Gary Bettman was in his 1st season as Commissioner of the National Hockey League.
No team based in Canada has won the Stanley Cup since.
In the immortal words of NCIS' Leroy Jethro Gibbs (played by ex-football quarterback Mark Harmon), "Rule Number 39: There is no such thing as coincidence."
1994: The Vancouver Canucks reached the Finals, and came back from a 3-1 deficit against the New York Rangers to force a Game 7, but lost.
2004: It had taken 10 years for another Canada-based team to reach the Finals. (The Buffalo Sabres reached in 1999, and even they kinda got screwed, but, despite various circumstances that make such confusion understandable, Buffalo is not in Canada.) The Calgary Flames led 3-2, but got screwed in Game 6, and lost in Game 7.
2006: The Edmonton Oilers reached the Finals, but lost Game 7.
2007: The Ottawa Senators reached the Finals, but lost in 5 games.
2011: The Canucks made the Finals again, but lost Game 6 after the Boston Bruins let the ice melt a little at the TD Garden, slowing things down. Not officially "cheating," but the sort of thing the Boston Celtics did at the old Boston Garden. The Bruins won Game 7 in Vancouver.
Meanwhile, such Southern and Western U.S. teams as the Colorado Avalanche (1996 and 2001), the Dallas Stars (1999), the Tampa Bay Lightning (2004), the Raleigh-based Carolina Hurricanes (2006), the Anaheim Ducks (2007) and the Los Angeles Kings (2012 and 2014). In addition, Sun Belt teams reached the Finals but lost in 1996 (the Miami area's Florida Panthers), 2000 (the Stars again), 2002 (the Hurricanes), 2003 (the Ducks), 2015 (the Lightning again), 2016 (the San Jose Sharks), 2017 (the Nashville Predators) and 2018 (the Vegas Golden Knights).
Of those 10 Southern and Western teams, only 1, Los Angeles, had played in their current city prior to 1991. Much of that tilting of the NHL away from the country that gave birth to it has been Bettman's doing:
* 1993: The Minnesota North Stars were moved to become the Dallas Stars.
* 1995: The Quebec Nordiques were moved to become the Colorado Avalanche, and a rumor went around that the New Jersey Devils would be moved to Nashville, but that didn't happen. It was a rare back-down by Bettman.
* 1996: The original Winnipeg Jets were moved to become the Phoenix Coyotes, now the Arizona Coyotes. This was only partially mitigated by one of Bettman's Sun Belt teams, the Atlanta Thrashers, failing, and moving to become the new Winnipeg Jets.
* 1997: The Hartford Whalers were moved to become the Carolina Hurricanes.
Does Bettman really believe that the future of the NHL is in the Sun Belt, rather than in Canada? It is true that the Stars, the Lightning, the Predators, and all 3 California teams have done well for a while, and the early success of the Golden Knights suggests the same.
But the Coyotes, the Hurricanes and the Panthers are failing in the Sun Belt. But Bettman hasn't allowed any of them to move to Quebec City (which has a new arena), Hartford (which doesn't), or Seattle (which, at least, is working on it).
UPDATE: Bettman allowed an expansion team for Seattle, to begin play in the 2021-22 season, rather than let one of the failing Sun Belt teams to move there.
Meanwhile, no Canadian team has won the Cup since the Canadiens, on June 9, 1993, 25 years ago today. How long has that been?
*
The Canadiens featured 2 players who are already in the Hockey Hall of Fame, goaltender Patrick Roy and center Denis Savard; and 5 others who should be seriously considered: Centers Guy Carbonneau and Vincent Damphousse, left wing John LeClair, and defensemen Mathieu Schneider and Eric Desjardins.
Ties were still possible in NHL regular-season games. The penalty shootout was not being seriously considered. NHL players were not yet eligible for the national teams in the Winter Olympics.
