When an NHL team wins a Stanley Cup, it’s usually because they are the most driven and talented team in the league. But there have been many teams over the league’s one-hundred-plus-year history that have been to the final seven-game series that had no reason to be there.
Many teams that don’t play great hockey during most of the regular season, end up making miraculous runs and competing for the game’s ultimate prize.
That being said, join us in listing 10 NHL teams who played for Lord Stanley’s mug but didn’t deserve it.
1943-44 Chicago Black Hawks
The Chicago Black Hawks would finish 1943-44 with a record below .500, with 22 wins, 23 losses, and 5 ties.
With this subpar record, Chicago obtained fourth place in a league with only 6 teams at the time. These teams were what was known as the “Original Six”.
The other 3 teams that made the playoffs in the 1943-44 season were the Montreal Canadians, Detroit Red Wings, and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Black Hawks would take on the Detroit Red Wings in the NHL Semi-Finals and win the series 4 to 1.
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In the Stanley Cup Finals, Chicago would face off against the best regular season team that year in the Montreal Canadians, a series in which they would fall 4 games to none.
1949-50 New York Rangers
The New York Rangers won 28 games out of a total of 70 games played in 1949-50, finishing the season with 67 points.
Forwards Edgar Laprade and Tony Leswick would end up leading the team in points with 44 a piece. Laprade had just 22 goals to lead the team in that category as well.
The Rangers would match up with Montreal Canadians in the Semi-Finals where they would take the series in 5 games, setting up a finals series against the Detroit Red Wings.
The Red Wings would go on to win that series 4 to 3 with a game-winning goal from forward Pete Babando at 8 minutes and 31 seconds into the second Overtime.
1960-61 Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings still had a 32-year-old Gordie Howe leading the team with 49 helpers and 72 points, so why did they get a spot on this list?
Mr. Hockey might have been the sole reason for the Red Wings making the playoffs in the 1960-61 season after going 25-29-16 and placing 4th in the league.
Detroit would take on the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round, winning in 5 games. The Stanley Cup Finals would have them taking on the Chicago Black Hawks where they would fall 4 to 2 in the series
After this disappointing season, it is no surprise that the 1960-61 Detroit Red Wings did not deserve to compete for Lord Stanley’s mug.
1981-82 Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks were a team with a record below .500 at 30-33-17. They ended the season placing 2nd in the Smythe Division behind the Edmonton Oilers.
The Canucks would end the season having 286 goals scored against them while only scoring 4 more goals than the goals-against tally.
They went on to face the Calgary Flames in the first round and would sweep their divisional rivals 3-0. They then went on to play against the Los Angeles Kings in round 2 then the Chicago Black Hawks in the Conference Finals, beating both by a score of 4 to 1 each.
The Stanley Cup Finals would have them taking on the Mike Bossy-led New York Islanders where they would predictably lose all 4 games and the Cup would head to New York.
1990-91 Minnesota North Stars
With a record of 27 wins, 39 losses, and 14 ties, the North Stars also went into the playoffs with a losing record. In the Norris Division, they finished 4th.
Minnesota would face Chicago in the first round of the playoffs and St. Lous in the second, winning both series by a score of 4-2 and would go on to face the Edmonton Oilers in the Conference finals.
The North Stars would take the series 4-1 leading to a match-up against the Mark Recchi-led Pittsburgh Penguins in what would be their second and final appearance in a cup finals as the North Stars.
Ulf Samuelsson would score the series-clinching goal as the Penguins would win the series by a score of 4-2.
1994-95 New Jersey Devils
1994-95 was a lock-out shortened season and the Devils played 48 games. They finished 5th in the conference with 22 wins, 18 losses, and 8 ties.
Goaltender Martin Brodeur would backstop the team, earning 19 wins during the regular season and gaining a further 16 during the playoffs to help the team win the Stanley Cup.
A playoff run by Brodeur’s Devils saw them defeat the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins, both in five games. In the Stanley Cup Finals, they beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-0 after beating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2.
1998-99 Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres finished the 1998-99 season with a record of 37-28-17. Forward Miroslav Satan leads the team in scoring with 40 goals and just 66 points.
As part of the playoffs, they played the Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, and Toronto Maple Leafs. To reach the Stanley Cup Finals, the Senators would sweep the Bruins in six, and the Leafs in five.
The finals would see the Sabre take on the Dallas Stars where they fell in six games after an overtime goal by NHL legend Brett Hull.
2003-04 Calgary Flames
The 2004 Stanley Cup Finals is well known for the controversial no-goal call in game 6 after a shot by Martin Gelinas
The Flames 42-30-7-3 They made the playoffs as the sixth seed of the Western Conference where they would take on the Vancouver Canucks in the first round and bounce them in 7 games.
The second round and the Western Conference finals were a little easier where they would take on the Detroit Red Wings and San Jose Sharks, winning both series in 6 games.
The Flames would take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup finals taking it to 7 games, but they would fall 4-3 after a Ruslan Fedetenko game-winning goal.
2009-10 Philadelphia Flyers
The 2009-10 Philadelphia Flyers finished with a record of 41-35-6.
They faced the New Jersey Devils in the playoffs as the 7th seed and won in 5 games. After beating the Bruins in 7 games, they beat the Canadiens in 5.
The Stanley Cup Finals was a showdown between the Flyers and the Chicago Blackhawks where they would lose in 6 games after the famous Patrick Kane overtime winner.
We wonder what would have happened had Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals made it to that year’s final.
2018-19 St. Louis Blues
The St.Louis Blue finished the 2018 calendar year at the bottom of the NHL standings with a record of 15 wins, 18 losses, and four overtime and shoot-out losses.
The Blues finished the 2018-19 season in 3rd place in the Central Division behind the Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets.
The Blues scored 247 goals compared to being scored a whopping 223 times.
The playoffs weren’t a struggle as they beat the aforementioned Jets in 6 games, and the Dallas Stars in 7. In the Western Conference finals, they beat the San Jose Sharks in 6 games.
The Blues faced the heavily favored Boston Bruins for the coveted Stanley Cup. This series would take all seven games to determine the champion with the Blues taking game 7, 4-1 off a game-winning goal by Zachary Sanford.
The St. Louis Blues got to the biggest stage in hockey and won the prized trophy in 7 games after a troubling season. St. Louis most certainly did not deserve a shot at the Holy Grail.
