Winning the Stanley Cup is the most important objective for every professional hockey player. Some are lucky enough to win early in their careers, while others must wait anxiously, sometimes for an entire career, for an opportunity to hoist the Cup.
Many never win it all, forced to leave the game without fulfilling their ultimate goal.
Below, I’ll look at wily, grizzled veterans still plugging away, fighting the sands of time, as they try to source one last opportunity to lift the Holy Grail despite the hockey odds stacked against them.
NHL Players: Most Games Without a Stanley Cup
| Rank | Player | Games | Number of Teams | Current Team | Age | Stanley Cup Final Appearance |
| 1 | Ryan Suter | 1,436 | 3 | Stars | 39 | No |
| 2 | Brent Burns | 1,407 | 3 | Hurricanes | 39 | Yes |
| 3 | Marc-Edouard Vlasic | 1,286 | 1 | Sharks | 37 | Yes |
| 4 | Claude Giroux | 1,172 | 3 | Senators | 36 | Yes |
| 5 | Nick Foligno | 1,147 | 5 | Blackhawks | 36 | No |
| 6 | John Tavares | 1,232 | 2 | Maple Leafs | 35 | No |
| 7 | Jamie Benn | 1,219 | 1 | Stars | 36 | Yes |
| 8 | Matt Duchene | 1,162 | 5 | Stars | 35 | No |
| 9 | Erik Karlsson | 1,128 | 3 | Penguins | 35 | No |
| 10 | James van Riemsdyk | 1,123 | 5 | Red Wings | 36 | Yes |
Ryan Suter played 1,526 career regular-season games without winning the Stanley Cup, the most of all active players.
Suter is also among the unfortunate group who’ve yet to reach a Stanley Cup Final. He played seven seasons with the Nashville Predators and nine with the Minnesota Wild before joining the Dallas Stars in 2021-22.
While the 40-year-old hasn’t officially retired, he is a free agent with no contract.
Four others on the top 10 list haven’t made the Stanley Cup Final, including 38-year-old Nick Foligno.
Foligno’s chances of winning a Cup are waning as he plays for a Chicago Blackhawks team that, due to its rebuild, doesn’t have favourable Stanley Cup odds.
John Tavares, Matt Duchene, and Erik Karlsson are the others who haven’t made a Stanley Cup Final.
Retired Players Who’ve Played Most Games Without Winning the Stanley Cup
| Rank | Player | Games | Number of Teams | Stanley Cup Final Appearance |
| 1 | Patrick Marleau | 1,779 | 3 | Yes |
| 2 | Joe Thornton | 1,714 | 4 | Yes |
| 3 | Jarome Iginla | 1,554 | 5 | Yes |
| 4 | Shane Doan | 1,540 | 2 | No |
| 5 | Phil Housley | 1,495 | 8 | Yes |
| 6 | Mike Gartner | 1,432 | 5 | No |
| 7 | Scott Mellanby | 1,431 | 5 | Yes |
| 8 | Luke Richardson | 1,417 | 7 | Yes |
| 9 | Harry Howell | 1,411 | 4 | No |
| 10 | Norm Ullman | 1,410 | 2 | Yes |
Patrick Marleau, who played 1,779 games, sits atop the list of those who’ve retired. Joe Thornton, with 1,714 games, is second on that ignominious list.
Both players were also in San Jose for that devastating Cup Final defeat to the Penguins in 2015-16. Neither Marleau nor Thornton made it back to a Stanley Cup Final.
Jarome Iginla is the player on the list who should feel the hardest done by. The legendary power forward took the Calgary Flames to within a goal of the Stanley Cup in 2003-04 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. In overtime of Game 6, it appeared the puck crossed the line.
However, the NHL didn’t have the technology it does now and couldn’t overturn the on-ice decision. After that fateful season, he chased the Cup without success, playing for the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, Colorado, and the Los Angeles Kings before calling it quits for good.
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