Players who just missed out on winning the Stanley Cup
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Bear of Bad News
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BadgerBruce
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- Aug 8, 2013
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Norm Ullman joined the Red Wings at the end of their 50s dynasty run and the beginning of the Habs 5-cup run (56-60), so no Cups for Normie in Motown. Did make the finals 5 times (56, 61, 63, 64, 66).
He then joined the Leafs one season after their ‘67 cup win, and they never came close again.
He then joined the Leafs one season after their ‘67 cup win, and they never came close again.
Mandar
The Real Maven
JianYang
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- Sep 29, 2017
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Chris nilan stayed in school and joined the Habs in 1980... right after the dynasty ended. Then he retired as a Habs player in 1992. The habs won the cup in 1993.
He did win with Montreal in 1986, but its unique how his start and finish was just one year misaligned from being a 3 time cup champion.
Another one I think of is Rhett warrener. He played on three teams and they all went to the finals. Swept in 1996, then on the wrong side of the controversial Brett Hull winner.... then lost in game 7 on his last team... a series where people wonder to this day whether his team actually scored the cup winner in game 6 OT
He did win with Montreal in 1986, but its unique how his start and finish was just one year misaligned from being a 3 time cup champion.
Another one I think of is Rhett warrener. He played on three teams and they all went to the finals. Swept in 1996, then on the wrong side of the controversial Brett Hull winner.... then lost in game 7 on his last team... a series where people wonder to this day whether his team actually scored the cup winner in game 6 OT
Dr Pepper
Registered User
DickSmehlik
Registered User
Scotty Bowman tried hard to get Mike Ramsey a Cup towards the end of his career.
After spending 13 seasons on mostly disappointing Sabres teams (stop me if you've heard that one before), he acquired Ramsey with the Penguins during the '92-'93 season, and would stay with the Pens the following season. The Pens had won the Cup the 2 prior seasons but had no such luck when Ramsey played there.
Later Bowman would reacquire him with the Red Wings during the '94-'95 season, where Detroit would get close the next 2 years, including a Cup Final in ‘96 but no Cup. He retired during the '96-'97 season before the Red Wings would go on to win the Cup later on that year, and again the following season.
After spending 13 seasons on mostly disappointing Sabres teams (stop me if you've heard that one before), he acquired Ramsey with the Penguins during the '92-'93 season, and would stay with the Pens the following season. The Pens had won the Cup the 2 prior seasons but had no such luck when Ramsey played there.
Later Bowman would reacquire him with the Red Wings during the '94-'95 season, where Detroit would get close the next 2 years, including a Cup Final in ‘96 but no Cup. He retired during the '96-'97 season before the Red Wings would go on to win the Cup later on that year, and again the following season.
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CaptBrannigan
Registered User
Ah, the fish keeps getting bigger every time the story is retold. The alleged Game 6 goal wasn’t in OT. And nobody who understands physics wonders if it was in.
To the point of the thread, Vinny Prospal left the Lightning for one season between his first and second stint with the team, missing the Cup. His replacement was a one and done Cory Stillman who went on to win two in a row as he signed with Carolina for 2005-06. Some of my favorite hockey memories are playing with him so it’s a personal bummer he didn’t get that ring.
VanIslander
20 years of All-Time Drafts on HfBoards
So many...
Federko ended up playoff top scorer despite his team losing Game 7 of the conference finals; that HHOFer never experienced a Stanley Cup Finals. ****'* St. Louis.
Federko ended up playoff top scorer despite his team losing Game 7 of the conference finals; that HHOFer never experienced a Stanley Cup Finals. ****'* St. Louis.
Got beaten to Vinny Prospal. In 2002-03, he's on a rising Tampa squad that won its division and a playoff round. Prospal qualified for early free agency and was looking to cash in. Anaheim was reeling from losing Paul Kariya and signed Prospal through 2008.
Then in 2003-04, Tampa wins the Cup without Prospal while Anaheim has a rough season. Then right before the lockout Anaheim trades Prospal back to Tampa. Anaheim wins the Cup in 2007.
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Maybe doesn't exactly fit, but I still have some level of cringe from when I struck up a conversation with Steve Thomas after the 2010 Draft (his kid went in the 2nd round). Every topic that came to mind was a negative one for him. I had to pivot a generic "you must be very proud" instead of mentioning his playing career. Naturally I thought of a silly anecdote a couple days later*.
Devils win the Cup in 1995 and trade for Thomas right before the start of the next season. Devils proceed to miss the playoffs. Devils have postseason struggles while Thomas is on the roster and he leaves via free agency in 1998 to sign with Toronto. Devils knock out the Leafs in 2000 en route to a Cup and then knock them out again in 2001. Thomas is a deadline addition with Anaheim in 2003 and lose in the Finals to New Jersey. Thomas signs with a powerhouse Red Wings team for 2003-04 but they lose in the second round.