Madison Square Garden in New York and the Saddledome in Calgary are the only arenas still in use by NHL teams that were in use in the 1992-93 season. The only ones in the NBA were Garden and what's now called the Oracle Arena in Oakland, and that's got only 1 more season before the Golden State Warriors move back across the Bay to San Francisco. Only 7 NFL stadiums in use then are in use now (and one of them is used by a different team), and 9 MLB stadiums.
The New York Rangers hadn't won the Stanley Cup in 53 years. They now have. The Detroit Red Wings hadn't won it in 38 years. They have since won 4. The Chicago Blackhawks hadn't won it in 32 years. They have since won 3. The Boston Bruins hadn't won it in 21 years. They have since won 1. The Toronto Maple Leafs hadn't won it in 26 years. They... uh, let's move on.
The Devils, the team then known as the Quebec Nordiques, the team then known as the Minnesota North Stars, the Tampa Bay Lightning, the team then known as the Hartford Whalers, the Anaheim Ducks, the Los Angeles Kings and the Washington Capitals had never won the Stanley Cup.
The Devils, the Nords, the Kings, the Florida Panthers, the Whalers, the Ducks, the Caps, the Lightning, the new Ottawa Senators, the San Jose Sharks, the Nashville Predators and the Vegas Golden Knights had never reached the Stanley Cup Finals.
The North Stars hadn't yet moved to become the Dallas Stars. The Nords hadn't yet moved to become the Colorado Avalanche. The Whalers hadn't yet moved to become the Carolina Hurricanes. The Winnipeg Jets hadn't yet moved to become the Phoenix, now Arizona, Coyotes. The Panthers, the Ducks, the Predators, the Atlanta Thrashers, the Minnesota Wild, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Golden Knights didn't even exist yet. And the Thrashers hadn't yet moved to become the new Winnipeg Jets.
All those facts have since changed.
Hockey legends Murray Murdoch, Red Horner, Mush March, Toe Blake, Lorne Carr, Syl Apps, Harry Watson and Maurice Richard were still alive.
Most of the defining hockey figures of my childhood were now in the Hall of Fame: Bobby Orr, Ken Dryden, Phil Esposito, Bobby Clarke, Darryl Sittler, Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin, Guy Lafleur. Larry Robinson was newly retired, and Bryan Trottier was wrapping up his career.
Martin Brodeur had just finished his rookie season with the Devils. Patrik Elias and Zdeno Chara were in Czechoslovakia's version of high school -- and the country had just split up into the Czech Republic (Elias) and Slovakia (Chara).
Henrik Zetterberg was 12 years old, Henrik Lundqvist 11, Andy Greene 10; Rick Nash and Marc-Andre Fleury 8; Alexander Ovechkin and Jonathan Quick 7; Evgeni Malkin and T.J. Oshie 6; Sidney Crosby, Carey Price, Claude Giroux and Jonathan Toews 5; Sergei Bobrovsky, Patrick Kane and P.K. Subban 4; Keith Kinkaid was about to turn 4; Ryan McDonagh and Steven Stamkos 3; John Tavares 2; Aretemi Panarin and Taylor Hall 1 1/2; and Connor McDavid and Nico Hischier hadn't been born yet.
Doug Weight, the recently-fired and not-yet-replaced the head coach of the Islanders, was playing for... the Rangers. David Quinn of the Rangers was playing for the minor-league Cleveland Lumberjacks. John Hynes of the Devils was in high school. So was Mickey Callaway of the Mets.
Pat Shurmur of the Giants was an assistant coach at Michigan State. Todd Bowles of the Jets was playing for the Washington Redskins. Kenny Atkinson of the Nets was playing in Spain's basketball league. Aaron Boone of the Yankees was at the University of Southern California. Jesse Marsch of the Red Bulls was at Princeton University. David Fizdale of the Knicks was at the University of San Diego. And Patrick Vieira of NYCFC was in the youth system of French club Tours FC.
