Most successful franchise without a Stanley Cup

[JuniorNelson]

I see two people voted for the Nucks, who entered the NHL with the Sabres. I'm really interested in the reasoning behind selecting the Nucks over the Sabres? Even if you don't agree with the Sabres as the first choice, I think it's quite clear they've have a historical edge over the Nucks.

A successful franchise means a strong bottom line to me. The Canucks have only really been close to the cup once but have been sold out for years.

 

[KristoLeblanc*]

STL Blues.

3 Stanley Cup Finals in a row.

 

[Moobles]

In the modern era (post-Bettman) definitely the Sharks. Have been contenders for the President's Trophy for many years now, some impressive winning streaks, strong 1st/2nd line, excellent rebuild, but have never made the Stanley Cup finals.

Including all eras pre-Bettman probably the Blues. Longest playoff streak in the league, made the Stanley Cup finals a few times and had a long history of success despite adversity in facing the quality of available players (expansion/early '70s), problems at the gate (late '70s/early '80s) and with personnel (mid-'90s with Keenan/Gretzky/Pronger etc.)

After those two and a fair ways down probably the Canucks, Sabres and maybe the Capitals. The pre-NHL Jets could've probably rivalled most NHL teams at the time (cept maybe Montreal or Boston) but after they got dismantled in the merger =\

 

[Iheartthesharks]

Other = SJ SHARKS!

 

[Psycho Papa Joe]

Frankly, I voted for Vancouver without backchecking all the seasons and because they somehow came "closest" to winning the Stanley Cup in 1994. Rather than a solid reasoning, I will try to defend my vote from being an embarassment and point out that the Canucks had more Division titles than Buffalo and prepared their organisation for a quite successful period right now.

Gruß,
BSHH

The numbers just don't add up. They both entered the NHL in 1970, so they are directly comparable, and the Sabres are clearly more successfull

Win/Loss Record - Sabres 1487 Wins, 1158 Losses, 409 ties, 62 OT/SO Losses
Nucks 1248 Wins, 1413 Losses, 391 ties, 64 OT/SO Losses

Divison Titles - Nucks 7, Sabres 6 - The only category the Nucks have an edge

Conference Titles - Sabres 3, Nucks 2

Playoff Appearances - Sabres 28, Nucks 23

Getting Past 1st Round - Sabres 14, Nucks 10

Final 4 - Sabres 6, Nucks 2

Final Appearances - Sabres 2, Nucks 2 (Total Won/Loss in the finals Sabres 4wins, 8losses and Nucks 3wins, 8losses).

There really is no objective way that somebody could pick the Nucks over the Sabres.

A successful franchise means a strong bottom line to me. The Canucks have only really been close to the cup once but have been sold out for years.

This poll is strictly about on-ice success. If you want to do poll on the financial success of teams, that should be in the Business of Hockey board.