*I coincidentally was wearing a Ken Daneyko jersey for the draft. There was a Devils@Ducks game where Thomas scored but the puck went through the netting and play continued for another minute. Eventually Daneyko would score on a beautiful passing play. The refs would check the replay to confirm that Thomas had scored, so Daneyko's goal got negated. It might have been the prettiest goal Daneyko ever scored. I would have joked that Thomas (eventually 421 career goals) should have told the refs to let Dano (36 goals) have that one.
Then in 2003-04, Tampa wins the Cup without Prospal while Anaheim has a rough season. Then right before the lockout Anaheim trades Prospal back to Tampa. Anaheim wins the Cup in 2007.
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Maybe doesn't exactly fit, but I still have some level of cringe from when I struck up a conversation with Steve Thomas after the 2010 Draft (his kid went in the 2nd round). Every topic that came to mind was a negative one for him. I had to pivot a generic "you must be very proud" instead of mentioning his playing career. Naturally I thought of a silly anecdote a couple days later*.
Devils win the Cup in 1995 and trade for Thomas right before the start of the next season. Devils proceed to miss the playoffs. Devils have postseason struggles while Thomas is on the roster and he leaves via free agency in 1998 to sign with Toronto. Devils knock out the Leafs in 2000 en route to a Cup and then knock them out again in 2001. Thomas is a deadline addition with Anaheim in 2003 and lose in the Finals to New Jersey. Thomas signs with a powerhouse Red Wings team for 2003-04 but they lose in the second round.
*I coincidentally was wearing a Ken Daneyko jersey for the draft. There was a Devils@Ducks game where Thomas scored but the puck went through the netting and play continued for another minute. Eventually Daneyko would score on a beautiful passing play. The refs would check the replay to confirm that Thomas had scored, so Daneyko's goal got negated. It might have been the prettiest goal Daneyko ever scored. I would have joked that Thomas (eventually 421 career goals) should have told the refs to let Dano (36 goals) have that one.
sr edler
gold is not reality
- Mar 20, 2010
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Not a historical example, since he's still active and can still win a Cup, but JT Miller was part of that Tampa team that got swept in the 1st round against Torts in 2019, after a crazy regular season, then he got moved for Marek Mazanec (I had no idea this guy played 30+ NHL games) and two picks and Tampa immediately went on to win two straight Cups and had a 3rd finals appearance on top of that. Perhaps that's why he's so grumpy. 
Terry Yake
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- Aug 5, 2013
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ruslan salei's 9th and final season in anaheim was 05-06. signed with florida in FA that offseason and the ducks won the cup in 07
JianYang
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- Sep 29, 2017
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Ahh right. It wasn't ot. I think my memory made it feel that way because it was tight and it felt like OT. I actually now remember someone else reminding me it wasn't actually ot as long time ago.
I have no horse in that race whether it went in or not, but I believe it was gelinas on that play. It seems to me he has quite a few series clinching goals. I think he had 2 in that year alone including a game 7 ot winner. It would have been quite the story for him.
Marco Sturm spent five seasons in Boston and then was a cap casualty during the 2010-11 season. He's picked up by LA on waivers in December 2010 and the Bruins win the Cup in June 2011.
And then you could file Deron Quint and Mike Danton as 'oddities' rather than long tenured guys who just missed out. Quint was acquired by the Devils near the 2000 deadline. I think he would have been in the mix for the #6 D spot with Colin White and Brad Bombardir. But Quint got suspended by the team; Rumor was that he showed up to practice hungover. Devils would win the Cup three months later and trade Quint to expansion Columbus.
nypost.com
Mike Danton's story is infamously odd. He was drafted by the Devils as Mike Jefferson. He'd have a cup of coffee in 2000-01 but got suspended for an entire season after he refused to go to the AHL in 2001-02. Lou gave him (Jefferson changed his last name to Danton over that summer) another chance at training camp in 2002. Danton was the opening night 4th line center and played okay. Then there was another squabble and Danton was booted from the team in late November.
Fast forward several months to the 2003 SCF and the Devils are scrambling to find a replacement for an injured Joe Nieuwendyk. Jiri Bicek would dress initially and then Mike Rupp would play then become an improbable Game 7 hero. There's a chance that Danton would have been higher on the totem pole than Bicek/Rupp, although I do remember Pat Burns wanting Rupp's size down the middle.
Although maybe in a parallel universe, Quint and Danton could have disrupted the Devils chances of winning had they played?
And then you could file Deron Quint and Mike Danton as 'oddities' rather than long tenured guys who just missed out. Quint was acquired by the Devils near the 2000 deadline. I think he would have been in the mix for the #6 D spot with Colin White and Brad Bombardir. But Quint got suspended by the team; Rumor was that he showed up to practice hungover. Devils would win the Cup three months later and trade Quint to expansion Columbus.
