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Winning the Stanley Cup is the dream of every NHL player. The opportunity to win hockey’s greatest prize and have your name and those of your teammates etched into the trophy is the game’s highest professional achievement.
Many of today’s top stars have enjoyed that honor. Some, such as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Chicago Blackhawks’ Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane and the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, are multiple Cup champions.
Others, however, are still striving to win their first Stanley Cup. Some, such as Florida Panthers center Joe Thornton, are running out of time as their careers wind down.
Here’s a look at six aging NHL stars facing what could be their last season to win the Stanley Cup in order of career games played. Our focus is on those with 1,000 or more career NHL games who are also in the final year of their current contracts. Feel free to express your views in the comments section below.
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Debuting with the Colorado Avalanche in 2006-07, Paul Stastny has enjoyed a long NHL career with the Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, Vegas Golden Knights and Winnipeg Jets. However, he’s never had the honor of playing in the Stanley Cup Final.
Entering his 16th NHL season, the 2021-22 campaign could be the last time Stastny has a chance to play for the Cup. After appearing in 56 games with the Jets last season, he’s returning to Winnipeg on a one-year, $3.75 million contract.
Stastny has been a productive center throughout his career. In 1,001 career games, he’s tallied 263 goals and collected 492 assists for 755 points. That includes reaching or exceeding 40 points in 11 of his previous 15 seasons. However, he netted just 29 points in 56 games last season with the Jets.
Turning 36 on Dec. 27, Stastny is no longer the reliable point producer of the past. He could see third-line minutes in 2021-22 behind Mark Scheifele and Pierre-Luc Dubois. If his production continues to decline, this season could be his last chance to play for the Stanley Cup.
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Holder of the longest active regular-season consecutive games streak (922), Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Keith Yandle could break the all-time record of 964 held by Doug Jarvis this season. It could also be his final chance to win a Stanley Cup.
A skillful puck-moving blueliner, Yandle has also amassed 102 goals and 498 assists for 600 points in 1,032 games. The 35-year-old is entering his 16th NHL campaign and is at the stage where a player’s skills are in decline.
Yandle struggled last season with the Florida Panthers. His ironman streak nearly ended amid speculation he’d fallen out of favor with the organization, including reports he would be a healthy scratch to open the season.
He would go on to play every game during the regular season, but he produced just 27 points in 56 games. He was scratched from three of their six opening-round games against the Tampa Bay Lightning, though it didn’t affect his regular-season consecutive games streak.
Bought out by the Panthers on July 15, Yandle inked a one-year contract with the Flyers on July 28. Having never played in a Stanley Cup Final, this could be his final season to do so if his skills continue to decline.
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Having been bought out on July 13 by the Minnesota Wild, Zach Parise signed a one-year contract with the New York Islanders. This could be the final opportunity for the 37-year-old left wing to play for a Stanley Cup champion.
The signing reunites Parise with Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello, who chose him in the first round (17th overall) in the 2003 NHL draft as general manager of the New Jersey Devils. Parise spent seven seasons playing for Lamoriello with the Devils from 2005-06 to 2011-12. That included a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2012, but the Devils were defeated in six games by the Los Angeles Kings.
Parise signed a blockbuster 13-year, $98 million contract with the Wild on July 4, 2012, and went on to spend nine seasons in Minnesota. While finishing third among their leaders in career goals (199) and points (400), he and the Wild never advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs during his tenure with them.
After 1,060 career games over 16 seasons and 393 goals and 810 points, Parise is in the twilight of his NHL career. He’s got a good chance to finally win the Cup, joining an Islanders club that fell just short of reaching the Stanley Cup Final over the last two seasons.
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The Dallas Stars have three greybeards in Joe Pavelski, Ryan Suter and Alexander Radulov still without a Stanley Cup on their resumes. Of the three, the 37-year-old Pavelski could be running out of time to get his name engraved on the Cup.
Suter, 36, will have four seasons with the Stars to get a shot at the Cup. An unrestricted free agent next summer, the 35-year-old Radulov could have enough left in the tank to earn another run at the Cup with the Stars or a different club beyond 2021-22.
Pavelski, however, is entering the final season of his three-year contract. Entering his 16th NHL campaign, he’s been to the Stanley Cup Final twice, in 2016 with the San Jose Sharks and 2020 with the Stars. He’s proven a reliable point producer with 394 goals and 843 points in 1,086 games. Pavelski sits second all-time among Sharks scorers with 355 goals and third with 406 assists and 761 points.
This season could become a case of now-or-never for Pavelski to take home hockey’s biggest prize. He’s reaching the stage where age and the wear-and-tear of a long NHL career could catch up with him. If his performance declines, he could have difficulty re-signing with the Stars or landing with another contender following this season.
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Joining the Ottawa Senators in 2002-03, Jason Spezza has enjoyed a long and productive career. In 1,177 career games, he’s scored 351 goals and 619 assists for 970 points. Now 38 and entering his 19th NHL season, he’s facing what could be his final opportunity to win the Stanley Cup.
After his 11 seasons with the Senators, Spezza is second in career goals (251), assists (436) and points (687). He’s also their single-season assist leader with 71, set in 2005-06. During his tenure with the Senators and subsequent five seasons with the Dallas Stars, he reached at least 50 points 12 times. Spezza had a crack at the Stanley Cup in 2007 with the Senators, but they fell to the Anaheim Ducks in five games.
Spezza was already on the downside of his career when he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2019-20. While no longer the offensive star of his prime, he brought leadership to the Leafs and experienced depth to their checking lines. He also put up a respectable 30 points in 54 games last season.
Returning with the Leafs on a one-year contract, time could catch up with Spezza this season. The Leafs are among the better teams in the Eastern Conference but haven’t won the Cup since 1967 or a playoff round since 2004. If they don’t end those droughts this season, Spezza could end his career without a Stanley Cup on his resume.
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Making his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins in 1997-98, Joe Thornton is among the league’s greatest ever playmakers. He has more career assists (1,104) than most players have career points. He sits seventh on the all-time list in that department and 14th in career points with 1,529. He needs just three more points to pass Paul Coffey for 13th place.
Traded to the San Jose Sharks by the Boston Bruins early in 2005-06, Thornton would finish that season with the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Art Ross Trophy. He enjoyed his greatest years with the Sharks, becoming their career assists leader with 804 and sitting second with 1,055 points.
Entering his 24th NHL season with 1,680 games played, Thornton is still chasing hockey’s greatest trophy. He’s made just one trip to the Stanley Cup Final, and that was with the Sharks in 2016, falling in six games to the Pittsburgh Penguins. His hopes of ending that quest last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs were dashed as the Leafs were eliminated in the opening round by the Montreal Canadiens.
Signed to a one-year contract with the Florida Panthers, this could be the 42-year-old Thornton’s last chance to win that elusive Cup. No longer the dominant center of his youth, his production has declined since reaching 82 points in as many games in 2015-16. He could see checking-line minutes this season.
The Panthers are a rising force in the Eastern Conference. Like Thornton, they’ve only been to the Stanley Cup Final once, and that was back in 1996. Winning the Cup would be a first for both parties.
Stats via NHL.com and Hockey-Reference.com. Salary info via Cap Friendly.
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