The defending World Champions were the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Dallas Cowboys and the Chicago Bulls. Riddick Bowe was the Heavyweight Champion of the World. The Olympic Games have since been held in America twice, Norway, Japan, Australia, Greece, Italy, China, Canada, Britain and Russia. Soccer's World Cup has since been held in America, France, Japan, Korea, Germany, South Africa and Brazil.
The idea that corporations were "people," and entitled to the rights and protections thereof, was considered ridiculous. Then again, so was the idea that two people of the same gender could marry each other with all the rights and protections of marriage. Of the 9 Justices then on the U.S. Supreme Court, only 2 remain: Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas, although Ruth Bader Ginsburg was days away from being appointed to the vacancy in the seat of the retiring Byron White.
The President of the United States was Bill Clinton -- who, of course, was married to Hillary Clinton. Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, their wives, and the widows of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson were all still alive.
George W. Bush was 47, failing as owner of baseball's Texas Rangers, already a 3-times-failed businessman and a once-failed candidate for Congress, and was wondering what he was going to do with his life. Barack Obama was a civil rights attorney in Chicago, who had not yet run for public office. His wife Michelle was running a nonprofit organization.
Donald Trump was preparing to divorce Wife 1, Ivana Trump, and marry Wife 2, Marla Maples. Guests at the wedding included Rosie O'Donnell and O.J. Simpson. That's how long ago this was: Not only did The Donald have only 1 wife by this point, but he was still friends with both Rosie and O.J., and nobody thought that was a bad thing. Melania Knauss was modeling and in college.
The Governor of the State of New York was Mario Cuomo; his son, Andrew, now Governor himself, was then Assistant Secretary of Housing & Urban Development. The Mayor of the City of New York was David Dinkins, but he was about to lose the office to Rudy Giuliani; the current Mayor, Bill de Blasio, was then an aide to Dinkins.
The Prime Minister of Canada was Kim Campbell, who had just taken office, and was thus left to take the battering in a federal election because outgoing PM Brian Mulroney was a coward. Jean Chretien would soon be Prime Minister.
The monarch of Canada, and of Great Britain, was Queen Elizabeth II -- that hasn't changed -- but the Prime Minister was John Major. Manchester United had won England's Premier League the previous spring, while Arsenal became the 1st team ever to take both domestic cup competitions: The FA Cup and the League Cup.
There were still living veterans of the Spanish-American War and the Easter Rising. The last veteran of the Boer War had just died. There were still living people who had survived the Johnstown Flood of 1889, the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, and the sinkings of the PS General Slocum, the RMS
Titanic, the RMS Empress of Ireland, the SS Eastland and the RMS Lusitania.
The holder of the Nobel Peace Prize, perhaps dubiously, was Rigoberta Menchú. The Pope was John Paul II. The current Pope, Francis, was Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Bishop of Oca in Spain. There have since been 4 Presidents of the United States, 5 Prime Ministers of Britain, and 3 Popes.
Major novels of 1993 included Honor Among Thieves by Jeffrey Archer, Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle, Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel, The Client by John Grisham, Death In the Andes by Maria Vargas Llosa, and Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh. Historian Stephen Ambrose published Band of Brothers, immortalizing a U.S. Army unit marching through Europe in World War II.
Stephen King was writing Insomnia. George R.R. Martin had begun writing the 1st book in his A Song of Ice and Fire series, whose title would be given to the entire HBO series based on the books: A Game of Thrones. J.K. Rowling was working on her 1st Harry Potter novel, and about to have her 1st child. No one had yet heard of Bridget Jones, Robert Langdon, Lisbeth Salander, Bella Swan or Katniss Everdeen.
Major films premiering in the Spring of 1993 included the baseball-themed The Sandlot, the Presidential take on the "Prince and the Pauper" story Dave, the video game adaptation Super Mario Bros., Indecent Proposal, Lost In Yonkers, Cliffhanger, The Last Action Hero, and, most notably, Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park.
