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 franchise (51 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 both 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.
Longest active droughts Post-season appearance droughts
A post-season appearance drought is continued by not making the NHL playoffs after the regular season. Since the first round of the playoffs normally consists of eight series (sixteen teams) and there were thirty-two active teams in the NHL during the 2025–26 season, there are sixteen teams that did not make the most recent playoffs on this list.
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
Division championship droughts
This is a list of the teams and the number of seasons since they have won the Division championship. This list does not include the division champions in the 2025–26 NHL season: the Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, and Vegas Golden Knights.
Team Last divisionchampionship win Divisionchampionship 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 1 franchise changed its name in 2014 from Phoenix to Arizona Coyotes 2 The team was inactive at the start of the 2024–25 NHL season.
Presidents' Trophy droughts
This is a list of the teams and the number of seasons since they have won the Presidents' Trophy as the regular season champions. This list does not include the most recent Presidents' Trophy champions: the Colorado Avalanche.
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 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 Arizona Coyotes never (inception of franchise in 1996–97) 27 seasons1,4 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 seasonsWinnipeg Jets 2024–25 1 season
1 The trophy was introduced at the start of the 1985–86 NHL season. 2 includes 2 seasons of the Kansas City Scouts (1974–75 through 1975–76) + 6 seasons of the Colorado Rockies (1976–77 through 1981–82) + 42 season of the New Jersey Devils (1982–83 through 2024–25) 3 includes 18 seasons of the Hartford Whalers (1979–80 through 1996–97) + 27 seasons of the Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98 through 2024–25) 4 The team was inactive at the start of the 2024–25 NHL season.
Post-season series win droughts
A post-season series win drought is continued either by not making the playoffs in a season or by making the playoffs in a season and subsequently losing the first-round series. Since the first round of the NHL playoffs consists of eight series (sixteen teams), there will be twenty-four teams in this list – the sixteen teams that do not qualify for the post-season, plus the eight teams that lose their first-round series.
The other eight teams – the Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, and Vegas Golden Knights – all won a post-season series in the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Team Last post-seasonseries win Subsequent post-seasonseries losses Post-seasonseries 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 seasonsVancouver Canucks 2023–24 2 seasons Utah Mammoth never (inception of franchise in 2024–25) 1: 2025–26 2 seasonsDallas Stars 2024–25 1: 2025–26 1 seasonEdmonton Oilers 2024–25 1: 2025–26 1 seasonFlorida Panthers 2024–25 1 seasonToronto Maple Leafs 2024–25 1 seasonWashington Capitals 2024–25 1 seasonWinnipeg Jets 2024–25 1 season 1 The team was inactive at the start of the 2024–25 NHL season.
Stanley Cup Final droughts
This lists the teams and the number of seasons since they last reached the Stanley Cup Final. This list does not include the teams that made the 2026 Stanley Cup Final: the Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights.
Team Last appearancein Stanley Cup Final Subsequent conferencefinals losses1 Stanley CupFinal drought Toronto Maple Leafs 1966–67 5: 1977–78, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1998–99, 2001–02 59 seasons Winnipeg Jets never (franchise entered the NHL in 1979–80) 1: 2017–18 43 seasons2, 3 New York Islanders 1983–84 3: 1992–93, 2019–20, 2020–21 41 seasons Arizona Coyotes never (inception of franchise in 1996–97) 1: 2011–12 27 seasons4 Buffalo Sabres 1998–99 2: 2005–06, 2006–07 26 seasons Columbus Blue Jackets never (inception of franchise in 2000–01) 25 seasons Minnesota Wild never (inception of franchise in 2000–01) 1: 2002–03 25 seasons Calgary Flames 2003–04 21 seasons Anaheim Ducks 2006–07 2: 2014–15, 2016–17 019 seasons Ottawa Senators 2006–07 1: 2016–17 019 seasons Detroit Red Wings 2008–09 017 seasons Philadelphia Flyers 2009–10 016 seasons Vancouver Canucks 2010–11 015 seasons New Jersey Devils 2011–12 014 seasons Los Angeles Kings 2013–14 012 seasons New York Rangers 2013–14 3: 2014–15, 2021–22, 2023–24 012 seasons Chicago Blackhawks 2014–15 011 seasons San Jose Sharks 2015–16 1: 2018–19 010 seasons Nashville Predators 2016–17 09 seasons Pittsburgh Penguins 2016–17 09 seasons Washington Capitals 2017–18 8 seasons Boston Bruins 2018–19 7 seasons St. Louis Blues 2018–19 7 seasons Dallas Stars 2019–20 3: 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25 6 seasons Montreal Canadiens 2020–21 1: 2025–26 5 seasons Seattle Kraken never (inception of franchise in 2021–22) 5 seasons Colorado Avalanche 2021–22 1: 2025–26 4 seasons Tampa Bay Lightning 2021–22 4 seasons Utah Mammoth never (inception of franchise in 2024–25) 2 seasons Edmonton Oilers 2024–25 1 season Florida Panthers 2024–25 1 season
1 includes Semifinals up to and including 1980–81 and Stanley Cup Semifinals in 2020–21 2 includes 17 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (1979–80 through 1995–96) + 11 seasons for Atlanta Thrashers (1999–2000 through 2010–11) + 15 seasons for Winnipeg Jets (2011–12 through 2025–26). 3 The team was inactive from the 1996–97 to 1998–99 NHL season. 4 The team was inactive at the start of the 2024–25 NHL season.
Stanley Cup droughts
This is a list of the teams and the number of seasons since they have won the Stanley Cup. This list excludes the most recent Stanley Cup champions: the Carolina Hurricanes.