I believe that the futility of an organization is more in the consistency of making the playoffs and being a competitive team rather than Cups won (some franchises haven't won in a long time). There are other franchises that won a lot a long time go (Habs, Isles, Leafs) but could be considered futile in the past 25 years. It depends on if the only criteria you look at is Championships. If Washington didn't win this year but had been a top team for years are they futile?
Yes.
Had Washington not one the cup and kept being a second round at best washout , the Ovechkin era Capitals would have been viewed as a bit of a letdown aside watching him score.
Also, had the Capitals washed out at best in the second round again, they would still be viewed as the poorly managed team that has way more success in the regular season than in playoffs.
In other words, every time they washed out in the second round, people would point how they always wash out in the second round.
On a related note, it’s not just about cups. It’s about cups and over all competitiveness of a franchise during different eras with with entirely different rosters.
That’s why when taken into context , I DO NOT consider the Rangers “worthless” as our number one fan stated when comparing the Rangers until the effects of the “territorial drafts” started to wane in the early 80s.
From then on, I do knock the franchise for trying to buy cups.