Canadian Drought Continues, as ’93 Cup Remains Emblem of Past Era
By Scott Cowan
Following the Vancouver Canucks Game 7 loss, the Canadian Stanley Cup drought continues, 27 years removed from its last champion via the Montreal Canadiens.
Where were you when the Montreal Canadiens won their last Stanley Cup?
Well, I wasn’t around, as it’s been 27 years since the Habs last championship, eight years older than myself. However, just because I wasn’t there physically doesn’t mean I don’t understand what that Cup run entailed, and what it means for Canadian sports today.
In a 1992-93 season many consider to be the best in NHL history, the Canadiens came out on top seemingly out of nowhere, defeating a similar underdog Los Angeles Kings team in five games in the Stanley Cup Final.
Led by a core group of consistent performers like Eric Desjardins, Vincent Damphousse, and Patrick Roy, as well as rookies like Paul Dipietro and Kevin Haller, Montreal won ten straight games in overtime on their way to their 24th and, as we speak, last Stanley Cup.
In the time since then, no Canadian team, let alone Montreal, has managed to hoist the Cup, as the drought continues following an exciting day of NHL hockey on Friday. Heading into the second round of this year’s playoffs, the Vancouver Canucks were the only Canadian team left, led by a talented group of topflight rookies and overall great offensive depth.
After falling behind 3-1 to the Vegas Golden Knights in their second-round series, Vancouver rallied behind 24-year old backup goaltender Thatcher Demko, who stopped 126 of the 128 shots he faced overall as Vancouver forced a game seven. Despite this, the Canucks only managed 15 shots on net in the deciding game, as Knights defenseman Shea Theodore fired a wrister off a face-off which beat Demko late in the third. Two empty netters later, and the only hope for a Canadian cup contender is gone once again.