All four U.S.-based Original Six franchises—the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, and Chicago Blackhawks—made NHL history for all the wrong reasons after Saturday’s results marked a dark moment in their respective annals.
That’s because this year, for the first time ever, the foursome will miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the same season.
The milestone was sealed Saturday when the Rangers were officially eliminated following a 7–3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
New York, which won the Presidents’ Trophy just last season, fell out of contention after managing only 11 wins in 40 games against playoff-bound opponents. This massive collapse will see the Blueshirts extend their Stanley Cup drought to 31 years at the very least.
The Red Wings were eliminated earlier Saturday. After narrowly missing the playoffs in 2024, they regressed under GM Steve Yzerman, who was brought in with long-term hopes of rebuilding a contender. Now, five years into his tenure, Detroit has yet to make a postseason appearance.
Boston, meanwhile, was the first to drop out of the postseason race, currently having an Eastern Conference-worst record of 33–39–9 with one game left.
A 10-game losing streak and the midseason firing of head coach Jim Montgomery derailed any early momentum, and the trade-deadline move of former captain Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers made the franchise’s intentions clear.
Finally, Chicago might be the only franchise among these four with an excuse for missing the playoffs as it remains in the middle of a full-scale rebuild.
The Blackhawks are set to finish with the second-worst record in the league, ahead of only the San Jose Sharks.
It’s Chicago’s third straight year at the bottom of the Central Division, continuing a steep decline since their three Stanley Cup wins between 2010 and 2015.
Together, the four American Original Six teams have won a combined 27 Stanley Cups. The 28th will have to wait.
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