Only 11 Teams Have Not Won The Stanley Cup - Who Wins First?

There are currently 11 franchises in the National Hockey League without a Stanley Cup Championship. Starting of the 1st of August, 8 of those teams will start their journey towards hoisting Lord Stanley. Now... We can rule Buffalo, San Jose, and Ottawa out of contention this year as they are out of the playoffs. Those still in the race consist of the Vancouver Canucks, Florida Panthers, Arizona Coyotes, Nashville Predators, Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota Wild, Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Vegas Golden Knights.

Better luck next year, Jack Eichel.

For a team with such hype and arguably the best fanbase in the NHL, the Buffalo Sabres’ search of their elusive first title since joining the league in the 1970-1971 season has been a lengthy one. Having lost their only two Stanley Cup appearances, the Sabres have not reached the finals since 1999 – The year of the questionable Brett Hull “in-the-crease goal.” Here’s to yet another difficult off-season for a franchise that just can’t seem to figure it out.

San Jose put its best foot forward in 2016 as the team came up short to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the cup final. The nail in the coffin for Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau’s dream of winning a cup in together with the Sharks.

Ottawa's struggles are all-too-familiar for hockey fans. 2017? Chris Kunitz's double OT winner in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals was the dagger in the Senators franchise as it has been downhill since then. However, Ottawa has arguably one of the best prospect pools in the league and will add two more prospects from the top 5 picks in this year’s draft.

Okay, switching over to a positive topic.

One may never know when their chance to play for a Stanley Cup will come. As Vegas proved to all of us in 2018, team chemistry and hard work pay off. Very few believed they could make the playoffs, let alone finish three wins short of accomplishing a record that has never happened before – An NHL franchise winning the Stanley Cup in their inaugural season.

So, what do the numbers say about this year?

Based on team points this season, the teams would be ranked as followed:

1. Vegas Golden Knights (86 pts in 71gp)

2. Columbus Blue Jackets (81 pts in 70gp)

3. Florida Panthers (78 pts in 69gp)

4. Nashville Predators (78 pts in 69gp)

5. Vancouver Canucks (78 pts in 69gp)

6. Winnipeg Jets (80 pts in 71gp)

7. Minnesota Wild (77 pts in 69gp)

8. Arizona Coyotes (74 pts in 70gp)

How much different would your list look if you were to rate these eight teams without their season records? I would argue the majority of fans would create their list fairly comparable to the one above except for a few teams. To create the list, numerous factors needed to be considered. Not only were matchups incorporated into the rankings as an attempt of how the playoffs will shake out was thought of as well. The teams have been ranked according to the teams I think have the best chance at winning this year or next year. With that being said, I have ranked the eight competing teams on who I think is most likely to capture the Stanley Cup first:

1. Vegas Golden Knights

The Golden Knights hold the honour of most recent Stanley Cup Finals appearance, having lost to the Capitals in their inaugural 2018 season. Vegas has been nothing short of amazing since entering the league and with the prospect pool they've created, the Golden Knights don't look to be slowing down anytime soon. The Knights will look to prove their depth is for real and by winning the Stanley Cup in the franchise’s third season.

Key Players: Mark Stone, Marc-André Fleury, and Johnathon Marchessault.

Notable Prospects: Peyton Krebs, Cody Glass, and Pavel Dorofeyev.

2. Winnipeg Jets

Despite having a difficult season staying healthy and battling controversy, the Jets have found their way into the qualifying round to take on Calgary in which should be a fast-paced, hard-hitting series. With head coach Paul Maurice at the reigns, it’s tough to see this team not giving 100% and being all-in for one another. Keep an eye on Winnipeg, we may have our sleeper pick.

Key Players: Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, Kyle Connor, and Connor Hellebuyck.

Notable Prospects: Ville Heinola, Kristian Vesalainen, and Dylan Samberg.

