It is no secret that the Stanley Cup is one of, if not, the most prestigious championship to win in all of hockey. The grind of an 82 game season, plus playoffs, makes the victory oh so much sweeter when you finally get the chance to lift it up.
And while it’s a team effort, one can’t deny the importance of a solid goalie. Throughout history, we have seen countless goaltending greats get the chance to lift Lord Stanley high in the air, whether it’s early in their career, at the peak of their power, or as they’re getting on in years, it is nonetheless amazing to see someone who usually is the backbone of the team get their moment.
But going back to the team effort, not all the greats between the crease have been so fortunate. So today, because I’m a goalie nut, we are going to go over some of the all time greats who, despite having amazing careers in the NHL, fell just a little short.
Short note: I will only be considering their playing careers. Cups won while in coaching and management roles, while special in their own right, don’t belong on this list. As well, the list is not in any particular order.
Ready? Let’s go!
10. Connor Hellebuyck
Breakdown: The only active goalie on our list, I fear Hellebuyck’s chances of getting his cup are getting slimmer and slimmer with each ing year. But there’s still a chance! The probable Vézina and even Hart trophy winner for the 2024-25 NHL season, Hellebuyck has a lengthy resume of success in the regular season with the Jets, his only squad, since his debut in 2015-16 season. Playoffs wise…it’s been a different story. Despite playing in 7 playoffs in his 10 seasons, Hellebuyck has only seen third round action once, which was in the 2017-18 playoffs where the Jets fell in the Western Conference Final to the Vegas Golden Knights in 5 games. As well, while Hellebuyck’s first four years in the postseason boosted decent and even good numbers, his last three have been far from good, with each year including this one seeing Hellebuyck not having a save percentage over 0.900.
Conclusion: While Hellebuyck is probably the best goalie in the league today, he’s fallen short in the playoffs despite having a solid team in front of him. Is it a case of Hellebuyck being a player who can’t perform in the postseason? Or will next year finally be the year he ends the curse?
9. Sean Burke
Breakdown: Before you question this, hear me out: Burke is the 9th winningest goalie to never win a Stanley Cup. He’s 31st in all time wins and played for 18 seasons. Let that sink in because honestly, up until today, I had never heard the name but I think I know why. See, Burke’s NHL career started in 1987-88 with the Devils, taking them on a bit of Cinderella run in the postseason that year before losing in the East Final to Boston, with him becoming the starter the following year. Following 4 years total in New Jersey, with only another short playoff run in 1989-90 to show for it, Burke was dealt to the Hartford Whalers in 1992-93 where, for the next six seasons and one team relocation from Hartford to Carolina, Burke never saw playoff action. After two-one year stops in Vancouver and Philadelphia, with only a single 5 game playoff series in Philly, Burke made a brief two year stop in Florida with the Panthers (no playoffs), before a 5 year stay in Phoenix starting in 1999-00. There he played a grand total of…10 playoff games over two different postseasons. After that Burke had three more single season runs with Philly again, Tampa and finally Los Angeles before hanging up the skates after 2006-07. So what gives?
Conclusion: Honestly, Burke just didn’t play for very good teams. He was with the Devils before they became their powerhouse 90’s self, Hartford/Carolina in their messy 90’s days, and Phoenix in their early days. Were his numbers great? Not overly but he did play in three allstar games in his career. Yeah I think this is just a matter of bad luck for Burke in that he never really had much in front of him and only saw the third round once, which was in his rookie season.
8. Evgeni Nabokov
Breakdown: How this guy never won a cup is beyond me. Debuting with the Sharks in the 1999-00 season, and establishing himself as their go to the following year, his first big chance came in the 2003-04 season where the Sharks fell in the West Final to Calgary in 6 games in which Nabokov had some real solid numbers. The following years the Sharks and Nabokov would see a trend: great regular seasons, poor playoffs with Nabokov having trouble replicating his seasons numbers. 2009-10 saw San Jose once again in the West Final, this time against Chicago, but it was short lived as the Hawks bounced the Sharks in 4, again with Nabokov being mediocre at best. After a brief trip back to the KHL, Nabokov returned in the 2011-12 season with the Islanders for 3 seasons but he was past his prime at this point and only saw one more postseason before a final season in Tampa on 2014-15.
Conclusion: In 9 postseasons made in 13 seasons, 2 conference final’s isn’t bad but really, Nabokov only had one run where is numbers were really solid 2003-04. To be fair, it became the Sharks identity to have a great regular season following by a rough playoff run so it wasn’t all his fault.
7. Carey Price
Breakdown: Boy, this one still hurts a lot of people. A former Hart Trophy and Vézina Trophy winner, Price had an ending we won’t really talk about, just know that it was sad to see such a great goalie have the end to a career he did. But starting his career in 2007-08 with the Habs, Price was already set to be the future of the franchise. Minus a few hiccups (poor play, injuries, etc), Price had a great career and established himself as one of the best goalies of his day. After some minimal playoff success in his first 6 seasons, the Canadiens found themselves in the Conference Finals against the Rangers in what looked like a goaltending duel between Price and Henrik Lundqvist (more on him later). However, and I will it I think there was some intention there, Chris Kreider flew into Price and knocked him out of the series in Game 1, a series in which the Habs would eventually lose. Not to be deterred, Montreal only had 2 playoff appearance in the 5 years after that but in 2020-21, on the back of Price’s phenomenal play, the Habs found themselves in the Stanley Cup Final against…Tampa. Yeah, the Habs lost 5 and this would be as close as Price would get, only playing 5 games the following season before calling it a career.