LOU’S TAKING HIS TIME DEALING DANTON
A full month has passed since Lou Lamoriello kicked Mike Danton off the Devils and promised to trade him promptly. The Devils’ GM is now open to charges of being vindictive. Very simply, Lamo…
nypost.com
Mike Danton's story is infamously odd. He was drafted by the Devils as Mike Jefferson. He'd have a cup of coffee in 2000-01 but got suspended for an entire season after he refused to go to the AHL in 2001-02. Lou gave him (Jefferson changed his last name to Danton over that summer) another chance at training camp in 2002. Danton was the opening night 4th line center and played okay. Then there was another squabble and Danton was booted from the team in late November.
Fast forward several months to the 2003 SCF and the Devils are scrambling to find a replacement for an injured Joe Nieuwendyk. Jiri Bicek would dress initially and then Mike Rupp would play then become an improbable Game 7 hero. There's a chance that Danton would have been higher on the totem pole than Bicek/Rupp, although I do remember Pat Burns wanting Rupp's size down the middle.
Although maybe in a parallel universe, Quint and Danton could have disrupted the Devils chances of winning had they played?
Avs2022
Registered User
- Jan 4, 2011
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Tyson Jost? Gets traded after never living up to his #10 draft pick in 2016. Always in the line up. Gets traded in 2022 at the trade deadline the year the Avs win the Cup.
Probably doesn't mean anything except to Avs fans he completely infuriated.
Also random, when Nashville advanced to the finals against the Ducks in 2017, there's a moment where the camera catches Josh Manson, Cogliano, and Corey Perry dejected sitting in the bench consoling each other when the game ends. Both Manson and Cogs came to the Avs a couple days before the trade deadline in 2022 and won a cup together (Manson had an OT goal also in the playoffs). They beat Corey Perry's team.
Probably doesn't mean anything except to Avs fans he completely infuriated.
Also random, when Nashville advanced to the finals against the Ducks in 2017, there's a moment where the camera catches Josh Manson, Cogliano, and Corey Perry dejected sitting in the bench consoling each other when the game ends. Both Manson and Cogs came to the Avs a couple days before the trade deadline in 2022 and won a cup together (Manson had an OT goal also in the playoffs). They beat Corey Perry's team.
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...James Patrick, Darren Turcotte...
Also the '91 Penguins left behind quite a few could have been, should have been cases. Zarley Zalapski, John Cullen, Rob Brown...
dr robbie
Let's Go Pens!
Hossa bouncing from the Pens to Detroit missed both and made for some good stories (though, obviously won with Chicago)
I lost track of all of the Perry moves, but he joined the Lightning after their 2 Cups, made the finals in his second year and lost. Joins the Panthers, who make the finals and lose (to the Knights). Joins the Oilers who then go on to lose to the Panthers. If you ignore his early on Cup, I think he lost 4 Finals with 4 different teams with 2 of those teams winning Cups right around there.
I lost track of all of the Perry moves, but he joined the Lightning after their 2 Cups, made the finals in his second year and lost. Joins the Panthers, who make the finals and lose (to the Knights). Joins the Oilers who then go on to lose to the Panthers. If you ignore his early on Cup, I think he lost 4 Finals with 4 different teams with 2 of those teams winning Cups right around there.
Jumptheshark
Rebooting myself
you can look at the deadline trades of every cup winner and see the players who just missed out
Usually contending teams aren't dealing veterans. OP was ideally looking for guys who were with a team for a lengthy period of time. But for funsies:
1995: Devils traded away Corey Millen (50 points the previous year for NJ), Slava Fetisov (he'd get two Cups eventually with Detroit), and Alexander Semak (couple years removed from a 79 point season)
1996: Avs dealt Owen Nolan early in the season to get a PPQB in Sandis Ozolinsh. Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky, and Andrei Kovalenko were away to get Patrick Roy and Mike Keane.
1997: Wings didn't resign Dino Ciccarelli in summer 1996. Keith Primeau was a contract holdout and traded with Paul Coffey to get Brendan Shanahan.
1998: ?
1999: Greg Adams spent the previous 3+ seasons in Dallas but wasn't resigned in summer 1998.
2000: Brendan Morrison was a contract holdout. He'd eventually sign but requested a trade. Denis Pederson was an alternate captain on that squad but wasn't happy about his diminishing role and being forced to play RW instead of C. Lou would package both to get Alexander Mogilny. Lyle Odelein also requested a trade because of an ongoing feud with head coach Robbie Ftorek; Odelein had won a Cup previously with Montreal. But still an unusual circumstance for somebody to ask off a contending club.
2001: Aaron Miller had been in the Nords/Avs system since 1993. He didn't play enough games to get on the Cup in 1996. In 2001, he'd be included in the Rob Blake trade.
