Where do Canadian teams stand amid Stanley Cup drought?

Daniel Rainbird · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jun 18, 2025 7:22 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

The Stanley Cup drought for Canadian teams reached 32 years aft the Edmonton Oilers mislaid to the Florida Panthers successful a 2nd consecutive last connected Tuesday.

What astir adjacent year? Here's a look astatine wherever each of the 7 Canadian clubs stand heading into adjacent play — and which mightiness beryllium closest to ending the skid.

Calgary Flames 

After narrowly missing the playoffs, the Flames volition effort to onslaught a equilibrium betwixt processing astir their emerging young endowment and punching a small higher adjacent season. The Stanley Cup? Probably not happening.

Dustin Wolf was Calgary's MVP successful his rookie play and appears to beryllium a franchise goalie. Young wingers Matt Coronato and Connor Zary besides correspond anticipation for the future, portion apical defence imaginable Zayne Parekh could participate the fray.

Calgary besides has prime veterans similar Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau pushing to extremity a three-year playoff drought, but the Flames are inactive firmly successful a "retool" period.

Edmonton Oilers

Spearheaded by superstar duo Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the Oilers should beryllium best-positioned to combat for the Stanley Cup again. Edmonton dominated the Western Conference playoffs for 2 consecutive seasons earlier moving into a heavy and relentless Panthers squad some times.

The Oilers request to motion prima defenceman Evan Bouchard to tally it back. The pending restricted escaped cause is owed a monolithic rise from his US$3.9 cardinal headdress deed aft producing 55 points successful his past 47 playoff games. McDavid has 1 twelvemonth near connected his contract, adding imaginable stakes to adjacent season. The Oilers skipper is eligible for an hold connected July 1.

Also, volition the Oilers marque a determination for a existent No. 1 goalie aft inconsistent performances from Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard?

Montreal Canadiens 

Montreal's aboriginal is bright, but the Canadiens are apt a fewer seasons distant from warring for a Stanley Cup.

The Canadiens boast a young halfway of skipper Nick Suzuki, winger Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson, a shifty defenceman who won the Calder Trophy. Dazzling guardant Ivan Demidov could contend for rookie of the twelvemonth himself adjacent season.

Montreal was the youngest squad successful this year's playoffs, wherever they mislaid a first-round bid to the Washington Capitals successful 5 games, and could beryllium adjacent younger adjacent play arsenic much players from the franchise's heavy imaginable excavation postgraduate to the NHL.

Major off-season additions — peculiarly a second-line centre — are possible, but wide manager Kent Hughes is taking a diligent attack to physique a sustainable winner.

Ottawa Senators

The Senators took a large measurement with a playoff berth past season, signalling the extremity of a long, achy rebuild.

Led by skipper Brady Tkachuk, centre Tim Stutzle and defenceman Jake Sanderson, the Senators are young, talented and trending successful the close direction. Much similar the Canadiens, however, are they adjacent to making the leap from playoff contender to Stanley Cup contender?

Ottawa has a coagulated supporting cast, but inactive has holes to fill. General manager Steve Staios could beryllium progressive successful his hunt for a top-four defenceman and a top-six winger this off-season. Veteran guardant Claude Giroux besides needs a contract.

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs person lone won 2 bid successful their "Core Four" epoch contempt reaching the playoffs 9 consecutive years. Now the DNA, arsenic GM Brad Treliving enactment it, looks similar it's astir to alteration successful Toronto.

Star winger Mitch Marner is simply a pending escaped cause and could permission his boyhood club, erstwhile skipper John Tavares besides needs a contract, and Treliving appears acceptable to marque bold moves.

Then again, the Leafs led the Stanley Cup-champion Panthers 2-0 successful their second-round bid and pushed them to a Game 7. They besides won the Atlantic Division with a smothering antiaircraft benignant successful their archetypal twelvemonth nether manager Craig Berube.

No substance however the off-season shakes out, the Leafs should instrumentality to the playoffs. But volition it beryllium immoderate antithetic erstwhile they get there?

Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks looked similar a contender past twelvemonth successful a seven-game second-round bid against Edmonton. That feels similar a agelong clip ago.

Vancouver's follow-up went disconnected the rails successful a past play marked by off-ice play betwixt prima forwards Elias Pettersson and since-traded J.T. Miller.

Many uncertainties present situation the Canucks. Will Pettersson, erstwhile viewed arsenic a apical No. 1 centre, rediscover his 100-point form? Can goalie Thatcher Demko, elite erstwhile healthy, get done a play injury-free?

Head manager Rick Tocchet near Vancouver for Philadelphia, with Adam Foote taking implicit down the bench. Forward Brock Boeser mightiness besides exit successful escaped agency.

Canucks absorption volition beryllium hopeless to get the franchise backmost connected way with superstar defenceman Quinn Hughes owed for a caller declaration successful 2 years, but the way to the Stanley Cup, astatine slightest for adjacent season, feels steep.

Winnipeg Jets 

No squad has won much than Winnipeg implicit the past 2 regular seasons, but the Jets are seldom mentioned arsenic a Cup favourite.

Star goalie Connor Hellebuyck, defenceman Josh Morrissey, and forwards Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele helped pb a heavy and well-rounded squad to the Presidents' Trophy past season.

Winnipeg, however, fell successful the 2nd circular to Dallas aft needing a occurrence to scrape past St. Louis. Hellebuyck's sensational regular-season play — earning him this year's Hart and Vezina trophies — besides hasn't translated into the playoffs.

The Jets mightiness suffer winger Nikolaj Ehlers, who's 1 of six unrestricted escaped agents connected the roster. Most different cardinal pieces should instrumentality to the Manitoba capital. The question is: How overmuch further tin this radical go?