AnySportAnyTime

With last week’s signing of Stanley Cup winning goaltender Antti Niemi, it would seem like the San Jose Sharks will contend for the cup once again this year.

Have they finally put all the pieces together to transform their team from contender to champion? This writer does not believe so, and as such, I have decided to take a look back at some other very good teams that for whatever reasons, year-in and year-out, just simply could not get it done:

 

Boston Bruins 1987-1992

Key players: Cam Neely, Ray Bourque, Craig Janney

87-88: 94 pts, second in division, eliminated by Edmonton 4-0 in round 4 (SCF)

88-89: 88 pts, second in division, eliminated by Montreal 4-1 in round 2

89-90: 101 pts, first in division, President’s trophy winners, eliminated by Edmonton 4-1 in round 4 (SCF)

90-91: 100 pts, first in division, eliminated by Pittsburgh 4-2 in round 3

91-92: 84 pts, second in division, eliminated by Pittsburgh 4-0 in round 3

The Bruins continued to make the playoffs for the next five years after this, never again reaching the conference finals.

LA Kings 1989-1993

Key Players: Wayne Gretzky, Luc Robataille, Rob Blake

88-89: 91 pts, second in division, eliminated by Calgary 4-0 in round 2

89-90: 75 pts, fourth in division, eliminated by Edmonton 4-0 in round 2

90-91: 102 pts, first in division, eliminated by Edmonton 4-2 in round 2

91-92: 84 pts, second in division, eliminated by Edmonton 4-2 in round 1

92-93: 88 pts, third in division, eliminated by Montreal 4-1 in round 4 (SCF)

Even with the greatest player in the game on their team, the LA Kings just could not get the job done in the playoffs.

Philadelphia Flyers 1995-2000

Key players: Eric Lindros, John Leclair, Eric Desjardins

95-96: 103 pts, first in division, eliminated by Florida 4-2 in round 2

96-97: 103 pts, second in division, eliminated by Detroit 4-0 in round 4 (SCF).

97-98: 95 pts, second in division, eliminated by Buffalo 4-1 in round 1

98-99: 93 pts, second in division, eliminated by Toronto 4-2 in round 1

99-00: 105 pts, first in division, eliminated by New Jersey 4-3 in round 3

This trend continued into the new millennium, with a division title and first round exit in 01-02.

Ottawa Senators 1999-2004

Key players: Daniel Alfredson, Marian Hossa, Wade Redden

99-00: 95pts, second in division, eliminated by Toronto 4-2 in round 1

00-01: 109 pts, first in division, eliminated by Toronto 4-0 in round 1

01-02: 94 pts, third in division, eliminated by Toronto 4-3 in round 2

02-03: 113 pts, first in division, President’s Trophy winners, eliminated by New Jersey 4-3 in round 3

Following this streak of ineptitude, the Ottawa Senators retooled their roster, drafting Jason Spezza and trading Marian Hossa for Dany Heatley. This produced a run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 06-07, which they promptly lost to Anaheim 4-1.

Finally, our hapless San Jose Sharks 2003-2010

Key players: Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Evgeni Nabokov

03-04: 104 pts, first in division, eliminated by Calgary 4-2 in round 3

04- 05: lockout

05-06: 99 pts, second in division, eliminated by Edmonton 4-2 in round 2

06-07: 107 pts, second in division, eliminated by Detroit 4-2 in round 2

07-08: 108 pts, first in division, eliminated by Dallas 4-2 in round 2

08-09: 117 pts, first in division, Presidents Trophy winners, eliminated by Anaheim 4-2 in round 1

09-10: 113 pts, first in division, eliminated by Chicago 4-0 in round 3

Some teams just never make it over that hurdle. Based on the evidence above, I believe that the San Jose Sharks will ultimately fit in nicely with this group of also-ran’s and lovealbe losers. There are certainly more examples of teams like these in hockey and in other sports. The Buffalo Bills come to mind. Please comment with any additions that you feel should be on this list.

Tags: Antti Niemi, Cam Neely, Craig Janney, Daniel Alfredson, Eric Desjardins, Eric Lindros, Evgeni Nabokov, Joe Thornton, John Leclair, LA Kings, Luc Robataille, Marian Hossa, Ottawa Senators, Patrick Marleau, Philadelphia Flyers, Ray Bourque, Rob Blake, San Jose Sharks, Wade Redden, Wayne Gretzky

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 7th, 2010 at 3:37 pm and is filed under NHL. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.