5 Greatest NHL players from 1990 to present: to never win a Stanley Cup
Widely recognized as the crowned jewel, and final addition to the resume and proverbial trophy case at the end of an NHLer's career, the Stanley Cup is constantly pursued, and only a select few get to claim the cup. However, some players thrive and perform to levels of success which warrant a Hockey Hall-of-Fame nomination, which begs the question - who are the top-five NHL players of past and present, who have never hoisted �Lord Stanley's Cup' at the end of a gruelling four round playoff run, and illustrious career.
Here are five player's to play long, successful careers both individually - in terms of awards, and personal accomplishments, and as a team-mate - pushing the team to new heights, and even deep playoff runs, with the Stanley Cup; either within inches of grasping, or just never reaching that height. These names may be familiar to many, and with reason, as the following players have carved out a successful career for themselves. The following list was formed from a range of 30-plus years of hockey, a list of players to play in the league between 1990 through to present day.
Here is the five player list:
1. Jarome Iginla - Iginla was drafted by the Calgary Flames with the 11th overall pick in the 1995 draft. The native of Edmonton, Alberta, played 1,154 games, scoring 625 goals, and 675 assists for 1300 points. Iginla played the first 16-years of his career with the Flames, before stints with the Penguins, Bruins, Avalanche and Kings to end a long, successful career.
2. Shea Weber - Weber was a force in junior, playing for the Kelowna Rocket's of the WHL - he posted 388 penalty minutes, along with 24 goals, and 65 assists, for 89 points through 190 WHL games during his junior hockey career in Kelowna. The Nashville Predators selected Weber with pick number 49 , in the second round of the 2003 NHL Draft, Weber would go on to Captain the Predators for six of his 11 seasons with the team, forming an American-Canadian top defence pairing, alongside Ryan Suter, also taken in the 2003 NHL Draft in round one with pick number seven. Weber was dealt to the Montreal Canadiens in June of 2016, for Norris Trophy winning defenceman PK Subban, Weber would captain the Habs, and even led them, alongside Carey Price, and a veteran/youth mixed 2021-22 Canadiens squad to the Stanley Cup Final, ultimately falling at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games. Weber's NHL future was compromised during the Habs cup run, as Weber played through significant ailments to push for a Stanley Cup. Canadiens GM Kent Hughes, dealt Weber's contract to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Evgeni Dadonov, clearing Weber's contract off the books.
3. Henrik Lundqvist - �King Henrik' as nicknamed by the Rangers faithful at MSG, played his entire -year career for the Original Six - New York Rangers. In 16 seasons, Lunqvist played 887 games, recording 459 wins, 310 losses and 96 ties. Lundqvist's resume features - four Vezina Trophy nominations; winning one, both an olympic gold and silver medal, and a world championship gold medal. Lundqvist was forced to retire at the end of the 2019-20 season, after his contract was dealt to the Washington Capitals, with Alexandar Georgiev and Igor Shesterkin vying for the Rangers vacant starting goaltender role, which Shesterkin won handily.
4. Pekka Rinne - The Finnish-born Pekka Rinne played his whole 15-year career for the Nashville Predators, playing in 89 playoff games. Rinne posted 369 wins, 213 losses and 75 ties through his 683 games played for the Predators. Individually Rinne's trophy case features - four Vezina Trophy finalist nominations; winning the award once during the 2017-18 season, Rinne also scored a goal on January 9, 2020 against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center. A King Clancy Trophy in 2020-21 finished off Rinne's trophy case, barring an induction to the Hockey Hall-of-Fame.
5. Henrik, and Daniel Sedin - Brian Burke's master-plan to draft the Sedin twins, was only the beginning of the success for the Vancouver Canucks. Hank and Dank as fans called the Swedish-born twin brothers, were fan favourites in Vancouver; both playing over 1,000 games, and recording 1,000 plus points. The chemistry between the brothers raised fans out of their seats for over 17-years, and the duo went on to retire cupless, albeit with impressive individual resumes - Daniel Sedin played 1306 games during his 17-year career, recording 393 goals and 648 assists for 1,041 point, all with the Vancouver Canucks, - Henrik Sedin skated in 1330 games, over a 17-year career, like his brother - recording 240 goals and 830 assists, totaling 1,070 points.
Henrik - Spanning between 2000-01 through to 2017-18, Henrik Sedin won a World Championship Bronze Medal in 2000-01, an Olympic Gold Medal in 2005-06, in 2009-10 Sedin won - NHL best Swedish player (Viking Award), NHL First-team all-star, NHL's most assists (83), NHL's most points 112, he also won the Art Ross Trophy and the NHL's MVP (Hart Trophy) - In 2010-11 he participated in the NHL All-Star game, was a first-team NHL All-Star, NHL's most assists with 75 and NHL's most playoff assists with 19, - in 2011-12 he went to the annual NHL All-Star game again, and had the most assists in the NHL with 67 - In 2012-13 Henrik won the Gold Medal at the World Hockey Championships, also earning top-three player on his team honours, an all-star team nod and scorer of the World Championship clinching goal - in both 2015-16 and 2017-18 he won the King Clancy Award, tying a knot on the proverbial bow of Henrik Sedin's career was his 2021-22 induction into the Hockey Hall-of-Fame.
