The Panther
Registered User
Team | Last Stanley Cup | Stanley Cup drought |
---|---|---|
Toronto Maple Leafs | 1966–67 | 50 seasons |
St. Louis Blues | never (inception of franchise in 1967–68) | 50 seasons |
Buffalo Sabres | never (inception of franchise in 1970–71) | 47 seasons |
Vancouver Canucks | never (inception of franchise in 1970–71) | 47 seasons |
Just for fun -- and of course longtime fans of those teams should chip in -- which of the four franchises above do you think has "failed" (however you want to interpret it) the most?
It's a funny thing: maybe from the Canadian perspective, while Toronto and Vancouver are often noted as franchises with playoff or franchise failures, we don't usually think of Buffalo or St.Louis as having failed, but in fact their Cup-less runs of a half-century are becoming remarkable.
Which one has failed its fanbase the most?
I think I would tend to name Toronto as the biggest failure, in the sense that they have the world's #1 hockey market and all kinds of resources, but since Toronto has won several championships before expansion, isn't it more accurate to name another franchise? Ignoring pre-1967, however, the Leafs don't look too good. Not once from 1967 to 1999 (32 years) did they manage a .600 regular season. And unlike St.Louis, Buffalo, and Vancouver, the Leafs since '67 have never made it to the Finals.
Or, maybe the winner here is St.Louis, because 50 seasons without a Cup. But St.Louis was the best of the early expansion teams (three Finals' trips), and made the playoffs every year from 1980 to 2004 inclusive. They've also been quite competitive much of the past six or seven years.
Buffalo had its successes from the mid-70s to early-80s, and then the Hasek-backed team made the Finals in 1999. Since 2001, the Sabres have made the playoffs only 4 times in 16 seasons -- but prior to that, they'd missed only 3 times in 27 years.
Despite their unlikely '82 Finals run, Vancouver were probably never in championship contention for the franchise's first 21 seasons. But since 1991-92, they've had a lot of good years ('94 and '11 Finalists, five 1st-place seasons in a row from '09 to '13).
What do you think?