Players who just missed out on winning the Stanley Cup

[markymarc1215]

...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...

I'd add Beezer and Jan Erixon here as well. Left one year too early but were Rangers for over a decade until the end of the 92-93 season.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Cam Barker and Jack Skille would have felt less bad as far as busts go if they had snuck their way onto a Hawks cup roster but Barker got traded midway through 2009-10 and Skille hasn’t made the team yet then got traded away in the middle of 2010-11 prior to the next one.

 

[Air Budd Dwyer]

Todd Bertuzzi with Detroit in 06-07. They wanted to bring him back but he signed with Anaheim instead and missed out on the 2008 Cup.

 

[mrhockey193195]

Bernie Nicholls flirted with the cups a bit.

A NY Rangers in 91-1992, a Devils players in 1994.

Ryan Smyth travelled quite a bit trying to win the cup for a moment, in 2010-2011 he was still on the Kings, they won in 2012

The Nicholls example is even more cruel when you dive into it.

• Starts with the mediocre Kings, eventually they make the Gretzky trade and the team is trending upwards, and then Nicholls gets traded to the Rangers and misses the 93 run.
• As you mentioned, he plays well for the Rangers, but then gets traded to Edmonton for Messier just as EDM are leaving their dynasty years. Goes on a great cinderella run but loses in the Conference Finals to Chicago. Misses the Rangers 94 cup win two years later.
• Gets traded to NJ, team becomes a contender, loses to his former Rangers in 94 in the Conference Finals, and then he leaves in the offseason and misses the 1995 cup.
• Joins Chicago - the team that beat his Oilers in 92 - and has a good first year on a run to the conference finals. But Chicago is trending downwards after that.
• Joins SJ, who are on the ascendency, but retires before they truly become contenders in the early-to-mid 00s.

Has anyone played more Conference Finals games/made more Conference Finals appearances without ever playing in the Stanley Cup Finals?!?!

 

[Mike C]

Billy Harris. 1st overall pick for expansion Islanders. Goes to semis 4 times. Gets traded for Goring who is one of the missing links and 2 months after the deal, the NYI goes on to hoist the first of the dynasty 4 straight while Harris had one decent season the rest of his career

 

[MadLuke]

Shane Corson.

In 1986, played only 3 regular seasons and none in the playoff so did not meet the criteria, considering Lemieux-Richer got to play it is not like it was impossible for a 19 years old to make the team, he did the regular season and 17 playoff games the year right after.

Was traded in the summer of 1992, was not on the 1993 cup winner.

2004 Dallas, first year they stopped to be a powerhouse, couple of time on the Leafs reaching those conference finals before that.

Also missed the Olympic gold in 1998.

Paul Kariya is one I had to make sure and look up before starting writing.

The Ducks loose in 2003, left the franchise before the lock-out, they are a strong contender and win it in 2007.
2004 Avs could-should have won did not work

Nashville 06-07 really strong teams that won 100 games and the kind you think could do it in the playoff, Trotz, Timonen-Hamhuis-Markov young Suter-Weber at some point, Vokoun, a little bit of Forsberg magic with some previous winner veteran presence like an Arnott... Could imagine believing in it.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

there’s a genre of player i have a lot of respect for: grizzled veteran who has a transformational effect on a young team, “teaching them how to win” so to speak, but doesn’t manage to stick around long enough to get the cup.

john tonelli on the 80s flames is one, marty lapointe on the blackhawks is another. gary roberts on pittsburgh.

i think ryan smyth might have been this for the kings, but i’m not sure.

and as billy harris has been mentioned, maybe ed westfall on the 70s islanders deserves a mention?

also, ryan callahan on tampa? wendel clark on quebec? and sadly, mats sundin was almost this on the canucks.

 

[MadLuke]

wendel clark on quebec?

Played only a half season lock-out year and the team that won had Roy-Lemieux-Keane that had won cups.

95 was the only year they lost a playoff round they "should" have won.

