30 Years of Canadian Franchises Losing in the Cup Final

[JianYang]

I can remember in the late 1990s around 1998 or so there was this panic that Canada hadn't had a team win a Cup in 5 years! The 1993 Canadiens sounded like such an ancient memory at that time, and yet they weren't. They are now though. I am not overly surprised that a Canadian team didn't win the Cup final in 7 tries since 1994, I am just surprised there has only been 7 in 31 years that have been in the final. So many times Ottawa could have gotten there, Toronto for sure was right on the doorstep. Even just statistically speaking there should be more than 7 times they get there in 31 years. 7/31 is the expected amount of wins, not appearances. 35 years since an all-Canadian Cup final, that probably should have happened since.

Either way, I agree the taxes are a big turn off for some players. Possibly the travel, Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg and Edmonton all have atrocious travel schedules. Not to mention the weather in those cities. Also, what is appealing to play in Winnipeg? Or the city alone?

Western travel has definitely been talked about by players, and it is a factor. I've beaten the tax drum too many times, but in short, that disadvantage isn't as big as advertised and in fact, depending on how your affairs are structured, you can really bridge the gap further.

Above all else though, you just need to make a team that other players believe is a legitimate cup contender.

Just look at the oilers today with some team friendly deals with skinner and henrique. Arvidsson isn't signing there because he loves the place. He sees a good chance to win with the best player in the world.

Build through the draft and make sound management decisions through the way. That's the key to success and no Canadian team has coupled those two things together very well aside for a few exceptions.

 

[Crosby2010]

Western travel has definitely been talked about by players, and it is a factor. I've beaten the tax drum too many times, but in short, that disadvantage isn't as big as advertised and in fact, depending on how your affairs are structured, you can really bridge the gap further.

Above all else though, you just need to make a team that other players believe is a legitimate cup contender.

Just look at the oilers today with some team friendly deals with skinner and henrique. Arvidsson isn't signing there because he loves the place. He sees a good chance to win with the best player in the world.

Build through the draft and make sound management decisions through the way. That's the key to success and no Canadian team has coupled those two things together very well aside for a few exceptions.

I guess the argument you can have with the travel thing is that the Oilers did it back in the 1980s and there were actually less teams out west so they were more or less the team with the most travel in the NHL (Vancouver, L.A.) and they were winning Cups. Also L.A. and Anaheim have won Cups, Colorado doesn't have the best travel schedule either, they won. Vegas, etc.

 

[Hockeyholic]

It's crazy that canadian teams are 0-7 in the SCF since 94. 0-5 in game 7. Zero times have they scored first. No lead changes.

Tbh, Ottawa/Montreal were overmatched from the start. Neither had a prayer of winning.

But Calgary was up 3-2 in their series before blowing it. Canucks fell apart after going up 2-0. I think everyone felt the Canucks were done after the Marchand/Sedin incident happened. I didn't think there was a chance in hell they win game 7.

With Edmonton, you knew within the first ten minutes of each game 7 that they weren't winning. They didn't have it at all.

 

[JianYang]

I guess the argument you can have with the travel thing is that the Oilers did it back in the 1980s and there were actually less teams out west so they were more or less the team with the most travel in the NHL (Vancouver, L.A.) and they were winning Cups. Also L.A. and Anaheim have won Cups, Colorado doesn't have the best travel schedule either, they won. Vegas, etc.

Those oiler teams were really good. Like I said, if you build a really good program, it trumps other issues.

Edmonton however does typically have among the highest air miles of any team. Guys who spend time in the west and then get moved out east like Trevor linden have talked about the difference that lighter travel makes, and I think it's one of the reasons that new york is typically a popular destination for players as they have the lightest travel in the league.

It's crazy that canadian teams are 0-7 in the SCF since 94. 0-5 in game 7. Zero times have they scored first. No lead changes.

Tbh, Ottawa/Montreal were overmatched from the start. Neither had a prayer of winning.

But Calgary was up 3-2 in their series before blowing it. Canucks fell apart after going up 2-0. I think everyone felt the Canucks were done after the Marchand/Sedin incident happened. I didn't think there was a chance in hell they win game 7.

With Edmonton, you knew within the first ten minutes of each game 7 that they weren't winning. They didn't have it at all.

I'd argue that the canadian team was the underdog in each of those series except the one in 2011.

 

[LightningStorm]

I can remember in the late 1990s around 1998 or so there was this panic that Canada hadn't had a team win a Cup in 5 years! The 1993 Canadiens sounded like such an ancient memory at that time, and yet they weren't. They are now though. I am not overly surprised that a Canadian team didn't win the Cup final in 7 tries since 1994, I am just surprised there has only been 7 in 31 years that have been in the final. So many times Ottawa could have gotten there, Toronto for sure was right on the doorstep. Even just statistically speaking there should be more than 7 times they get there in 31 years. 7/31 is the expected amount of wins, not appearances. 35 years since an all-Canadian Cup final, that probably should have happened since.

Either way, I agree the taxes are a big turn off for some players. Possibly the travel, Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg and Edmonton all have atrocious travel schedules. Not to mention the weather in those cities. Also, what is appealing to play in Winnipeg? Or the city alone?

This reminds me of how in the 2004 SCF, a huge deal was made about the Flames making the finals because 11 years without a cup (and 10 without an appearance) was completely unprecedented at the time. I know Canadians cheering for the last remining Canadian team had been a thing before, but was this what intensified it? I remember all the coverage of all the support the Flames got in Canada. I remember someone on this board saying that's when the "cheer for Canada" thing took off, and then the Oilers making the next SCF solidified it.

What you said about travel reminds me of Chris Pronger saying how much he loved how much lighter the travel was in Philly after spending his whole career in the West.

 

[Hockeyholic]

Those oiler teams were really good. Like I said, if you build a really good program, it trumps other issues.

Edmonton however does typically have among the highest air miles of any team. Guys who spend time in the west and then get moved out east like Trevor linden have talked about the difference that lighter travel makes, and I think it's one of the reasons that new york is typically a popular destination for players as they have the lightest travel in the league.



I'd argue that the canadian team was the underdog in each of those series except the one in 2011.

Underdog or not. Going 0/5 in game 7 is crazy.

 

[LightningStorm]

Underdog or not. Going 0/5 in game 7 is crazy.

On the flip side, in 3 of those instances the Canadian team was down 3-1 after game 4 (even 3-0 in the most recent final). So while the 0-5 record is unlucky, you could argue 3 of them were lucky to even reach game 7. Unless the finals is a lopsided matchup such as 2021, winning 3 in a row in the SCF is hard.