I don't want to hear about "one cup in 73 years" when I highly doubt you were even around for most of them. What do you care if the Rangers didn't win the cup in the 1950's?
How many Cups have "major" teams won since, let's say, 1979?
Chicago: 1
Rangers: 1
Philadelphia: 0
Boston: 1
LA: 1
Toronto: 0
MTL: 2 (I think)
Anaheim: 1
Chicago, LA, NY, Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, & Montreal: 7 Cups in 34 years. Maybe you need to reevaluate your expectations.
It's a capped league. Major market teams have a few advantages - nothing like the Yankees, though.
I guess the best way to describe the results of a capped league is to compare it with the NBA. In the NBA, big market teams like Miami, LA, Boston and NY have a great chance to build a dynasty because they have a soft cap. For every buck spend above the salary cap, the team has to pay a penalty of the same amount.
I.e.: If Miami spends 95 million when the cap is 60, they are 35 million above the cap and they have to pay 35 million as a penalty to the NBA. That way, big market teams have a major advantage. That's why small teams like Indiana will never be able to win the title several years in a row.
The NHL is strict when it comes to the cap, giving every team a fair chance. Basically it means every team, with the right management, can go from picking the 1st overall to winning the Cup in 5 years.
The Rangers have not had a top5 pick in the last 20 years and that makes it a bit more difficult. Edmonton for instance, with all those top picks, should be doing better than they are doing at the moment but I wouldn't be surprised if they win the Cup in the next 3 to 5 years.
Who knows where we will be in 2 years. Every team can win the Cup. Hell, last year the 8-seed LA won the Cup. People should realize we live in a world where a capped league gives every team a fair chance. It's not like football where a team like Ajax wins the national championship 15 times in the last 30 years or Barcelona in Spain winning back-to-back championships.
What it comes down to is our play-off motto this year: Anything Can Happen