought – 42 years (since joining the NHL in 1967-68)
**LOS ANGELES KINGS – zero Stanley Cups
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – 1 (1993)
Current Cup Drought – 42 years (since joining the NHL in 1967-68)
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS – 13 Stanley Cups (1967, 1964, 1963, 1962, 1951, 1949, 1948, 1947, 1945, 1942, 1932, 1922, 1918) – one as the St. Pats and one as the Arenas
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – 8 (1960, 1959, 1940, 1939, 1938, 1936, 1935, 1933)
Current Cup Drought – 43 years
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS – 3 Stanley Cups (1961, 1938, 1934)
Stanley Cup Final losing appearances – 7 (1992, 1973, 1971, 1965, 1962, 1944, 1931)
Current Cup Drought – 49 years
Of the current thirty NHL franchises, seventeen have won the Stanley Cup.
Only six teams have failed to at least advance to the Stanley Cup Final. Four of those six franchises have joined the NHL in the past decade (Nashville, Atlanta, Minnesota, and Columbus), so their track record is not that bad…yet.
The biggest non-achievers in terms of the National Hockey League are the Phoenix Coyotes and the San Jose Sharks.
The Sharks came into being when the Gund Brothers engineered a franchise split with the Minnesota North Stars in 1991. Despite having stellar regular season teams for the past few seasons, the Sharks have been unable to get near the Cup Final.
As for the Coyotes, they began life in 1972 as the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association. The seven years they spent in that rebel league were fruitful, as they won three Avco World Trophies, and arguably, were better than a number of NHL teams at the time…Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Barons, Detroit Red Wings, etc.
Along with the Whalers, Nordiques, and Oilers, the Jets were absorbed into the NHL in time for the 1979-80 season. Most of their good players were reclaimed by the existing NHL clubs, and even though the Jets iced a number of competitive teams in the mid-80’s, they have never come close to making it to the Stanley Cup Final, either in Winnipeg, or in Phoenix, where they relocated in time for the 1995-96 campaign.
The underlying point to all is this a blunt one; a team’s window-of-opportunity to win the Stanley Cup is a narrow one at best. When you’re one of the top eight teams in the league, it’s probably worth it to roll the dice and do whatever you deem necessary to win it all. If not, your Stanley Cup Drought will only drag on.
- Mick Kern
(all stats as of 04-02-10 - if any of the stats are wrong, please contact me)
Mick Kern appears courtesy of Live From Wayne Gretzky’s