Predicting when every NHL team will win its next Stanley Cup

Ottawa Senators

At this rate, it may never happen.

The Ottawa Senators are one of those select teams that have never won a Stanley Cup and things have not been appealing lately in Ottawa. The team is on the verge of trading away one of its greatest franchise players of all-time in Erik Karlsson, and while the Sens believe the trade could benefit them for the better down the road – it doesn’t always work out that way.

Yes, the Senators’ 2018 fourth-overall draft pick in Brady Tkachuk appears to be the type of player that Ottawa can build around, but it’s going to take more than that to compete in the Eastern Conference.

It’s possible that the Ottawa has their franchise goaltender with the young Filip Gustavsson, but is the timing right for he and a group of future Sens to compete for a Cup?

Hypothetically speaking, let’s give the Senators a break, because stranger things have happened in the world of sports – the Vegas Knights are a prime example, too.

If Ottawa can cash in on the Karlsson trade, plus groom Tkachuk, Gustavsson and company then maybe the Sens are closer than NHL fans alike think. Trading Matt Duchene as soon as possible wouldn’t hurt the Sens’ chances to reach a Cup Final sooner, either. Duchene is set to become an unrestricted free agent after 2019.

Yet, “close” is still a minimum of eight years away. The next two drafts will be key in the process, and so are Gustavsson and Tkachuk. The Ottawa Senators first Stanley Cup championship will take place in 2028.