List of NHL franchise post-season droughts
Updated: 5/24/2026, 6:50:38 PM Wikipedia source
Active and all-time National Hockey League (NHL) franchise post-season appearance, post-season series win, Stanley Cup Final and Stanley Cup droughts up to and including the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs, are listed below. Those teams which have never made it in franchise history are listed by the season that they entered the league, either as a new franchise or when they merged into the NHL from the disbanded World Hockey Association (WHA) league. These lists do not include the cancelled 2004–05 NHL season when calculating "number of seasons". Among the current 32 NHL teams, ten have never won the Stanley Cup, with the oldest of them being the Vancouver Canucks and the Buffalo Sabres (53 seasons). The longest Stanley Cup drought in NHL history belongs to the Toronto Maple Leafs (58 seasons). Five teams have never reached the Stanley Cup Final, with the oldest of them being the Winnipeg Jets/Arizona Coyotes franchise (43 seasons). In 2010, the Chicago Blackhawks ended what was the second-longest Stanley Cup championship drought at 49 seasons (now the sixth-longest). The end of that drought was the first of three consecutive years in which one of the eleven longest such droughts was broken (Chicago Blackhawks in 2010, Boston Bruins in 2011, and Los Angeles Kings in 2012). The Detroit Red Wings currently have the longest active playoff series win drought at 13 seasons, and the longest active post-season appearance drought at 10 seasons. The Florida Panthers have the longest playoff series win drought in league history at 24 seasons, lasting from 1997 to 2022. The Buffalo Sabres have the longest post-season appearance drought at 14 seasons, lasting from 2012 to 2025.
Tables
| Team | Last appearance in post-season | Post-season drought |
| Detroit Red Wings | 2015–16 | 10 seasons |
| San Jose Sharks | 2018–19 | 7 seasons |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 2019–20 | 6 seasons |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 2019–20 | 6 seasons |
| Calgary Flames | 2021–22 | 4 seasons |
| Seattle Kraken | 2022–23 | 3 seasons |
| Nashville Predators | 2023–24 | 2 seasons |
| New York Islanders | 2023–24 | 2 seasons |
| New York Rangers | 2023–24 | 2 seasons |
| Vancouver Canucks | 2023–24 | 2 seasons |
| Florida Panthers | 2024–25 | 1 season |
| New Jersey Devils | 2024–25 | 1 season |
| St. Louis Blues | 2024–25 | 1 season |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 2024–25 | 1 season |
| Washington Capitals | 2024–25 | 1 season |
| Winnipeg Jets | 2024–25 | 1 season |
| Team | Last division championship win | Division championship drought |
| Edmonton Oilers | 1986–87 | 38 seasons |
| New York Islanders | 1987–88 | 37 seasons |
| Los Angeles Kings | 1990–91 | 34 seasons |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | never (inception of franchise in 2000–01) | 25 seasons |
| Ottawa Senators | 2005–06 | 20 seasons |
| Minnesota Wild | 2007–08 | 18 seasons |
| New Jersey Devils | 2009–10 | 16 seasons |
| Detroit Red Wings | 2010–11 | 15 seasons |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 2010–11 | 15 seasons |
| San Jose Sharks | 2010–11 | 15 seasons |
| Arizona Coyotes | 2011–12 | 12 seasons1,2 |
| Anaheim Ducks | 2016–17 | 9 seasons |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 2016–17 | 9 seasons |
| Montreal Canadiens | 2016–17 | 9 seasons |
| Nashville Predators | 2018–19 | 7 seasons |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 2018–19 | 7 seasons |