The James Bond franchise was in transition, with Pierce Brosnan about to be cast. The Doctor Who franchise was also in transition, and Sylvester McCoy was still the most recent Doctor. Superman films were in "development hell," while Michael Keaton would not be brought back for a 3rd film as Batman.
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, Homicide: Life on the Street, Beavis and Butt-head and Walker, Texas Ranger had all recently debuted. Doogie Howser, M.D., Major Dad, Reasonable Doubts, Quantum Leap, The Wonder Years, Knots Landing, Cheers, Saved by the Bell, Life Goes On and Designing Women had all aired their last first-run episodes.
No one had yet heard of Andy Sipowicz, Ross Geller & Rachel Greene, Doug Ross, Xena, Carrie Bradshaw, Tony Soprano, Jed Bartlet, Jack Bauer, Omar Little, Leroy Jethro Gibbs, Michael Bluth, Michael Scott, Don Draper, Walter White, Jax Teller, Richard Castle, Leslie Knope, Sarah Manning or Jane "Eleven" Hopper.
The Number 1 song in America was "That's the Way Love Goes" by Janet Jackson. Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and Vince Welnick of The Grateful Dead had recently sung "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the San Francisco Giants' home opener. Donald Trump couldn't be reached for comment.
Paul McCartney headlined an Earth Day concert at the Hollywood Bowl, where he'd performed with the Beatles in 1964 and 1965. With him were fellow former Beatle Ringo Starr, former Eagle Don Henley, and Steve Miller. A Broadway musical version of The Who's rock opera Tommy opened. Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles married screenwriter Jay Roach, and they're still together; while Mariah Carey married her boss, Tommy Mottola, but it didn't last long; and Lisa Bonet divorced Lenny Kravitz.
Frank Sinatra was just about to begin recording his last great album, Duets. Elvis Presley's stamp was newly-released. Bob Dylan was recording his album World Gone Wrong. Michael Jackson launched the last tour he would have before the black cloud that would hang over the rest of his life would arrived.
Inflation was such that what $1.00 bought then, $1.75 would buy now. A U.S. postage stamp cost 29 cents, and a New York Subway ride $1.25. The average price of a gallon of gas was $1.17, a cup of coffee $1.65, a McDonald's meal (Big Mac, fries, shake) $5.30, a movie ticket $4.12, a new car $16,829, and a new house $148,900. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed that day at 3,507.78.
The tallest building in the world was the Sears Tower in Chicago. Personal computers were now everywhere, but most people still hadn't heard of the Internet. There was America Online, but no Netscape, no Facebook, no Twitter, no Instagram, no Pinterest, no Wikipedia, no Skype. There were mobile telephones, but they were still of the flip-open variety, and roughly the size of the original Star Trek series' communicators. There were birth control pills, but no Viagra.
In the Spring of 1993, the entire national soccer team of Zambia was killed in a plane crash. Eritrea declared independence from Ethiopia. President Ranasinghe Premadasa of Sri Lanka was assassinated. Mongolia held its 1st direct elections. Juan Carlos Wasmosy was sworn in as the 1st democratically elected President of Paraguay in 39 years. And New Jersey Nets star Dražen Petrović was killed in a car crash in Germany.
In America, auto racer Alan Kulwicki was killed in a crash -- not of a race car, but of a plane, in Tennessee. And outside Waco, Texas, David Koresh, a pedophile, bigamist and gun nut with a messianic complex ordered the murder of his 75 remaining Branch Davidian followers, and committed suicide, rather than accept arrest by the federal government.
Pat Nixon, and Conway Twitty, and Roy Campanella died. Ariana Grande, and Miguel Sanó, and Romelu Lukaku were born.
June 9, 1993: The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup. In the 101 times that the Cup had been awarded, it was the 74th time it had been awarded to a team in Canada.
It has not happened since.
Will a team in Canada win it in 2019? In 2020? At any time during whatever remains of Gary Bettman's tenure as Commissioner? I wouldn't count on it.
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