The New York Rangers and the Detroit Red Wings were eliminated from the playoffs with losses on Saturday, meaning for the first time since they all entered the league in the mid-1920s, none of the Rangers, Red Wings, Boston Bruins or Chicago will be in the post-season.
The four American teams of the Original Six that comprised the league from 1942-1967 have combined to hoist the Stanley Cup 27 times, and each of Boston, Chicago and Detroit have won it all within the last 20 years, something no Canadian NHL team can claim.
The Red Wings have won 11 league championships overall and were the league’s most successful team between 1995 and 2010, winning four championships in six Stanley Cup final appearances.
A year after losing a tiebreaker for the last spot in the Eastern Conference, the Red Wings took a step back this season and were officially eliminated from post-season contention on Saturday.
That marks nine consecutive years without a playoff appearance, the longest such span in franchise history and second worst in the NHL behind Buffalo’s 13 seasons without a post-season appearance. The drought includes six seasons under the leadership of general manager Steve Yzerman, the former star Red Wings player who was hired away in 2019 from Tampa Bay, where he led the Lightning to the Stanley Cup.
Chicago is the last-place team in the Central Division for the third straight season, a long way from earlier this century when they were a league power with three Stanley Cups from 2010-15 to give the franchise a total of four. Chicago’s special teams are in the middle of the pack in the NHL but they struggled in net and even-strength play.
Chicago will enter the NHL draft lottery with the second best odds behind the San Jose Sharks for the rights to the No. 1 overall pick, and will hope to find complimentary talent for young star Connor Bedard, who was selected first overall in 2023.
Bruins, Rangers big disappointments
While no one in the Motor City or Windy City was shocked by another lacklustre season on the ice, the Rangers and Bruins were expected by most NHL observers to be playoff teams.
A year after winning the Presidents’ Trophy with an NHL-high 114 points and reaching the Eastern Conference final, the Rangers were hoping to possibly hoist the Cup for the first time in more than three decades and fifth time in franchise history.
Peter Laviolette’s second season behind the bench in New York simply didn’t pan out. While the Rangers started the season impressively, they began to swoon in late November, and captain Jacob Trouba was traded away. The Rangers struggled on the power play, and top forward Mika Zibanejad currently has 58 points, well off his point-per-game pace of the previous five seasons.
The Rangers have won just one Stanley Cup in the past 85 years, with a 1994 championship.
Boston was the Presidents’ Trophy winner with the best overall regular season record just two seasons ago, earning Jim Montgomery the Jack Adams Trophy as the NHL’s top coach.
But Montgomery was fired 20 games into this season as the Bruins struggled out of the game. Goalie Jeremy Swayman, anointed the No. 1 goalie after Linus Ullmark left for Ottawa, couldn’t recapture last season’s form, and defencemen Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy missed significant time with injuries.
Bruins general manager Don Sweeney raised the white flag on the season by the trade deadline, dealing captain Brad Brad Marchand to Florida, and centre Charlie Coyle to Colorado.
Boston is currently fourth with respect to NHL draft lottery odds; 11 teams have a mathematical chance at drawing the top pick.
While the oldest American clubs have struggled, others have stepped to the fore. In four of the last six seasons, Sun Belt clubs — Florida, Tampa Bay and the Vegas Golden Knights — have lifted the Stanley Cup.
No Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.
The NHL playoffs will begin on Saturday.
