Who says no one ever remembers who finished second?
I'm not only going to attempt to remember and honour players that finished "second," but I'll even build a team using only players that never got the chance to hoist Lord Stanley's Mug in their careers.
Some of these players never even got to taste a loss in the finals, but they had quality, if not spectacular, careers on an individual level. However, the ultimate team success escaped them.
As always when I create my fantasy teams (see my article here) I try to abide by certain restrictions to make the choices a bit tougher as well as more accurate.
So once again the roster will be filled with players being slotted in their natural positions. (The Internet Hockey Database or Wikipedia will be used as the sources.)
One other factor for the selection of my fantasy team will be that I'll stick to players I witnessed play in the NHL before they retired (1983-present). Also, the players would have to have played at least a decade in the league.
Let's get started with the goaltenders. This was a tough duo to select because most of the great, or even good, NHL goalies have sipped from the Cup and a few quality ones haven't retired yet, like Joseph and Kolzig.
G—Ron Hextall
He won the Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) on a losing team in 1987.
G—Sean Burke
He was a very solid goaltender, but played on very bad teams.
Honorable mention to Kirk MacLean, John Vanbiesbrouck, Pete Peeters, and Mike Liut.
On defense,"Team Cup-less" would be quite formidable with this group of six.
D—Doug Wilson
With his booming shot from the point, he tallied 237 goals in his 16-year career, and collected a Norris Trophy. But, I'm sure he would trade every goal and that trophy for one Stanley Cup.
D—Craig Hartsburg
He was a steady and solid defender in the NHL, but was unable to capture a Stanley Cup. Hartsburg played 10 seasons, all with Minnesota, collecting 413 points along the way.
D—Phil Housley
He was one of the best all-time offensive rear-guards ever to skate in the NHL. He tallied 1,232 points in his 22-year career. Unfortunately for Housley, he spent much of that time with teams that were never cup contenders.
D—Borje Salming
He was considered the pioneer for Swedish born players that come to North America to earn a living in the NHL. However, he spent 16 of his 17 seasons on very poor Toronto Maple Leaf teams.
D—Randy Carlyle
He broke into the NHL in 1976 and retired after the 1992-93 season, while playing with the Winnipeg Jets. Carlyle was awarded the James Norris Trophy in 1981, but never came close to winning a Stanley Cup.
D—Mark Howe
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