How Canadiens' elimination extends Canada's Stanley Cup drought to 33 years

How Canadiens' elimination extends Canada's Stanley Cup drought to 33 years originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Visit palladian.co.za for more information.

The hopes of Canadian hockey rested, appropriately, on the shoulders of the Montreal Canadiens after the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Despite getting past the Buffalo Sabres in the second round, it wasn't meant to be for the Habs.

The Canadiens fell to the Carolina Hurricanes in five games in the Eastern Conference Final, falling seven wins short of a championship.

After the Edmonton Oilers reached the brink of a championship in each of the last two seasons, no Canadian team will play in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2023.

Here's a look at the last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup. 

MORE:Why the Canadiens are called the 'Habs'

When was the last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup?

The last Stanley Cup for Canada came in 1993, when the Canadiens defeated the the Los Angeles Kings in five games. A Canadian team had won seven consecutive Stanley Cups from 1984-1990, with a back-to-back stretch for the Pittsburgh Penguins interrupting the streak in 1991 and 1992. 

No one could have envisioned another three decades and more would go by without another hoisting of the cup for a Canadian team. Even with more American teams than ever, leaving Canada with less than 22 percent of the league's 32 teams today, a stretch of 32 Cup-less seasons (plus a season erased by a lockout) for all seven teams is close to a statistical improbability.

Last Canadian team to win Stanley Cup

The Canadiens may have been the team that officially extended Canada's drought by being the last of the seven to bow out of the playoffs, but the drought would be three years longer if not for their 1993 championship. 

Coached by Jacque Demers, Montreal won 48 games in 1992-93 and lost only four games across four playoff series, facing their toughest challenge against the Quebec Nordiques in the first round before cruising to series wins over the Sabres, New York Islanders and Kings.

The Canadiens were led by Vincent Damphousse's 23 points in the playoffs, along with a terrific run by goaltender Patrick Roy. They wouldn't return to the Stanley Cup Final, however, until 2021.

MORE: Every Stanley Cup winner in NHL history

Canada's closest calls

Canada has had numerous chances to bring the Stanley Cup back north of the border since 1993. Here's a look at every Stanley Cup Final appearance by a Canadian team over the last 33 years:

YearCanadian teamOpponentResult1994Vancouver CanucksNew York RangersL, 4-32004Calgary FlamesTampa Bay LightningL, 4-32006Edmonton OilersCarolina HurricanesL, 4-32007Ottawa SenatorsAnaheim DucksL, 4-12011Vancouver CanucksBoston BruinsL, 4-32021Montreal CanadiensTampa Bay LightningL, 4-12024Edmonton OilersFlorida PanthersL, 4-32025Edmonton OilersFlorida PanthersL, 4-2

Canada has made a collective nine Stanley Cup Final appearances since the Canadiens' 1993 championship, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets (relocated from Atlanta) the only two without an appearance in that span.

Remarkably, five of those series featured a Game 7. Canadian teams went 0-5 in those Game 7s, and the drought persists.

Read full story at source