The Stanley Cup is one of the hardest things to win in all of sports. Some teams, like the New York Islanders of the early 80’s or the current Chicago Blackhawks, win the Cup multiple times with some players walking away with three or four championships on their resume. But for every winner, there’s a loser. Maybe their teams shouldn’t always be remembered as the losing side, after all, it takes a great deal of hard work to make the Finals and losing doesn’t mean that a certain team is that bad. Still, players on the losing side walk away with disappointment, bruised bodies, and nothing else but hope they’ll someday return to the Finals and win the ultimate prize. But some of the league’s greats are still without a Cup win, and listed below are the top-10 current NHL players without the illustrious Stanley Cup.
10. Henrik Lundqvist:
Spending his whole career with the New York Rangers after being taken 205th overall back in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. Since then, Lundqvist has become one of the games biggest ambassadors and has had quite the career. He’s second in career wins among all active goaltenders and has been an All-Star three times, along with taking home the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goalie in 2012 (he was also nominated for the award four other times). Internationally, he’s won both a silver and gold medal in the Olympics. He’s been to the Conference Finals three times and the Stanley Cup Finals once in 2014 where New York lost five games. He’s 33-years-old so time is slowly fading away. With the Rangers being a top contender in this league, he may get his chance yet.
9. Alex Ovechkin:
This Washington Capitals great will no doubt end his career as one of the most elite goal scorers in hockey history. But will his spot in the Hall of Fame include just pictures of his goal celebrations or have one of him hoisting the Cup? So far, he’s lead the NHL in goals five times, cracking the 50 goal plateau six times (including a 65 goal year in 2007-08), collected over 100 points four times (including a league best 112 in 2007-08), and racked up a total of 895 points in his 760 regular season games. In 72 playoff games, he’s put up 36 goals and 70 points. But despite all this success, he’s dealt with great failure. While he’s been on the team, the Capitals have never advanced past the second round of the playoffs. He’s got time, and the Capitals may be better right now than they have been during his previous years on the team. With new depth additions like Justin Williams and high end talent like T.J. Oshie, the Capitals may finally be ready to get over the hump and challenge for a Cup.
8. Henrik and Daniel Sedin:
The potent Vancouver Canucks duo is one of the best the league had seen in years. The key word being "had," as the Sedin twins are no longer the dominating force they were just a few years ago during Vancouver’s years of success. The Canucks as a whole are getting older and the Sedins are part of that trend at 34-years-old. The two want to finish their careers in Vancouver, even saying that they wouldn’t change their minds if it meant a shot at the Cup on another team. The Canucks don’t have much say in the matter either. Each twin has a no-trade clause, and if they were to waive it they would likely want to be traded to the same team. They could prove to be depth forwards elsewhere because they still possess a scoring touch and would be great mentors to younger players. They reached the Finals in 2011, losing to the Boston Bruins in seven games. Henrik has been the assist machine between the two, collecting 704 assists and 915 points, while Daniel has scored 327 goals and 881 points. The two have had 100 plus point seasons but their glory days are behind them and time is quickly slipping away.
7. Brenden Morrow:
Morrow started his career by reaching the Finals in his rookie year with the Dallas Stars in 2000, when they lost to the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup Finals. Now his most recent season has resulted in defeat, losing in the Finals to the Chicago Blackhawks. He’s an unrestricted free agent and all signs point to the Tampa Bay Lightning not renewing his contract. He has scored 265 goals and 575 points in 991 career NHL games. Still, Morrow and the Lightning have talked since his contract expired and he’s stated he’d love to return. He stated that he had a great deal of fun with the Bolts and they may be a great option, being early favorites for a Cup run. Morrow has had nothing but disappointment when it comes to winning the Cup, losing twice in the Finals and bowing out in the Conference Finals with Pittsburgh and Dallas. The former Canadian gold medalist turns 37 next January.
6. Shane Doan:
The Arizona Coyotes captain has yet to get a taste of Stanley Cup Final action and based on Arizona’s rebuild, he might not before he ends his career. He says that he will not chase a Cup by requesting a trade to a playoff ready team, even though he turns 39 this October. During his 20-year career, Doan has scored 368 goals and assisted 530 times for a grand total of 898 points. He is the only remaining player in the league to have played for the original Winnipeg Jets. The closest he came to a Cup was in 2012 when the Coyotes made a run to the Western Conference Finals, only to be beaten by their rivals the L.A. Kings, who eventually went on to win the Cup. He was a two-time All-Star and won the Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2012.
