Which players are most deserving of winning the Stanley Cup?

One by one, the Florida Panthers celebrated with the Stanley Cup after winning Game 7 of last year`s Final. For some who had won before, like Carter Verhaeghe, it was a familiar feeling. But for most of the team, it was their first time touching the coveted trophy.

Kyle Okposo was among them. “I almost retired, and they`re a big reason why I didn`t,” he said of his teammates. “I wanted to have one more shot at it, and I just wanted to put myself in the best position to do this.”

So after 17 seasons, 1,051 regular-season games, and 41 more in the postseason, the 37-year-old finally achieved his NHL dream.

As the Panthers pursued the championship, Okposo became the playoffs` classic `Old Guy Without a Cup,` someone fans rallied around. However, simply having a long career doesn`t automatically make a player `Stanley Cup worthy.` Other factors matter, like past playoff performances and how close they`ve come to lifting the Cup.

We consider all these elements in our Cup Worthiness Ratings (CWR), designed to identify the veteran and prime-age players most deserving of winning the Stanley Cup.

We started by looking at active skaters whose teams are still in the playoffs, focusing on those with the most regular-season games played without a Cup win, using a cutoff of 850 games. There were initially 21 such players, and we ranked them in reverse order to assign points; for instance, Ryan Suter, with the most games (1,526) without a Cup, received 21 points.

We applied the same scoring system for career playoff games and playoff points. We then added the number of years they`ve been in the league to their score – this also helped break ties between players with identical scores.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson famously wrote, ” `Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” But that kind of love can also bring bitterness. So, we also factored into the CWR how close a player has come to celebrating with the trophy.

If a player reached the conference final, they earned five points for each appearance. Reaching the Stanley Cup Final added another 10 points. If they were traded by a team that went on to win the Stanley Cup (within the next two seasons), they received five points. (Note that Claude Giroux`s decision to leave the Panthers as a free agent before they won doesn`t count.)

We wanted to include player prestige in our rankings. Let`s be honest, there`s more pressure on a star player to cap off their `legacy` with a championship than on role players. This was the case for players like Alex Ovechkin and Nathan MacKinnon before they won. Players like Connor McDavid now face that level of expectation. To reflect this, we added five points if a player had won an NHL award, using this as an indicator of stardom.

We also awarded 10 points to any player who won the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP in a losing effort in the Stanley Cup Final. Imagine how heartbreaking that would be!

Considering all this, here are the top 10 veteran players (minimum 850 games) still in the 2025 postseason based on their CWR.

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10. Matt Duchene, Dallas Stars

Age: 34
Cup Worthiness Rating: 53

For a point-per-game player over his career, Duchene has certainly moved around, playing playoff games with the Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, Nashville Predators, and now the Dallas Stars. (His time in Ottawa didn`t involve much postseason). The 16-year veteran would rank higher if not for his relatively low number of playoff games (56) and only one trip to the conference finals, which was last year with Dallas.

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9. John Tavares, Toronto Maple Leafs

Age: 34
Cup Worthiness Rating: 57

History will reflect on Tavares` choice to leave the New York Islanders for his beloved childhood team in Toronto in 2018, and how that affected his chances at the Stanley Cup. After he left, the Islanders reached the second-to-last round twice, while he hasn`t advanced past the second round with the Leafs. Still, he has the fifth-highest number of games played among players in this ranking over his 16-year NHL career.

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8. Adam Henrique, Edmonton Oilers

Age: 35
Cup Worthiness Rating: 70

Few players on this list have had a playoff moment quite like Henrique`s in the 2012 Eastern Conference finals, where he scored the overtime goal to send the New Jersey Devils to the Stanley Cup Final over their fierce rivals, the Rangers. The Devils didn`t win the Cup that year.

Henrique got his second chance at the trophy with the Oilers in 2024, but they lost in Game 7 despite rallying from being down 0-3 in the series. Add in 993 regular-season games, and it`s been a long journey for Henrique to potentially have his name etched.

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7. Charlie Coyle, Colorado Avalanche

Age: 33
Cup Worthiness Rating: 72

He might look younger in pictures, but Coyle has 950 regular-season games under his belt. He played in both the conference finals and the Stanley Cup Final with the Boston Bruins in 2019, losing the final series to the St. Louis Blues in a painful seven games. He played 75 playoff games for the Bruins, ranking him fourth among the players on this list.

