At the outset of every season, all 32 teams aspire to win the Stanley Cup. Six months later, the playoff seeding is set and only 16 teams continue to chase that dream. The remaining 16 clubs must wait until next season to renew their quest for the Cup. For them, the playoff drought begins.
The chart below describes, in descending order, the number of seasons each of the current 16 teams has gone without making the Stanley Cup playoffs, showing the last year they qualified for the postseason.
| Team | Years | Last Playoff |
| Buffalo Sabres | 11
|
|
| Detroit Red Wings | 6
|
|
| Ottawa Senators | 5
|
|
| Anaheim Ducks | 4
|
|
| New Jersey Devils | 4
|
|
| San Jose Sharks | 3
|
|
| Arizona Coyotes |
2
|
|
| Chicago Blackhawks |
2
|
|
| Columbus Blue Jackets |
2
|
|
| Philadelphia Flyers |
2
|
|
| Vancouver Canucks | 2
|
|
| Montreal Canadiens |
1
|
|
| New York Islanders |
1
|
|
| Seattle Kraken |
1
|
|
| Vegas Golden Knights |
1
|
|
| Winnipeg Jets |
1
|
This year's playoff marks the return of four teams (Calgary, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York Rangers) after postseason absences ranging from 4 years (New York Rangers), 3 years (Los Angeles), and 1 year (Calgary, Dallas).
On the other hand, four teams that qualified for last year's offering fell short this season (Montreal, New York Islanders, Vegas, Winnipeg). Buffalo set a new NHL record with 11 straight playoff misses, surpassing the previous mark of 10 consecutive misses held by Florida and Edmonton.
In terms of team salary cap, 6 of the top 10 and 10 of the bottom 12 spending teams missed the playoffs this year, proving that neither well-financed nor under-capitalized teams are immune from failure. That said, 14 of the 16 playoff qualifiers were among the top 20 teams in terms of salary cap, so being a top spending squad can't hurt.
For the 16 teams on this list, the playoff rains can't come soon enough.
* See also NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Series Win Droughts.
* See also NHL Stanley Cup Final Appearance Droughts.
* See also NHL Stanley Cup Championship Droughts.
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