5. Daniel Briere:
Briere is playing with the idea of retiring before next season, but would likely receive a warm welcome if he were to somehow return to the Philadelphia Flyers where he scored 72 playoff points, earning him the title of “Mr. Playoffs.” Briere, 37, has yet to get his name engraved on the Stanley Cup in a career that has taken him from the then Phoenix Coyotes to Buffalo, Philadelphia, Montreal and most recently Colorado. In 124 playoff games, Briere has scored 116 points, making him one of the greatest playoff performers of all time. He was given a standing ovation in his return to Philadelphia in the 2013-14 season, and Flyers fans everywhere would love to see him take on a role with the team, whether it be on the ice or off it.
4. Roberto Luongo:
Hello Hall of Fame, it’s Roberto Luongo. Outside of winning the Stanley Cup, there are few things Luongo hasn’t done. He’s been a five-time All-Star, a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, and current leader among all active NHL netminders with 401 wins. Luongo is a key piece in the Florida Panthers rebuild, and holds the franchise’s records for wins and shutouts, records he also holds in the Canucks organization where he played eight seasons. He is a light-hearted player (just read his tweets) and has played almost 50,000 minutes in the NHL. He has a respectable career average save percentage of .919, and is famous for being pulled in playoff games as much as he is for being a top-tier goaltender. He was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy three times and was named the league’s MVP in 2007.
3. Patrick Marleau:
He has the third most goals of anyone on this list with 456 of them spanning across 17 seasons. He is the San Jose Sharks all-time leader in both goals and points and is a two time Olympic Gold Medalist. With over 1300 career games under his belt (Marleau was is the youngest player in league history to do so), Marleau’s career has seen success in every category except for one, and that’s in the playoffs. He’s signed with the Sharks until 2017 when he’ll be 37. He has a total of 103 postseason points in 159 postseason games, none of which have been played in a Stanley Cup Final. Marleau is one of the most well liked players in the league, earning him two Lady Byng nominations in 2007 and 2014. He is just 12 points away from 1,000 in his career but the Sharks seem to slip further and further away from a Stanley Cup win every year, a win that would be the franchise’s first.
2. Jarome Iginla:
Owning the NHL record for most consecutive seasons with 30 or more goals, Iginla comes in at the second spot on our list. Iginla, 38, is one of only a few players in the league who continues to defy where his point totals should be based on his age. He fell just short of having 30 goals for a 12th straight year this past season with 29, and is currently playing with the Colorado Avalanche. Iginla went to the Stanley Cup Final in 2004 with the Calgary Flames, losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games while leading the playoffs with 13 goals. After that, Iginla remained with the Flames until the 2012-13 season. Iginla was a force for the Flames during that time, which saw him put up a career high 98 points in the 2007-08 season. He is the Flames all-time leader in goals and points and second in assists. After leaving the Flames in 2013, he went to the Pittsburgh Penguins where they reached the Conference Finals only to be swept by the Boston Bruins. The following year, Iginla chose the Bruins to be his next team, still searching for a Stanley Cup win. The Bruins were eliminated by Montreal in the second round, and due to cap issues couldn’t re-sign Iginla. After testing the free agent market, he signed with the Avalanche who were the reigning Central Division Champions. However, the Avalanche took a step back this year and failed to qualify for the playoffs. Iginla will be a member of the Avalanche until 2017. He’ll turn 40 the day that free agent frenzy starts on July 1st.
1. Joe Thornton:
Jumbo Joe Thornton is 36th on the all time points list with 358 goals, 901 assists for a total of 1,259 points. Thornton was taken first overall in the 1997 NHL Draft by the Boston Bruins, before current teammate and previous mention Patrick Marleau who went to the Sharks second overall. Thornton put up 454 of those points with the Bruins in parts of eight seasons with Boston. In the 2005-06 season, he was traded to the San Jose Sharks. He put up 125 points with both teams that year, good enough to win the Art Ross Trophy. In 2006-07, Thornton had 92 assists, becoming just the third player in league history to have two consecutive seasons with 90 plus assists. The other two to do it? Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. Thornton won gold at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, silver in the 2005 World Championships, and gold again in the 2010 Winter Olympics. Next season will see Thornton reach the 1,300 game mark but that is not what he’s concerned with. He wants a Stanley Cup, but whether he can win it or not is up in the air. The Sharks seem to be confused with whether they’re in a rebuild or just their continual summer upgrading period. Thornton reached the Conference Finals with San Jose in 2010 and 2011, but San Jose only escaped with one win out of both of those series’. Thornton’s time is running out, just as his contract will 2017. He’ll turn 38 just a day into free agent frenzy. Thornton’s patience is no doubt running out. His facial expression at the end of the Sharks disastrous playoff collapse in 2014 (when they surrendered a three nothing series lead over the Los Angeles Kings, becoming just the fourth team in league history to do so) tells the story of his post season luck.