5 who need Stanley Cup title most
Bud Poile was in the NHL four seasons as a Toronto player before he won a Stanley Cup in 1947. His son David has been an NHL team executive 46 years, and he’s still waiting to win his first Cup.
David Poile, the Nashville franchise’s only general manager, began working in management when he was hired by the then-Atlanta Flames in 1972. He boasts the most wins (1,333) of any GM in the NHL but never reached the Stanley Cup Final until last season, when the Predators lost to Pittsburgh in six games.
If the Predators can beat Winnipeg in Thursday’s Game 7 and then win it all, there would be three generations of Poiles engraved on the Cup. David’s son Brian is the Predators’ director of hockey operations.
With five teams still alive, Poile leads our list of people who most need a Stanley Cup ring. Here are those from the other teams still in contention.
When you mention the greatest players never to win a Stanley Cup, Ovechkin, 32, is at the top of the list. He has been in the NHL since 2005, and this is the first season he has reached the conference final. Ovechkin is the most dangerous goal scorer of this generation, and a Stanley Cup triumph would make his career more complete.
It might seem too early to worry that Stamkos, 28, won’t win a Cup, but you never know how many opportunities you will have.
Stamkos, who played in the 2015 Final, is an elite player, and this current team might be the best chance he will ever have to win one.
His Hall of Fame father, Peter, played in the NHL from 1980 to 1995 without a winning a Stanley Cup. Paul, 32, has played 12 seasons without one. A hardworking, two-way forward, Paul has long been the kind of valuable player you win with.
At 54, Gallant has an 11-season playing career and a seven-season coaching career without ever reaching the Stanley Cup Final. He was always admired for the work he did as a gritty goal scorer on Steve Yzerman’s line in Detroit. He had four consecutive seasons in which he scored 30 or more goals and registered 200 or more penalty minutes.