2002: ?
2003: Boring offseason/deadline for the Devils. Bobby Holik had left via free agency but was part of two other Cup teams. John Vanbiesbrouck was coaxed out of retirement at the 2002 deadline to join the Devils for the stretch run. But he retired again in summer 2002. Vanbiesbrouck missed the Rangers Cup by a year, joined the Devils for their Cup defense in 2001 that fell short, and then retired before the Devils 2003 Cup.
2004: The aforementioned Vinny Prospal left via free agency in summer 2003. I wouldn't have guessed that Prospal was their leading scorer in 2002-03. Other than replacing Prospal with Cory Stillman, they mostly kept the band together and added Darryl Sydor.
vadim sharifijanov
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- Oct 10, 2007
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anton stralman
after he left the rangers (where he lost in the ECF and finals in three years), he peaks in tampa, pairing with hedman and helping him level up to elite status while himself becoming one of the best #2/steady guy-supporting-the-guy dmen in the league. but so much heartache on those years.
year one in tampa, stralman beats his old team in the ECF to get to the finals and loses to the blackhawks
year two in tampa, they lose by one goal in game seven of the ECF against pittsburgh
year three, stamkos misses almost the whole year and they miss the playoffs by a single point
year four, they lose in game four of the ECF again, and to the eventual champs for the third time in four seasons
year five, after losing to kane, then crosby, then ovechkin, it's his turn to ride a multi-cup winning team led by a hart/ross winning superduperstar. tamps wins the presidents trophy by 21 pts, kuch wins a landslide hart/ross, vasi wins the vezina, hedman had won the norris the year before, but stralman gets hurt right before the playoffs and has to watch his team embarrass themselves to his old coach torts.
then they can't afford to keep him and he signs with florida in the offseason. meanwhile, tampa wins back to back cups. in year two of the tampa cups, they beat stralman's panthers in the first round. those are the last playoff games he played in his career.
after he left the rangers (where he lost in the ECF and finals in three years), he peaks in tampa, pairing with hedman and helping him level up to elite status while himself becoming one of the best #2/steady guy-supporting-the-guy dmen in the league. but so much heartache on those years.
year one in tampa, stralman beats his old team in the ECF to get to the finals and loses to the blackhawks
year two in tampa, they lose by one goal in game seven of the ECF against pittsburgh
year three, stamkos misses almost the whole year and they miss the playoffs by a single point
year four, they lose in game four of the ECF again, and to the eventual champs for the third time in four seasons
year five, after losing to kane, then crosby, then ovechkin, it's his turn to ride a multi-cup winning team led by a hart/ross winning superduperstar. tamps wins the presidents trophy by 21 pts, kuch wins a landslide hart/ross, vasi wins the vezina, hedman had won the norris the year before, but stralman gets hurt right before the playoffs and has to watch his team embarrass themselves to his old coach torts.
then they can't afford to keep him and he signs with florida in the offseason. meanwhile, tampa wins back to back cups. in year two of the tampa cups, they beat stralman's panthers in the first round. those are the last playoff games he played in his career.
The Panther
Registered User
This is the one that came to my mind also.
1985 Flyers
-- 1st overall, Cup Finals (lost to Edmonton)
1987 Flyers
-- 2nd overall, Cup Finals (lost to Edmonton)
1995 Red Wings
-- 1st overall, Cup Finals (lost to Jersey)
And, of course, Brian Propp:
1980 Flyers
-- 1st overall, Cup Finals (lost to NY Isles)
1985 Flyers
-- 1st overall, Cup Finals (lost to Edmonton)
1987 Flyers
-- 2nd overall, Cup Finals (lost to Edmonton)
1990 Bruins
-- 1st overall, Cup Finals (lost to Edmonton)
1991 North Stars
-- Cup Finals (lost to Pittsburgh)
The Panther
Registered User
I would like to have a brief pity-party for two players who "officially" won the Cup (got Cup rings)... but only sort-of did:
Jim Peplinski
-- healthy-scratched for games 4 and 6 (clincher) of the Cup Finals
Denis Savard
-- injured in 1993 playoffs game one of Finals. Missed last 4.5 games of the Finals.
Class move by Lanny to wait for Peplinski (and T. Hunter) to join him to lift the Cup, but there's something sad about seeing a former team captain scratched for the clincher:
And Savard was in civies and behind the bench (I think):
Jim Peplinski
-- healthy-scratched for games 4 and 6 (clincher) of the Cup Finals
Denis Savard
-- injured in 1993 playoffs game one of Finals. Missed last 4.5 games of the Finals.
Class move by Lanny to wait for Peplinski (and T. Hunter) to join him to lift the Cup, but there's something sad about seeing a former team captain scratched for the clincher:
And Savard was in civies and behind the bench (I think):
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