3. Vancouver Canucks

The talent alone on this team should demand recognition on this list as the Canucks organization is oozing with it. Run by their dynamic offence, Vancouver will need to step up their game at the other end of the ice if they're going to be successful. If the puck is constantly being trapped in their defensive zone, the Canucks will have a tough time competing. The real question now becomes whether or not the players are ready for the big moment.

Key Players: Elias Petterson, Quinn Hughes, Brock Boeser, and JT Miller.

Notable Prospects: Nils Hoglander, Olli Juolevi, and Michael DiPietro.

4. Nashville Predators

Every list has one team with their ranking up for debate. Nashville is that team for me. With an all-star defensive core and goalie, the Predators have a winning team… on paper. Their one and only Stanley Cup Finals appearance came in 2017, resulting in a loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The team has been staggering since. With the free-agent addition of Matt Duchene, the forward group was expected to leap forward, kickstarting the likes of Ryan Johansen, Fillip Forsberg, and Mikael Granlund. If the Predators can find their scoring touch, the Stanley Cup could very well be heading to Nashville at seasons end.

Key Players: Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis, Matthias Ekholm, and Pekka Rinne.

Notable Prospects: Egor Afanasyev, David Farrance, Rem Pitlick, and Eeli Tolvanen.

5. Columbus Blue Jackets

Any team with a coach willing to go the extra inch with you could be a force to deal with come playoff time. John Tortorella had the Blue Jackets playing incredible hockey towards the end of the season and just may pull off back-to-back first-round upsets if they get hot against the Maple Leafs. Despite leading the league in man-games missed, Columbus found a way to sneak into one of the most wide-open playoffs we’ve ever seen.

Key Players: Seth Jones, Zach Werenski, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and Elvis Merzlinkins.

Notable Prospects: Liam Foudy, Kirill Marchenko, and Dmitri Voronkov.

6. Florida Panthers

Led by annual Selke candidate Alexander Barkov and two-way forward Jonathan Huberdeau, the Florida Panthers bring a ton of offense to the table. Florida ranked 6th in GF/GP at 3.30 when the season ended. Add their off-season signing of star goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and a respectable backend consisting of Aaron Ekblad and Keith Yandle and you have a Stanley Cup contender, right? Not necessarily. The Panthers haven’t found a way to gel and create the chemistry needed to win tight games. Outscoring your opponents in the playoffs is not a strategy likely to prevail and Joel Quenneville will need a different game plan if they’re going to win. I simply don’t see the Panthers winning without a competitive bottom 6 and stronger goaltending.

Key Players: Alexander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Aaron Ekblad and Sergei Bobrovsky.

Notable Prospects: Grigori Denisenko, Owen Tippett, and Spencer Knight.

7. Arizona Coyotes

It took a lot for me to not place the Coyotes last on this list. If there was ever a team focused on winning now more than ever, it would be Arizona. With prized free-agent Taylor Hall hitting the open market after this season, John Chayka went all-in to give his team the best chance at winning. The Coyotes forward depth hasn’t shown enough to compete with the top teams and a slip in their defensive and goaltending play could have them out of the playoffs early.

Key Players: Taylor Hall, Phil Kessel, Clayton Keller, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

Notable Prospects: Barrett Hayton, Jan Jenik, and Victor Soderstrom.

8. Minnesota Wild

In such an intense hockey market, Minnesota cannot match their level of play to the dynamism of the city. The Wild tend to squeeze into the playoffs each year and provide little entertainment to those watching. Okay, harsh I know but the defensive style of play is only so effective until it's not. Relying on up-and-down goalie Devin Dubnyk to win games seems unrealistic at this point in his career and there is no real superstar to carry the load. Although Vegas proved otherwise that superstars aren't necessary for a playoff run, the Wild don't have much optimism heading into the qualifying rounds. Could Lafreniere end up in Minnesota after all is said and done?

Key Players: Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, Zach Parise, and Eric Staal.

Notable Prospects: Kirill Kaprisov, Adam Beckman, and Matthew Boldy.