When members of the 1993 Montreal Canadiens gathered for a reunion to commemorate 30 years since they won the Stanley Cup, they told stories and reminisced about the championship run.
Vincent Damphousse, their leading scorer that postseason, had plenty to share but also had forgotten so much. It has, after all, been three decades since he and his teammates defeated Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings to lift the Cup for the franchise鈥檚 NHL-record 24th time.
Not only has Montreal not won it again since, but neither has any other team based in Canada 鈥� a drought the at 31 years by winning Game 7 at the Florida Panthers on Monday night.
鈥淚t鈥檚 our sport and it鈥檚 important for a Canadian team to do well,鈥� Damphousse told The Associated Press by phone over the weekend. 鈥淟ook at the city, look at the country. Everybody鈥檚 watching, and it keeps everybody engaged and watching games.鈥�
This is by far the longest stretch between Canadian Cup wins. Before this, it was a six-year span between the Montreal Maroons in 1935 and the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1942, who the Oilers are looking to follow as the only teams in a final and come all the way back.
鈥淭his series has been great for hockey,鈥� said Brian Bellows, who was tied as Montreal鈥檚 third-leading scorer with 15 points in 20 games during the 鈥�93 playoffs. 鈥淓veryone loves a Game 7.鈥�
The 1972 Miami Dolphins, as the only NFL team to complete a perfect season and win it all, have a tradition of popping bottles of sparkling wine to celebrate each year when the last remaining undefeated team loses. Nothing of the sort happens for the 鈥�93 Habs.
Damphousse, now an ambassador for the Canadiens, feels for those north of the 49th parallel who have not drank from the Cup.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e tough markets to be successful in,鈥� Damphousse said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been tough. There have been rebuilds and good years and bad years and I鈥檓 hoping for a success story in Canada, for sure. I don鈥檛 wish any bad luck on the Canadian teams.鈥�
It has been a string of bad luck and many other things, including near-misses. Four times since, a Canadian team reached Game 7 and lost, including Vancouver the next year against the New York Rangers, followed by Calgary to Tampa Bay in 2004, Edmonton to Carolina in 鈥�06 and the Canucks getting back and falling short at home against Boston in 鈥�11.
Kirk Muller, who was second in scoring to Damphousse in the regular season and playoffs in 鈥�93, would have been stunned at the time to think that no one from Canada would have won it all in the next 31 years.
鈥淥bviously, you鈥檙e living in the moment and all that, but certainly everybody鈥檚 aware of the drought that it鈥檚 been,鈥� Muller said. 鈥淵ou can see the excitement in the country right now, and you can see how quickly it just magnifies across the excitement and you can see that happening in Edmonton right now.鈥�
The excitement is in anticipation of what would be the Oilers鈥� sixth Stanley Cup championship but the first since 1990, a run of five titles in seven years in which the trophy pretty much lived in Canada. Edmonton won in 鈥�84, 鈥�85, 鈥�87, 鈥�88 and 鈥�90, Montreal in 鈥�86 and Calgary in 鈥�89.
Back then, Canada had seven of the NHL鈥檚 21 teams. It鈥檚 now seven of 32, which along with several other factors explains the dry spell. Damphousse pointed to the salary cap as one impediment, including the tax ramifications compared to some U.S. states that lead to some players asking for more money to compensate and handle the pressure of being in a Canadian market where hockey is such a focal point.
鈥淕uys are making a bit more to stay on those teams compared to Florida, to Tampa, to Dallas or even Vegas, where there鈥檚 different tax (rules),鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 what makes it a bit more difficult for the Canadian teams.鈥�
The Oilers have so far been able to build a contender around and Leon Draisaitl, though the latter of their two cornerstones has just one year left on his contract and major questions await no matter the result.
Until then, Muller has been enjoying taking it all in from afar as an assistant coach with Washington.
鈥淚鈥檝e watched lot of playoffs this year,鈥� Muller said 鈥淵ou鈥檙e always looking to get better and why are these two teams in the finals and what do they do well that can help your team? And then just purely as a fan, I think the series has been really exciting and I think the playoffs have been really good.鈥�
It will be a storybook ending either way. The Panthers will bring the Cup to South Florida for the first time in the organization鈥檚 history 鈥� which started months after Montreal won. Or the Oilers will end the drought in the most improbable fashion after losing the first three games of the final and rallying to make this an instant classic.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a beautiful series to watch as a fan,鈥� Damphousse said. 鈥淚鈥檓 cheering for Edmonton.鈥�
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