The elimination of the Edmonton Oilers made official on Sunday followinga 5-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 of the conference semi-final will extend Canada’s three-decade-long Stanley Cup drought by another year.
Indeed, the 1992-1993 vintage of the Montreal Canadiens is guaranteed to remain the last recipient of the trophy in the country for at least one more year. The three clubs north of the border that made the playoffs this spring are now eliminated: before the Oilers, the Toronto Maple Leafs lost their flag in five games to the Florida Panthers in the second round, while the Winnipeg Jets also saw the Knights send them on vacation with a five-game opening-round loss.
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As for the other four Canadian teams, namely the Habs, the Calgary Flames, the Ottawa Senators and the Vancouver Canucks, they did not qualify in the post-season.
Never has Canada experienced such a long drought: the 30th anniversary of the conquest of the trophy by Patrick Roy and his acolytes will strike precisely on June 9. Since that celebration at the Montreal Forum, the country has had few opportunities to encourage a Canadian team in the final, that is to say six times. And each appearance has ended in defeat, the most recent being that of the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021.
Little to get your teeth into
Previously, the Canucks went to a gain of taking top honors, twice rather than once: in 1994 against the New York Rangers, then in 2011 against the Boston Bruins. As for the Flames and Oilers, they each suffered a painful elimination in Game 7 of a Finals, losing in order to the Lightning in 2004 and the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. The following year , it was the turn of the “Sens” to crack in the final: the Anaheim Ducks were crowned in five games.
As for the Jets, they have never reached the Finals since leaving Atlanta. Their best run was in 2017-18 when Vegas defeated them in the third round. Finally, the Leafs remain in search of a first championship since 1967, the last year in which the National League brought together only its six original formations. Toronto had defeated the Canadian in six duels in the final round, much to the disappointment of Montreal fans who wanted to celebrate at Expo 67 with the famous trophy in town.
Since then, the Leafs have reached the semi-finals of the league five times and have bitten the dust each time, the most recent being in 2002 when the Hurricanes had the upper hand in six meetings.