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6. Evander Kane, Edmonton Oilers

Age: 33
Cup Worthiness Rating: 72

There`s no questioning Kane`s commitment over time (930 regular-season games across 15 seasons) and how close he`s been to the Cup multiple times: three appearances in the conference finals with the San Jose Sharks and Oilers, and last season`s run to the Stanley Cup Final with Edmonton.

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5. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers

Age: 32
Cup Worthiness Rating: 75

The Nuge is another player who feels like he was just drafted recently but is actually a 14-year veteran approaching 1,000 games next season (959 so far). The long-time Oiler watched his team struggle before Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl began leading the franchise into championship contention.

This versatile forward is exactly the type of player deserving of a Cup win: someone loved by fans and slightly underestimated by others.

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4. Max Pacioretty, Toronto Maple Leafs

Age: 36
Cup Worthiness Rating: 78

Due to various injuries, Pacioretty has played only 939 regular-season games over 17 NHL seasons. However, his rating benefited from three trips to the conference finals with Montreal (2014) and Vegas (2020, 2021).

Crucially, he earned the rare `traded away before his team won a championship` bonus points, as the Golden Knights traded him to Carolina in July 2022 before lifting the Stanley Cup the following June.

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3. Ryan Suter, St. Louis Blues

Age: 40
Cup Worthiness Rating: 83

The active leader in games played (1,526, 19th all-time), Suter surprisingly isn`t in the top 15 for playoff games among active players. His teams – Nashville, Minnesota, and Dallas – were eliminated in the first round in nine of the 15 seasons they qualified for the playoffs.

Despite that, he has played more postseason games than anyone else in this ranking (135) and made two trips to the conference finals with the Dallas Stars over the past two seasons.

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2. Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars

Age: 35
Cup Worthiness Rating: 102

The Stars` captain brings a fierce, win-at-all-costs physicality to the playoffs, putting his body on the line and hitting opponents hard during several deep playoff runs in his career. Benn has played 1,192 regular-season games and an additional 107 in the playoffs.

He has reached the conference finals three times, with one resulting in a trip to the Stanley Cup Final. Loved by his teammates and disliked by opposing fans, he would be the first to hoist the Cup if the Stars win it during his captaincy – and he would be a truly deserving recipient.

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1. Brent Burns, Carolina Hurricanes

Age: 40
Cup Worthiness Rating: 110

There`s truly no one else in the NHL quite like Brent Burns. He`s played 21 seasons, transitioning from forward to defense and excelling on the blue line. He leads active defensemen in regular-season points (910 in 1,497 games) and ranks fourth in playoff points (77).

He`s been to the conference finals three times and the Stanley Cup Final once. He sports a year-round playoff beard and carries a large, mysterious bag wherever he goes.

If he wins the Stanley Cup, it would be the realization of a hockey dream. And perhaps more importantly, it would mean introducing the Stanley Cup to the diverse collection of animals on his 420-acre Texas ranch.

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So, those were the older players hoping to win the Cup for the first time. What about those in their prime, based on games played, who haven`t yet skated with Stanley?

Here are the top five players still active in the playoffs who have played fewer than 850 career regular-season games and are seeking their first Cup win:

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5. Tomas Hertl, Vegas Golden Knights

Age: 31
Cup Worthiness Rating: 51

The Vegas forward`s 791 games are the most among players in this ranking, with most accumulated over 11 seasons with the San Jose Sharks. He made two conference finals appearances and reached the 2016 Stanley Cup Final with the Sharks, a franchise still seeking its first Cup win.

Holding back his Cup Worthiness Rating slightly is his playoff points-per-game average (48 points in 74 games, or 0.64), which is lower than his regular-season rate (0.69).

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4. Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars

Age: 25
Cup Worthiness Rating: 53

The Stars` defenseman has benefited from Dallas`s deep playoff runs, having reached the conference finals three times and the Stanley Cup Final in 2020. His high rating is less about his time in the league – 475 games over seven seasons – and more about how consistently close he`s come to a title in his relatively short career.