But Clark seem an excellent answer to the subject here, 1995 Nordiques, 1999 red Wings, 93-94 Leafs, he did get close to it for sure.

 

[GRob83]

you can look at the deadline trades of every cup winner and see the players who just missed out

I used Alzner as the example because of the longevity he had with the Capitals. Being on a team for 9 years then seeing them win without you has to sting.

 

[Sanf]

From 18-19 to 22-23 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare represented Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning. All teams won Stanley Cup during that time, but never when Bellemare was part of the team.

Bellemare was losing the Final in 17-18 with Vegas. Then signed with Avalanche from which he moved to reigning Stanley Cup champion Lighting. Just to lose his former team Avalanche in finals.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

here’s a weird one: petr sykora

over a 17 year career that began as a teenager, he played in six finals. twice his team won, but he was injured when the final whistle blew. but he was on the ice for all four losses.

2000: his team won the cup but he was at the hospital after derian hatcher smoked him in the first period cutting across the middle



2001: devils lost to colorado in game seven

2003: ducks lost to his old team, the devils, in game seven

2008: penguins lost to detroit in game six

2009: penguins won the rematch but sykora, nearing the end of his (first) NHL tenure, was no longer an everyday player by the playoffs. after getting scratched in the second round to make room for miro satan’s return, sykora didn’t get back into the lineup until game six of the finals, where he broke his leg blocking a shot. pens won in game seven, with satan regaining his spot in the lineup.

2012: after a year in europe, a rejuvenated sykora returns to the devils and plays all 82 games (20 goals alongside an also rejuvenated elias, who bounced back to finish top ten in scoring) and continues being an everyday player in the playoffs. he was taken off elias’ line in the playoffs so he didn’t make much noise during their finals run, but he did score this goal, showing he still had some wheels and scoring touch left:



in the third round, down 2-1 to the rangers, he was replaced in the lineup by 20 year old recent first rounder jacob josefson, but got his spot back in game three of the finals with new jersey staring down a 3-0 deficit. with sykora back, they won two to claw back into the series (though sykora didn’t personally contribute much on the scoreboard) before losing the cup in game six with sykora on the ice.

in the end, this was the closest he got to skating around the ice with the cup:

 

[The Pale King]

there’s a genre of player i have a lot of respect for: grizzled veteran who has a transformational effect on a young team, “teaching them how to win” so to speak, but doesn’t manage to stick around long enough to get the cup.

i think ryan smyth might have been this for the kings, but i’m not sure.

It's hard to say with Smitty. He was a big part of the second line (Stoll, Smyth, Williams) when they broke their eight-season playoff drought in 2009-10, but he's not well remembered by I would say "most" Kings fans. How much of that is due to his perceived shots at the city after leaving vs. his effectiveness on the ice? I'm not sure. I think he was reasonably effective in LA but certainly didn't live up to his reputation in terms of leaving it all on the ice.

Michael Handzus is that "genre" of player though for those Kings teams. Tooth and nails faceoff guy (kind of the ideal Terry Murray player) who left to join the Sharks in 2011-12, but at least he got a cup of his own in 2013 with the Hawks (chipping in 11 points in the playoffs).

 

[buffalowing88]

It's Daniel Briere, for me. Guy elevated the Sabres to two ECFs and then went to Philly and made them a perpetual contender. The greatest sin the Buffalo FO (Larry Quinn) ever made was not retaining him at sub-market value because he had a crush on Drury.

 

[Brodeur]

here’s a weird one: petr sykora

in the end, this was the closest he got to skating around the ice with the cup:

I didn't realize Sykora didn't play in Game 7 2009. I remember seeing a pic of him hoisting the Cup and feeling happy for him.



The Devils let Sykora be the guy to carry in the Cup (and do a lap) for the 20th anniversary celebration since he didn't get to lift it on the ice in 2000.

 

[The Panther]

It's hard to say with Smitty . . . he's not well remembered by I would say "most" Kings fans. How much of that is due to his perceived shots at the city after leaving vs. his effectiveness on the ice? I'm not sure.

