NHL: Hockey Teams with the Most Playoff Appearances
Montreal Canadiens Hall of Famers
The Montreal Canadiens, naturally, have the most postseason appearances of any hockey franchise, to go along with their most Stanley Cups.
They are the New York Yankees of the NHL. Or is it the other way around? Depends on who you ask, I guess.
Anyway, to level the, er, ice surface, there are two lists today.
First, the straight up ranking of franchises by most playoff appearances.
But that’s a little unfair. The Canadiens have been playing for 94 years, while a very successful team like the latest version of the Ottawa Senators has only been around for 19.
In fact, the Canadiens have been in the postseason almost four times as many years as the Senators have been in existence. Or nearly twice as many years as classic teams like the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins have been hitting the ice.
So, a second list below – one that ranks each franchise by the percentage of its existence it made it to the postseason.
Look at that. The Canadiens win again. But the rest of the list gets shaken up quite a bit.
Follow @VinGetzMOST NHL PLAYOFF APPEARANCES BY FRANCHISE
| FRANCHISE | PLAYOFF APP. | FIRST YR | YRS | |
| 1. | Montreal Canadiens | 79 | 1918 | 94 |
| 2. | Boston Bruins | 67 | 1925 | 87 |
| 3. | Toronto Maple Leafs | 64 | 1918 | 94 |
| 4. | Detroit Red Wings | 60 | 1927 | 85 |
| 5. | Chicago Blackhawks | 57 | 1927 | 85 |
| 6. | New York Rangers | 54 | 1927 | 85 |
| 7. | Philadelphia Flyers | 36 | 1968 | 44 |
| 7. | St. Louis Blues | 36 | 1968 | 44 |
| 9. | Buffalo Sabres | 29 | 1971 | 41 |
| 9. | Dallas Stars | 29 | 1968 | 44 |
| 11. | Pittsburgh Penguins | 27 | 1968 | 44 |
| 12. | Calgary Flames | 26 | 1973 | 39 |
| 12. | Los Angeles Kings | 26 | 1968 | 44 |
| 14. | Vancouver Canucks | 25 | 1971 | 41 |
| 15. | Washington Capitals | 23 | 1975 | 37 |
| 16. | New Jersey Devils | 22 | 1975 | 37 |
| 17. | Colorado Avalanche | 21 | 1980 | 32 |
| 17. | New York Islanders | 21 | 1973 | 39 |
| 19. | Edmonton Oilers | 20 | 1980 | 32 |
| 20. | Phoenix Coyotes | 19 | 1980 | 32 |
| 21. | San Jose Sharks | 15 | 1992 | 20 |
| 22. | Carolina Hurricanes | 13 | 1980 | 32 |
| 22. | Ottawa Senators | 13 | 1993 | 19 |
| 24. | Anaheim Ducks | 8 | 1994 | 18 |
| 25. | Nashville Predators | 7 | 1999 | 13 |
| 26. | Tampa Bay Lightning | 6 | 1993 | 19 |
| 27. | Florida Panthers | 4 | 1994 | 18 |
| 28. | Minnesota Wild | 3 | 2001 | 11 |
| 29. | Columbus Blue Jackets | 1 | 2001 | 11 |
| 29. | Winnipeg Jets | 1 | 2000 | 12 |
FRANCHISE’S PERCENTAGE OF HISTORY IN POSTSEASON
| FRANCHISE | PCT OF HISTORY | PLAYOFF APP | TOTAL YRS | FIRST YR | |
| 1. | Montreal Canadiens | 84.04% | 79 | 94 | 1918 |
| 2. | Philadelphia Flyers | 81.82% | 36 | 44 | 1968 |
| 2. | St. Louis Blues | 81.82% | 36 | 44 | 1968 |
| 4. | Boston Bruins | 77.01% | 67 | 87 | 1925 |
| 5. | San Jose Sharks | 75.00% | 15 | 20 | 1992 |
| 6. | Buffalo Sabres | 70.73% | 29 | 41 | 1971 |
| 7. | Detroit Red Wings | 70.59% | 60 | 85 | 1927 |
| 8. | Ottawa Senators | 68.42% | 13 | 19 | 1993 |
| 9. | Toronto Maple Leafs | 68.09% | 64 | 94 | 1918 |
| 10. | Chicago Blackhawks | 67.06% | 57 | 85 | 1927 |
| 11. | Calgary Flames | 66.67% | 26 | 39 | 1973 |
| 12. | Dallas Stars | 65.91% | 29 | 44 | 1968 |
| 13. | Colorado Avalanche | 65.63% | 21 | 32 | 1980 |
| 14. | New York Rangers | 63.53% | 54 | 85 | 1927 |
| 15. | Edmonton Oilers | 62.50% | 20 | 32 | 1980 |
| 16. | Washington Capitals | 62.16% | 23 | 37 | 1975 |
| 17. | Pittsburgh Penguins | 61.36% | 27 | 44 | 1968 |
| 18. | Vancouver Canucks | 60.98% | 25 | 41 | 1971 |
| 19. | New Jersey Devils | 59.46% | 22 | 37 | 1975 |
| 20. | Phoenix Coyotes | 59.38% | 19 | 32 | 1980 |
| 21. | Los Angeles Kings | 59.09% | 26 | 44 | 1968 |
| 22. | New York Islanders | 53.85% | 21 | 39 | 1973 |
| 22. | Nashville Predators | 53.85% | 7 | 13 | 1999 |
| 24. | Anaheim Ducks | 44.44% | 8 | 18 | 1994 |
| 25. | Carolina Hurricanes | 40.63% | 13 | 32 | 1980 |
| 26. | Tampa Bay Lightning | 31.58% | 6 | 19 | 1993 |
| 27. | Minnesota Wild | 27.27% | 3 | 11 | 2001 |
| 28. | Florida Panthers | 22.22% | 4 | 18 | 1994 |
| 29. | Columbus Blue Jackets | 9.09% | 1 | 11 | 2001 |
| 30. | Winnipeg Jets | 8.33% | 1 | 12 | 2000 |
Thanks to hockey-reference.com.
Photo: blueskysportsart.com – This guy is amazing. Check him out.
Posted on January 15, 2013, in NHL and tagged appearances, franchise, history, hockey, List, montreal canadiens, most, NHL, percent, Playoff, postseason, sports list of the day, teams, top. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a Comment.
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