The last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup was 19 long years ago—and if not for a broken-down airplane and an illegal stick, it would probably have been longer still.
It is the longest Canadian drought ever—the previous high was a whopping six seasons from 1936–41, which was actually considerable given that there were only six teams in the NHL back then.
The last time the country that invented the game actually won the big prize was in 1993, when Patrick Roy and the Montreal Canadiens defeated Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings. That Canadiens win wasn’t expected, even though they finished the regular season with 102 points. The Habs had struggled down the stretch, winning just four of their final 10 games of the season and they were in utter disarray. They proceeded to lose the first two games in the opening round in Quebec, but fate intervened.
After the second game, the Canadiens’ team charter was grounded by mechanical problems. The Habs were forced to head back to their hotel where, at a team meal, Canadiens GM Serge Savard stood up and promised his team that if they kept playing as hard as they were, they’d win the series. The message reminded the Habs players that there was no need to panic. They went on to win the next game in overtime (the first of a record 10 OT wins that spring) and the series in six games.
In the Cup final, after losing the opener to the Kings, the Habs were down 2–1 in the second game with 1:45 remaining, when they caught Marty McSorley with an illegal curve on his stick. On the ensuing power play, Eric Desjardins tied the game, then won it in overtime. The Canadiens didn’t lose another game, capturing the Cup on June 9, 1993.
Since then? Nothing for Canada.
This year, five of the seven Canadian teams didn’t make the post-season and three of those were in the draft lottery. Of the two that did see playoff action, Ottawa qualified as an eighth seed (and is no lock to make a playoff return next season) and was in tough against the Rangers, and Vancouver, Canada’s best team, dropped the first three in their series with L.A. All in all, the chances of any Canadian team raising a Cup soon are about the same as Brian Burke hosting a BBQ for the media.
Toronto hasn’t been in the playoffs for seven seasons, and their 45-year Cup dry-spell isn’t ending soon. Montreal fired an assistant coach, a head coach and finally its GM. Lots of work ahead there. Calgary can’t decide whether to rebuild or retool, and while Winnipeg is just glad to have a team again, eventually that honeymoon will end. Edmonton is the best positioned of the bunch, with a young nucleus of talent and another first overall pick on the way—or a good return for it—but there are still pieces to add to that puzzle.
So why is it that Canadian teams can’t win the big prize anymore?
Perhaps our intense passion puts extra pressure on the players, coaches, management and ownership. Maybe it leads to panic moves, impatience and bad management. Could be it gives star free agents pause about playing in those cities, making it tougher to retool. Heck, maybe it’s the taxes and the unfriendly winters.
Who knows? But the message for fans of Canadian teams, at least in a few places, is to worry less about a Canadian team winning (unless of course it’s your team) and celebrate the Canadian players who win, regardless of which team they play for. It may be the only way to find happiness in the spring.
This article originally appeared in Sportsnet Magazine.