Tonight, the Edmonton Oilers (49-27) will try to end a 34-year Stanley Cup drought and a 31-year drought for Canada. This is only the seventh time that one of Canada’s seven teams has reached the Finals since the Montreal Canadiens won in 1993. Edmonton lost in seven games to Carolina in 2006. Edmonton faces the Florida Panthers (52-24), who won their second consecutive Eastern Conference title.
Although the last 31 years have been barren north of the border, this is not true for the NHL’s seven Sunbelt teams from California, Florida, North Carolina, and Texas who have reached the Stanley Cup Finals 17 times and won 9 Stanley Cups. Will Florida win their first Stanley Cup and make it 10 for the Sunbelt or will Edmonton finally end the Canadian Curse?
The tables below offer a decade-by-decade visualization of how Canadian teams have disappeared from a championship match they once dominated.
2020s
Appearances: Finals 2, Conf. Finals 3
In this decade, Montreal returned to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1993 but lost 4-1 to defending champion Tampa Bay. Edmonton reached the Conference Finals in 2022.
2010s
Appearances: Finals 1, Conference Finals 5
The Vancouver Canucks dominated the NHL in 2011 and 2012, winning the Presidents’ Trophy for best record in both years. They reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2011 and battled the Boston Bruins to a 3-3 series tie in a series in which neither team could score on the road. The Boston Bruins came into Vancouver’s Rogers Arena having been outscored 6-2 and held scoreless in 8 of the 9 periods and one overtime, but seized the Cup with a 4-0 win. It was Boston’s first win since 1972 and the Bobby Orr-era.
In addition to Vancouver, Montreal (2010, 2014), Ottawa (2017) and Winnipeg (2018) reached the Conference Finals. In 2016, however, no Canadian team qualified for the playoffs for only the second time in history.
2000s
Appearances: Finals 3, Conf. Finals 5
Three Canadian teams reached the Stanley Cup Finals in the 2000s. In 2004, the Calgary Flames took a 3-2 series lead home to the Pengrowth Saddledome. The game ended 2-2 in regulation and a goal would clinch the Flames second Stanley Cup, but the Tampa Bay Lightning scored in double overtime and won game 7 in Tampa Bay.
In 2006, Edmonton came back from a 3-1 series deficit against the Carolina Hurricanes to force a game seven, but Carolina won 3-1 to claim their first Stanley Cup.
The next year, the Ottawa Senators lost 4-1 to the Anaheim Ducks who claimed their first title. Ottawa also was a conference runner-up in 2003 and Toronto the year before.
1990s
Appearances: Finals 3, Conference Finals 6
The drought began in 1994 when the underdog Vancouver Canucks, rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to force Game 7 against the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden but came up short 2-1 despite a frenetic final few minutes. The win ended the Rangers’ 54-year championship drought.
The year before, the Montreal Canadiens beat Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings 4-1. The series was notable since it was the first Stanley Cup in the Sunbelt, but there was nothing notable about the result at that time. It was Montreal’s 24th Stanley Cup victory.
Younger fans may not appreciate how dominant Canadian teams once were – particularly Montreal. In the 26 seasons after the NHL expanded from the original six teams (Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, New York and Toronto) from 1968-1993:
- Canadian Teams Reached the Stanley Cup Finals: 18 times
- Canadian Teams Won: 16 times (twice over other Canadian teams). The win breakdown is Montreal 10, Edmonton 5, and Calgary 1).
- From 1984-1989 only Canadian teams won (Edmonton 4, Montreal 1, Calgary 1), twice over other Canadian teams (Calgary and Montreal).
- Montreal won four consecutive Stanley Cups from 1976-1979, winning 16-3 in series games including two series sweeps.
Trophy Lives 