Conclusion: In the deep runs, one East Final and one Stanley Cup Final (there was also a weird one in 2009-2010 but Jaroslav Halak ended up being the Hab’s guy)Price was never the issue. In fact, even in some of the second round series that they would lose, Price was often the only reason the Habs had a chance. It was a well known, and frequently brought up by Habs fans, fact that Price only with one 80 point player in his career and that was Alexi Kovalev in his rookie year. Honestly, it just comes down to Price not having a good enough team in front of him.
6. Pekka Rinne
Breakdown: Yeah, I miss him too. Pekka Rinne effectively became the face of the Nashville Predators because of how good he was. Starting full time in 2008-09 after two games three years before and a single one the year before, Pekka would go on to play, and be the main guy, for the Predators, for the next 13 seasons (sans some shortened ones for lockouts and injuries later on), winning the Vézina in 2018 and usually among the league’s best goalies. Playoff wise…it was a bit of a mixed bag as Nashville was an expansion team in the early 2000’s. Despite a couple of second round appearances, it wasn’t until the run in 2016-17 that saw Rinne and the Preds move on and actually get to the Stanley Cup Final. Their opponent? Defending champions Pittsburgh. Yeah so essentially, Rinne was lights out leading up to this, especially at home in Nashville which continued in the final. On the road? Yeah he played awful in the final. Like really bad. After the loss to the Pens and two more appearances that never went by the second round, Rinne wouldn’t sniff the playoffs for his last two seasons, retiring after the 2020-21 season.
Conclusion: While Rinne was often a strong reason why Nashville had any success, making the playoffs in 8 out 13 full seasons, he only really had a rough go of it in the one chance he had in the final. Otherwise it was usually a better team that Nashville just didn’t have the power to match and Rinne just couldn’t stop everything.
5. John Vanbiesbrouck
Breakdown: Now here’s an interesting one. After being drafted and playing a couple games in the 1981-82 and 1983-84 seasons for the New York Rangers, John Vanbiesbrouck became their go to guy the following year and even won the Vézina the year after 1985-86. That same year, Vanbiesbrouck helped the Rangers go to the East Final where unfortunately they were beaten by the Habs and their rookie goalie, some guy named Patrick Roy. After this, John would have some good seasons with New York but wouldn’t see past the second round of the postseason with New York for the next seven seasons. Then, Vanbiesbrouck was drafted in the 1993 expansion draft by Florida…the year before New York would win their cup. Yeah that one’s rough. Following this, John played for 5 seasons for Florida and was essentially their star, so much so that he was a big reason they reached the Stanley Cup Final in the 1995-96 season as heavy underdogs against the Colorado Avalanche. Despite Vanbiesbrouck solid play, including a triple OT thriller in Game 4 that saw him have a literal showdown with old buddy Patrick Roy, the Panthers would fall 1-0 in the game and that would be the series. This would be John’s last real chance as for the next five years, he bounced between Philadelphia, the Islanders, and New Jersey, with the latter being mostly a backup role before retiring after the 2001-02 season.
Conclusion: Yeah I really don’t know about this one. Awesome goalie who usually played really solid and actually had a decent team with New York and even Florida to a degree. Honestly, guy just played for the wrong teams at just barely the wrong times and ran into some of the juggernauts of his day.
4. Ryan Miller
Breakdown: The fact Ryan Miller is largely forgotten about now is almost a crime cause this guy was dynamite. After a handful of games in the 2002-03 and 2003-04 season, Ryan Miller was the go to for the Buffalo Sabres in 2005-06. As a rookie, he helped a very talented Buffalo team get all the way to the East Final where they unfortunately fell to the Carolina Hurricanes and fellow rookie Cam Ward. The following year, Miller had a 41 win season and helped the Sabres go back to the East Final, this time unfortunately falling to the Ottawa Senators. The next 7 seasons, despite strong numbers again in the regular seasons, saw only two first round playoff appearances (this was the last few Buffalo playoff shots before their really long drought we are sitting through now). After this, Miller had a brief stay in St. Louis before 3 rather forgettable years in Vancouver that saw only 3 playoff games be played for Miller, before a final four year run in Anaheim (a single playoff game to mention in 2017-18) before Miller hung up the pads after the 2020-21 season.
Conclusion: Yeah, Miller just ended up on some teams that were past their prime at the end of it. Even with a Vézina win in 2010, the Sabres were even past their best at that point and kind of left Miller in the lurch a bit. Sucks that he came so close so early on and he really was a great goalie.
