Five of the unluckiest players in NHL history

In his latest article for The Hockey News, blogger Sean McIndoe, otherwise known as Down Goes Brown, takes a look back at some of the unluckiest players to ever lace up the skates in the NHL. Now, you may think that sounds like a contradiction? I mean, how can these guys be considered unlucky if they’re playing in the NHL? Well… it’s all relative. In McIndoe’s article he looks at “five players who had long and successful NHL careers that didn't include Stanley Cups, but who just missed being in the right place at the right time to win one.”

With that criteria in mind, let’s take a look at these poor suckers:

Mike Gartner
The Hall of Famer was on his way to claiming his first career Stanley Cup with the 1994 New York Rangers before being shipped to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Glenn Anderson at the NHL Trade Deadline. The real salt in the wound is that Anderson would raise the Cup that spring for the 6th time in his career while Gartner and the Leafs would bow out in the Western Conference Final.

Dino Ciccarelli
Another Hall of Famer without a Cup. You probably thought Dino won one with the Wings, right? Nope. He just missed out. Following a Stanley Cup Final loss to the New Jersey Devils in 1995 and a disappointing second-round loss to the Colorado Avalanche in 1996, Ciccarelli was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1996 offseason, just months before the Red Wings would go on to win their first Stanley Cup in 42 seasons.

Ryan Smyth
Of course we all remember Smyth and his gutsy performance in a losing effort against the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2006 Stanley Cup Final, but did you know he was “oh so close” to claiming a Cup victory with the 2012 Los Angeles Kings? Smyth had spent two seasons in LA before being asked to be dealt back to the Oilers in the 2011 offseason. The Kings granted his request and went on to claim their first Stanley Cup the following season.

Bernie Nichols
The key piece of the blockbuster trade that brought Mark Messier to the New York Rangers nearly spoiled the party for his former team during the 1994 Eastern Conference Final as a member of the New Jersey Devils. The Devils would ultimately lose in seven games to the Rangers and Nichols would leave the Devils that offseason for the Chicago Blackhawks. Meanwhile the Devils finally got over the hump and won the Cup in 1995.

Pat LaFontaine
The tale of Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine is the exact opposite of the four players mentioned above. While Gartner, Ciccarelli, Smyth and Nichols left the party too early, LaFontaine arrived late. He joined the New York Islanders at the tail end of their dynasty years in 1983 and never drank from the Cup himself. He and the Isles reached the Cup Final in 1984, but by that time Wayne Gretzky and the Oilers had taken over as the NHL’s newest dynasty. He ultimately went on to star for the Buffalo Sabres, but never did get back to the big game through the course of his illustrious career.

So, what do you think of this list? McIndoe makes a pretty compelling case for all five players. Did he miss anyone?