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3. Nate Schmidt, Florida Panthers

Age: 34
Cup Worthiness Rating: 58

An often overlooked player in terms of Cup droughts, but one whose career has seen its share of heartbreak.

Schmidt has played 741 regular-season games for the Capitals, Golden Knights, Jets, and now the Panthers. He`s reached the conference finals twice and the Stanley Cup Final once in 81 career playoff games.

But Schmidt earned significant bonus points by being let go by his team right before they won the Cup: The Capitals left him unprotected in the 2017 expansion draft, and he was selected by Vegas… whom Washington then defeated for the Cup the very next season. Ouch! He was also traded by Vegas before they won, but that fell outside the timeframe for our scoring.

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2. Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers

Age: 29
Cup Worthiness Rating: 66

When the Oilers stumble in the playoffs, it`s never because of Draisaitl. The 11-year NHL veteran ranks second in postseason goals (44) behind Nathan MacKinnon (51) since 2017, which was Draisaitl`s first playoff year. Few players can boast a point-per-game pace or better in every playoff season they`ve played, but Draisaitl can. Plus, he`s earned a reputation for battling through injuries in the playoffs while still excelling.

He received a points boost for last season`s trip to the Stanley Cup Final and his Hart Trophy win. He`s deserving… but someone he knows is slightly more so.

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1. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

Age: 28
Cup Worthiness Rating: 74

Heavy is the head that wears the crown. McDavid is widely considered the best hockey player in the world. He has multiple scoring titles and MVP awards. But he doesn`t have a Cup.

This places McDavid in the challenging position recently faced by Alex Ovechkin and MacKinnon: legendary players whose lack of team championships threatens to put an asterisk on their probable Hall of Fame careers.

McDavid reached the conference finals in 2022 and then made the leap to the Stanley Cup Final last season, almost leading his team to victory after trailing 3-0 in the series. He has more postseason points than anyone else in this ranking (127 in 79 games). We even created a special category to highlight his frustration, awarding five points to the only active player who won the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP in a losing effort.

One day, he will lift the Cup. The truly great ones always do. And he is the best of the best.

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We`ve covered the veteran skaters and the younger skaters. That`s a lot of players on skates. There`s another crucial position on the ice that features some Cup-worthy competitors: goaltending.

Here`s a brief list of the highest-rated goalies by CWR who are still active. For netminders, we used regular-season games, seasons in the league, playoff appearances, postseason wins, conference finals and Stanley Cup Final appearances, NHL awards, and whether they were traded just before a team won the Cup.

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3. Frederik Andersen, Carolina Hurricanes

Age: 35
Cup Worthiness Rating: 21

Andersen prompted us to briefly consider adding bonus points for anyone who endured multiple playoff disappointments with the Leafs. Four of his 10 playoff seasons were in Toronto, all ending in the first round and attracting the predictable blame from fans.

Ultimately, a couple of other goalies have slightly more accolades and late playoff appearances that tipped the scales in the rating system. However, few players are more deserving of lifting the Cup than Andersen, not just for his longevity but also for playing through numerous injuries.

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2. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets

Age: 35
Cup Worthiness Rating: 25

Admittedly, it`s challenging to label a goalie as `Cup-worthy` when he has been perceived as a weakness in three consecutive postseasons. But Hellebuyck has 21 wins in 50 playoff games and ranks fifth among active goalies in games played (568).

To put it simply: Given Hellebuyck`s struggles in the playoffs, if the Jets were to win the Cup, he would likely have truly earned it through perseverance.

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1. Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars

Age: 26
Cup Worthiness Rating: 31

Oettinger is certainly younger and less experienced than the other goalies on this list. But the comprehensive evaluation and clear methodology of the Cup Worthiness Rating place him first because of his playoff heartbreak.

His NHL debut came in the 2020 playoffs, where he appeared in Dallas`s conference finals win over Vegas and their Stanley Cup Final loss to Tampa Bay. He has also appeared in two subsequent conference finals. What Oettinger lacks in experience, he makes up for in how close the championship ring has been, just out of his reach. Like the rest of the Dallas Stars, he is Cup-worthy.