| St. Louis Blues | 2019–20 | 6 seasons |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 2020–21 | 5 seasons |
| Seattle Kraken | never (inception of franchise in 2021–22) | 5 seasons |
| Calgary Flames | 2021–22 | 4 seasons |
| Boston Bruins | 2022–23 | 3 seasons |
| Dallas Stars | 2023–24 | 2 seasons |
| Florida Panthers | 2023–24 | 2 seasons |
| New York Rangers | 2023–24 | 2 seasons |
| Utah Mammoth | never (inception of franchise in 2024–25) | 2 seasons |
| Vancouver Canucks | 2023–24 | 2 seasons |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 2024–25 | 1 season |
| Washington Capitals | 2024–25 | 1 season |
| Winnipeg Jets | 2024–25 | 1 season |
| Team | Last Presidents' Trophy1 | Subsequent Presidents' Trophy runner-up finishes | Presidents' Trophy drought |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 1962–63 | 62 seasons1 | |
| Los Angeles Kings | never (inception of franchise in 1967–68) | 58 seasons1 | |
| New Jersey Devils | never (inception of franchise in 1974–75) | 3 : 1993–94, 1997–98, 1998–99 | 51 seasons1,2 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 1977–78 | 4 : 1978–79, 1987–88, 1988–89, 2014–15 | 47 seasons1 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | never (franchise entered the NHL in 1979–80) | 2 : 2022–23, 2025–26 | 46 seasons1,3 |
| Arizona Coyotes | never (franchise entered the NHL in 1979–80) | 45 seasons1,4,5 | |
| New York Islanders | 1981–82 | 1 : 1983–84 | 43 seasons1 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 1984–85 | 2 : 1985–86, 1986–87 | 40 seasons1 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 1986–87 | 38 seasons | |
| Calgary Flames | 1988–89 | 2 : 1989–90, 2018–19 | 36 seasons |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 1992–93 | 2 : 2012–13, 2016–17 | 32 seasons |
| Anaheim Ducks | never (inception of franchise in 1993–94) | 1 : 2013–14 | 32 seasons |
| Dallas Stars | 1998–99 | 3 : 2002–03, 2015–16, 2023–24 | 26 seasons |
| St. Louis Blues | 1999–2000 | 1 : 2019–20 | 25 seasons |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | never (inception of franchise in 2000–01) | 25 seasons | |
| Minnesota Wild | never (inception of franchise in 2000–01) | 25 seasons | |
| Ottawa Senators | 2002–03 | 1 : 2005–06 | 22 seasons |
| Buffalo Sabres | 2006–07 | 19 seasons | |
| Detroit Red Wings | 2007–08 | 18 seasons | |
| San Jose Sharks | 2008–09 | 1 : 2009–10 | 17 seasons |
| Vancouver Canucks | 2011–12 | 14 seasons | |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 2012–13 | 13 seasons | |
| Washington Capitals | 2016–17 | 1 : 2024–25 | 9 seasons |
| Vegas Golden Knights | never (inception of franchise in 2017–18) | 1 : 2020–21 | 9 seasons |
| Nashville Predators | 2017–18 | 8 seasons | |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 2018–19 | 7 seasons | |
| Seattle Kraken | never (inception of franchise in 2021–22) | 5 seasons | |
| Florida Panthers | 2021–22 | 4 seasons | |
| Boston Bruins | 2022–23 | 3 seasons | |
| New York Rangers | 2023–24 | 2 seasons | |
| Utah Mammoth | never (inception of franchise in 2024–25) | 2 seasons | |
| Winnipeg Jets | 2024–25 | 1 season |
| Team | Last post-season series win | Subsequent post-season series losses | Post-season series win drought |
| Detroit Red Wings | 2012–13 | 3 : 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16 | 013 seasons |
| Los Angeles Kings | 2013–14 | 7 : 2015–16, 2017–18, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25, 2025–26 | 012 seasons |
| Ottawa Senators | 2016–17 | 2 : 2024–25, 2025–26 | 09 seasons |