Daniel - Daniel Sedins career spanned 17-years and between 2000-01 through to his retirement at the end of the 2017-18 season, these are his accolades - A 2000-01 World Championship Bronze Medal, an Olympic Gold Medal in 2005-06, in 2009-10 he was a second team NHL All-Star, during the 2010-11 season he went to the NHL All-Star game, won the NHL's best Swedish player (Viking Award), First All-Star team, Art Ross Trophy with 104 points, Hart Trophy finalist and the Ted Lindsay Award - in 2011-12 took part in the NHL All-Star game - 2012-13 Daniel was awarded top-three player on his team at the World Championship, where his team also won the Gold Medal, and - an Olympic Silver Medal in 2013-14, and made his final NHL All-Star game appearance in 2015-16, and his last NHL Award in 2017-18 winning the King Clancy Award. Along with his brother, Daniel Sedin, Henrik was also inducted into the Hockey Hall-of-Fame in 2021-22.
This list, as you can seen features five, with the exception of the Sedin's adding up to six players to never win the Stanley Cup. There are many more players with the same distinguished career feature, the six players mentioned above were very difficult to condense a significantly large list down to.
Here are ten honourable mentions in no particular order.
1. Daniel Alfredsson - 18-year career, split between the Ottawa Senators, which he captained, and the Detroit Red Wings, during his final season in 2013-14. Alfredsson played 1283 games, scoring 444 goals, and 713 assists for 1,157 career NHL points.
2. Mats Sundin - 18-year career split between the Quebec Nordiques, Toronto Maples, which he was the Captain for 10 seasons and the Vancouver Canucks. Sundin skated in 1346 games, scoring 564 goals and 785 assists, for 1349 career NHL points.
3. Patrick Marleau - 23-year career, earning the distinguished honour of most NHL games played with 1,779 games, posting 566 goals and 631 assists, for 1,179 career NHL points. Marleau played with the San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs and the Pittsburgh Penguins, before retiring after the 2020-21 regular season after playing 56 games, and recording four goals, along with four assists, for a eight point total on the season.
4. Roberto Luongo - 19-year career, suiting up for 1,045 career games, earning a record of 489 wins, 392 losses and 124 ties. Luongo had a career save percentage of .919, and 2.52 goals/against average. Bobby Lu captained the Vancouver Canucks for two seasons (2008-09 and 2009-10), his career was split between the Canuck and Florida Panthers.
5. Shane Doan - 21-year career, skating in 1,540 games, posting 402 goals and 570 assists, for 972 points. Doan spent his entire career withing the Arizona Coyotes. He was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets, stayed as they transitioned to the Phoenix Coyotes and he retired as an Arizona Coyote after the 2016-17 season. Doan captained the Coyotes for 13-years.
6. Joe Thornton - 24-year career, Thornton has played for and captained the Boston Bruins and the San Jose Sharks, also playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers. Over his 1,714 game career, which he is still actively playing - Thornton has 430 goals and 1,109 assists for 1,539 career NHL points, and counting.
7. Keith Yandle - 16-year career, highlighted by a game ironman streak. Yandle has played 1,109 games, scored 103 goals and 516 assists for 619 points. Throughout his career, Yandle has played for the Phoenix Coyotes, Arizona Coyotes, New York Rangers, Florida Panthers and the Philadelphia Flyers.
8. Jason Spezza - 19-year career, he was drafted second overall by the Ottawa Senators, at the 2001 NHL draft in Secaucus, New Jersey. Spezza played 1,248 games, scoring 363 goals and posting 632 assists. The Mississauga, Ontario native has played for the Ottawa Senators, Dallas Stars and the Toronto Maple Leafs throughout his career.
9. Andrei Markov - 16-year career, Markov suited up in 990 career games, just shy of the millenium mark, all for the Montreal Canadiens, scoring 119 goals and 453 assists. Nicknamed �the General' Markov was playing chess on the blueline while the others were playing checkers; he was poised, intelligent and skated very-well, his passing and accurate, heavy shot made him a threat on the powerplay. Markov was also strong in his own zone, using a poised, quick stick to knock pucks loose, his strong skating, and positioning allowed him to maneuver out of trouble before using his vision to fire a accurate break-out pass to a team-mate exiting the defensive-zone.
10. Mark Giordano - 17-year career, split between the Calgary Flames, Seattle Kraken and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Giordano won the Norris Trophy in 2018-19, while playing for the Flames; at a spirited 34-years-old. Over 1,024 games, Gio has scored 151 goals, and 393 assists for 544 points.
Of the ten players mentioned above, three are defenceman (Markov, Yandle and Giordano), six are forwards (Spezza, Iginla, Thornton, Doan, Sundin and Alfredsson) and one goaltender, Bobby Lou - as called by Canucks, and Panthers fans, Roberto Luongo is the lone goaltender on the 16 player list.
The honourable mentions list features:
Rick Nash, Dion Phaneuf, Chris Phillips, Tomas Plekanec, and Kimmo Timonen.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 26 | 34 ANSWERS 5 Greatest NHL players from 1990 to present: to never win a Stanley Cup Who is the greatest to never win a cup out of these 5? | ||
| Lundqvist | 10 | 29.4 % |
| Rinne | 7 | 20.6 % |
| Thornton | 9 | 26.5 % |
| Other | 8 | 23.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