What was this?

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

I didn't realize Sykora didn't play in Game 7 2009. I remember seeing a pic of him hoisting the Cup and feeling happy for him.



The Devils let Sykora be the guy to carry in the Cup (and do a lap) for the 20th anniversary celebration since he didn't get to lift it on the ice in 2000.

that’s such a nice gesture, thanks for sharing the video

surprising that sykora could be on the ice without crutches in 2009 with a broken foot. i don’t imagine he was able to be in skates to do a lap, was he?

It's hard to say with Smitty. He was a big part of the second line (Stoll, Smyth, Williams) when they broke their eight-season playoff drought in 2009-10, but he's not well remembered by I would say "most" Kings fans. How much of that is due to his perceived shots at the city after leaving vs. his effectiveness on the ice? I'm not sure. I think he was reasonably effective in LA but certainly didn't live up to his reputation in terms of leaving it all on the ice.

Michael Handzus is that "genre" of player though for those Kings teams. Tooth and nails faceoff guy (kind of the ideal Terry Murray player) who left to join the Sharks in 2011-12, but at least he got a cup of his own in 2013 with the Hawks (chipping in 11 points in the playoffs).

i remember when we played you guys in 2010. luongo always had trouble with traffic in front (see: byfuglien in the following round), even when he was on his game, and we went into the series worried about smyth, who we obviously had seen a lot of for years, and dustin brown. but actually it was handzus, modin, and young wayne simmonds who gave us fits.

 

[Brodeur]

What was this?

Smyth had requested the trade for personal reasons. While he publicly said that he enjoyed his time in LA, it seemed like made some veiled comments about how he and his wife didn't like living in LA.

 

[Crosby2010]

Norm Ullman was the first name to come to mind because twice he joined a team the next season after they won the Cup. Ullman played in 5 finals and didn't win. That's tough. Was also not picked for Team Canada 1972 despite the fact he had two pretty good years leading up to it. He was older at 36, but it is just another example of a team he wasn't on that won. Ullman wasn't a playoff legend per se, but he did very well in the 1963, 1964 and 1966 trips to the final. All losses. 5 losses in total. Brian Propp is another player with 5 Cup final losses without winning one.

 

[Staniowski]

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:
View attachment 976104

And Savard was in civies and behind the bench (I think):

Peplinski was a current captain, along with Lanny. I thought Hunter was also a co-captain that season, but maybe he was just the A.

 

[Staniowski]

Only thing I'd say about the thread topic is that in some cases, a player's presence or non-presence on a team could be a reason why the team doesn't win a Cup/ does win a Cup. For example, guys like Norm Ullman and Mike Gartner have been mentioned....i know that they are specific cases on specific teams, but, in general, the chances of winning the Cup with either of these guys as a key player are probably worse than if they weren't on the team (though it always depends on the makeup of the team).

Consider the current Leafs...imagine if they had traded Marner for Matthew Tkachuk a few years ago, and then the Leafs won the Cup, and then saying Marner just missed the Cup.....except the trade is the main reason they won the Cup.

 

[Ace36758]

I always felt bad for Ryan Whitney, results-wise.
He was drafted high onto an awful Penguins team, played his way into the lineup and had a couple of very good years leading up to 2008. Makes the finals with the 2008 team, losing in 6 against the wings. Then, in 2009, he is traded at the deadline for Chris Kunitz. The Penguins, of course, go on to win the cup that year (Kunitz, on the other hand, might be the reverse of this thread. Wins with the ducks in 07, traded to the pens in 09, wins again, then gets two more in 16 and 17).

Anaheim had won the cup in 07 and had a decent team when Whitney joined. They had some success in the following years with some deep runs. He gets traded, however, in 2010 to the basement dwelling Oilers and is stuck in the cellar for the rest of his career, eventually succumbing to injuries.

He's done quite well for himself off the ice, though, with his starring role in Spittin' Chiclets.