| Nashville Predators | 2017–18 | 5 : 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2023–24 | 08 seasons |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 2017–18 | 5 : 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2025–26 | 08 seasons |
| San Jose Sharks | 2018–19 | 07 seasons | |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 2019–20 | 06 seasons | |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 2019–20 | 06 seasons | |
| New York Islanders | 2020–21 | 2 : 2022–23, 2023–24 | 5 seasons |
| Arizona Coyotes | 2019–20 | 04 seasons1 | |
| Calgary Flames | 2021–22 | 4 seasons | |
| St. Louis Blues | 2021–22 | 1 : 2024–25 | 4 seasons |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 2021–22 | 4 : 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25, 2025–26 | 4 seasons |
| New Jersey Devils | 2022–23 | 1 : 2024–25 | 3 seasons |
| Seattle Kraken | 2022–23 | 3 seasons | |
| Boston Bruins | 2023–24 | 1: 2025–26 | 2 seasons |
| New York Rangers | 2023–24 | 2 seasons | |
| Vancouver Canucks | 2023–24 | 2 seasons | |
| Utah Mammoth | never (inception of franchise in 2024–25) | 1: 2025–26 | 2 seasons |
| Dallas Stars | 2024–25 | 1: 2025–26 | 1 season |
| Edmonton Oilers | 2024–25 | 1: 2025–26 | 1 season |
| Florida Panthers | 2024–25 | 1 season | |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 2024–25 | 1 season | |
| Washington Capitals | 2024–25 | 1 season | |
| Winnipeg Jets | 2024–25 | 1 season |
| Team | Last appearance in Stanley Cup Final | Subsequent conference finals losses1 | Stanley Cup Final drought |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 1966–67 | 5: 1977–78, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1998–99, 2001–02 | 58 seasons |
| Arizona Coyotes | never (franchise entered the NHL in 1979–80) | 1: 2011–12 | 44 seasons2,3 |
| New York Islanders | 1983–84 | 3: 1992–93, 2019–20, 2020–21 | 40 seasons |
| Buffalo Sabres | 1998–99 | 2: 2005–06, 2006–07 | 25 seasons |
| Winnipeg Jets | never (inception of franchise in 1999–2000) | 1: 2017–18 | 25 seasons4 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | never (inception of franchise in 2000–01) | 24 seasons | |
| Minnesota Wild | never (inception of franchise in 2000–01) | 1: 2002–03 | 24 seasons |
| Calgary Flames | 2003–04 | 20 seasons | |
| Carolina Hurricanes | 2005–06 | 4: 2008–09, 2018–19, 2022–23, 2024–25 | 019 seasons |
| Anaheim Ducks | 2006–07 | 2: 2014–15, 2016–17 | 018 seasons |
| Ottawa Senators | 2006–07 | 1: 2016–17 | 018 seasons |
| Detroit Red Wings | 2008–09 | 016 seasons | |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 2009–10 | 015 seasons | |
| Vancouver Canucks | 2010–11 | 014 seasons | |
| New Jersey Devils | 2011–12 | 013 seasons | |
| Los Angeles Kings | 2013–14 | 011 seasons | |
| New York Rangers | 2013–14 | 3: 2014–15, 2021–22, 2023–24 | 011 seasons |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 2014–15 | 010 seasons | |
| San Jose Sharks | 2015–16 | 1: 2018–19 | 09 seasons |
| Nashville Predators | 2016–17 | 08 seasons | |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 2016–17 | 08 seasons | |
| Washington Capitals | 2017–18 | 7 seasons | |
| Boston Bruins | 2018–19 | 6 seasons | |
| St. Louis Blues | 2018–19 | 6 seasons | |
| Dallas Stars | 2019–20 | 3: 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25 | 5 seasons |
| Montreal Canadiens | 2020–21 | 4 seasons | |
| Seattle Kraken | never (inception of franchise in 2021–22) | 4 seasons | |
| Colorado Avalanche | 2021–22 | 3 seasons | |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 2021–22 | 3 seasons | |
| Vegas Golden Knights | 2022–23 | 2 seasons | |
| Utah Mammoth | never (inception of franchise in 2024–25) | 1 season |