3. Curtis Joseph
Breakdown: Good old Cujo. Probably one of the most under appreciated guys of his day honestly. Starting in 1989-90 with St. Louis, Joseph impressed, helping the Blues into the playoffs in 5 of his first 6 seasons with them and being a major part of their success though they would never move beyond the second round. Following a three year stay in Edmonton, with two second round playoff exits included, Cujo was dealt to Toronto at the start of the 1998-99 season and immediately impressed, helping the Leafs to the East Final where unfortunately they fell to Buffalo. The next two years saw back to back second round losses to the Devils but in 2001-02, Cujo helped the Leafs back to the East Final where again, they couldn’t quite reach the Final, falling victim to Carolina this time. And unfortunately after this, Cujo moved from Detroit to Phoenix to Calgary before finishing in Toronto in 2008-09, only seeing the playoffs 3 times in those six years and never beyond the second round.
Conclusion: It’s no secret that Curtis Joseph had a great career and was apart of some really great Toronto teams in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Again, just seems like he always ran into the hot team whether it was the Devils, Carolina or Buffalo, the time just wasn’t quite right for Cujo.
2. Henrik Lundqvist
Breakdown: This one really hurts, mostly because I’m a Rangers fan. Impressing from the off, Hank had eleven 30 win seasons in his first 12 years with New York, won the Vézina in 2012, and essentially stole games for New York against much better teams early on in his career. In his first four seasons, starting in 2005-06, he helped New York make it to the playoffs though only had two second round losses and two first round losses to show for his regular series success. After missing the playoffs in 2009-10 after a losing a shootout in the last game of the season, Hank and the Rangers appeared in the next seven postseasons. In 2011-12, Lundqvist took his team all the way to the East Final but lost in 6 to Brodeur and the Devils. Two years later, in 2013-14, Henrik and the Rangers went a step further, reaching the Stanley Cup Final against the LA Kings. Despite losing in 5, the series was actually very tightly played and Lundqvist, in my mind, deserves no blame for the eventual defeat. The following year the Rangers returned to the East Final but missed out advancing after a Game 7 loss to Tampa, Lundqvist’s first after a winning streak 6 dating back to 2008-09. And unfortunately, after a disappointing first round exit in 2015-16 to Pittsburgh and a second round upset loss in 2016-17 to Ottawa, Lundqvist would only play in two more playoff games in 2019-20 during the “Covid Cup” in a series the Rangers would lose to Carolina.
Conclusion: Henrik Lundqvist was almost never the reason the Rangers lost a game. Like so rarely. All you have to do is look at his playoff numbers. Often times he was forced to face high shots per game and was even worn out by the time the later rounds came on or he just didn’t have the offensive capable. Really makes me sad I never got to see the King carry his cup.
1. Roberto Luongo
Breakdown: Man, this one is nuts. The fact Roberto Luongo had the career he did and was literally one win away from a Stanley Cup is almost criminal. Even in junior, the guy was toted as prodigy and boy did he deliver. In the 1999-00 season with the Islanders, Luongo would only play one year for them before moving to Florida in 2000-01 where he would stay for a total of 5 seasons, where he was often the best player on a subpar team that didn’t see playoff action. But after a move to Vancouver in 2006-07, Luongo had much better luck, going into the second round in that years playoffs off his own remarkable play, missing in 2007-08, and again having back to back second round losses to the Blackhawks in 2008-09 and 2009-10. While maybe a little inconsistent at times, Bobby Lu was instrumental in helping the Canucks go all the way to the Stanley Cup Final the following year in 2010-2011. Despite a heartbreaking Game 7 loss to the Boston Bruins, a final series in which Luongo’s consistency was questionable at times for sure, it wasn’t all his fault as the Canucks led both 2-0 and 3-2 in the series itself. The sad part is that this was kind of Luongo’s last real good chance at capturing lord Stanley as he stayed the following three years in Vancouver but only managed two, first round exits where he split time with Cory Schneider and a third year where he didn’t even play a postseason game as he dealt back to Florida midway through the 2013-14 season. Following this, Luongo spent 5 more seasons with the Panthers, only seeing the postseason once in those years, a heartbreaking 6 game series loss to John Tavares and the New York Islanders in 2015-16. Luongo finally called it after the 2018-19 season. Fun fact, he did win a cup as an executive with Florida in 2024.
Conclusion: For a guy who had as great a career as he did, one that included finishing with the third most career games played and four most wins as well as being a two time Olympic gold medalist (once as a starter), he only appeared in 7 postseasons in his 19 year career. And despite some good years in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s, Luongo and the Canucks for the most part became kind of known for blowing it. Still, would’ve been nice to see such a talented guy get his cup as a player.
Ending
While most of these guys have missed their chances (except you Hellebuyck, come on you’ve got a few more years left) to win the big win, I think it’s important to cherish them and more importantly understand that hockey is a team sport: no matter how good your goalie, all star centre, or rock solid defenseman is, it takes a whole team to capture what many believe to be the hardest trophy in all of sports.
Thanks for sticking around until the end! Hope you enjoyed and feel free to leave your thoughts, feelings, desires, or requests for future posts in the comments!
P.S: I believe everything is historically correct, if you find or know of a discrepancy, please feel free to point it out!
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