Canada’s Stanley Cup Drought: Will This Be the Year?

By Anthony Carbone, The Hockey News intern

For hockey fans across Canada, the annual quest for the Stanley Cup feels more like a distant dream than a realistic goal. The last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup was the Montreal Canadiens in 1993, more than 30 years ago, leaving an entire generation of fans wondering if a Canadian team will ever reclaim Lord Stanley's Cup.

Every year, hope builds up in cities such as Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver, but it's inevitably crushed by early exits or heartbreaking Game 7 losses. As we near the end of the 2024-25 regular season, the question looms again: Is this the year a Canadian team breaks the curse and brings the Cup back to Canada?

Here’s a look at how Canadian teams stack up on the cusp of the NHL playoffs.

The Jets are battling for first overall in the NHL standings, and they were the first team in the Western Conference to clinch a playoff berth as well as the first team to reach 50 wins this season.

All year, the Jets have dominated as they look like Stanley Cup favorites heading into the post-season. They have the second-best home record in the NHL, the second-best power play in the league and a chance to win the Presidents’ Trophy for the first time in franchise history. The Jets are Canada's favorite to bring home Lord Stanley's Cup.

One of the biggest talking points in Canadian hockey history, the Maple Leafs are looking to win their first Stanley Cup since 1967.

In past seasons, this was a team that just wanted to clinch a playoff berth and potentially finish second or third in their division. But for the first time since the 2020-21 season, the Leafs are fighting to win their division.

Players such as Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander are getting older now and are looking to finally cement their playoff legacy and bring a Stanley Cup to Toronto for the first time in 58 years.

The Oilers made it all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final last season, only to lose 2-1 to the Florida Panthers. Being so close yet so far, the Oilers are looking to make another Cup run. And once again, it will be up to stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to drag their team to the Cup final. 

The Senators haven’t made the playoffs since the 2016-17 season. This year, they’re looking to return to the post-season after a solid stretch drive put them securely in a wild-card spot.

Ottawa has a young core, hoping to make a playoff appearance for the first time with Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson leading the way. This could be a team no one expects to make it far, but don’t count out the Sens. Canada’s capital could bring the Cup back to its country.

The last team to bring a Stanley Cup to Canada was the Canadiens. The Habs are dying to make the playoffs for the first time since they made a surprise Cup-final appearance in 2021.

With the team being its best that it’s been since the rebuild began, coach Martin St. Louis is pushing to lead his team into the playoffs. If the Canadians can stay hot and hold on to a wild-card position in the Eastern Conference, they could be a Cinderella story. 

The Canucks have been a big story this season with the J.T. Miller and Elias Petterson drama. Despite all that – and despite trading Miller to the Rangers – the Canucks were hanging around the last wild-card spot in the West.

They’re now on the outside looking in and might need to win all their remaining contests to make the post-season. But with a healthy Thatcher Demko back in net and the organization hoping Petterson can return to form, look for the Canucks to keep fighting to make the playoffs for the second-straight season.

Like the Canucks, the Flames are outside the playoff picture and it’s a steep hill to climb to make it into the post-season. Nevertheless, leading the way for this feisty Flames team is rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf, who’s in the running for the Calder Trophy.

Wolf's play this season is the biggest reason that Calgary is on the fringe of the playoff race at all, with a 2.62 goals-against average and .910 save percentage. Like Vancouver, every game is a must-win from here on out for Calgary.

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