Nashville Predators One of Dozen Stanley Cupless Teams

May 12, 2016; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks center Joe Pavelski (8) and defenseman Brent Burns (88) and center Patrick Marleau (12) shake hands with Nashville Predators center Mike Fisher (12) and defenseman Barret Jackman (5) after the end of the game seven of the second round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center at San Jose. San Jose defeated Nashville 5-0. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports /

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Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel (15) skates with the puck. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports /

Buffalo Sabres, 1970, 45 Seasons

The poor Buffalo Sabres have had some amazing teams over the years. Just go look up the “French Connection” from the 1970’s. Gilbert Perreault, Rick Martin, and Rene Robert formed a line that is still amazing. They played together for seven years and put up unbelievable numbers. In 1974-75 alone they scored 131 goals, an average of over 43 goals each.

At one point, this team made the Playoffs 24 of 27 seasons. They’ve been to the Cup Finals twice, losing to the Flyers in 1975 and Stars in 1999. They have had plenty of chances and plenty of good teams.

Things have not been so kind to the Sabres lately. They’ve missed the Playoffs for the past five seasons in a row. They’ve missed 10 of the past 14 seasons. When you miss that many playoffs, you should be drafting some good players.

It might be turning around now, though. They chose Jack Eichel with the second overall choice last season and picked up Ryan O’Reilly, and Evander Kane via trade. They have the 8th overall choice in this year’s draft. They finished right around .500 last season and appear to be a team on the move.

Next: And Finally, our Champs of Futility

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