2025 Old Guy Without a Cup rankings: John Tavares, Brock Nelson and more

Its tough times for OGWAC fans.

I wont sugarcoat it.

Its been a bumpy year for us here in the OGWAC world.

For those of you who are new, that would be Old Guys Without a Cup, the beloved NHL playoff trope thats served up classic stories like Ray Bourque, Teemu Selanne and Lanny McDonald.

Everyone loves an OGWAC story especially one that ends with a Stanley Cup.

It happened last year, with Kyle Okposo.

He won his first Cup at age 36 in what would turn out to be the final game of his 17-season career.

But while seeing Okposo get his lap with the Cup was a great moment, its been largely downhill since then for the OGWAC community.

We lost Joe Pavelski, the patron saint of active OGWACs, to retirement.

Weve also said goodbye to Zach Parise, Sam Gagner, Blake Wheeler and Mark Giordano.

And this years playoff field means we cant root for names like Chris Kreider, Anders Lee or Tyler Myers.

Advertisement That said, change can be good, even when it comes to old guys.

All those absences should clear the way for some new names on this years list, and maybe a few older ones we havent seen in a while.

Lets see where this takes us.

The criteria remain the same as previous years: A player is old if theyve been in the league for at least 10 seasons and will be at least 33 when the Cup is awarded.

The older the better, and while well consider everyone, we prefer OGWAC stories that feature players who are actually contributing, preferably to a legitimate contender.

Bonus points if the player has had an agonizing near-miss or two in their past.

I went into this wondering if all that turnover meant wed even be able to find 20 names, but that didnt turn out to be a problem.

Lets start the list and see who earns the top spot Pavelski held for the last few years.

20.

Nate Schmidt, Panthers Schmidt fills a small but important sub-archetype in the OGWAC world: The guy without a Cup on a team that just won, meaning pretty much everyone else in the room has a ring except you.

Schmidt had an impressive near-miss in 2018, when he went from Washington to Vegas just in time for the former to beat the latter in the Final.

19.

Taylor Hall, Hurricanes Despite somehow playing in his 15th season, Hall only crossed our age-33 qualifying line this season.

Hes never really come close to a Cup, making it out of the first round just once (with the Bruins in 2021) while missing entirely nine times.

The former MVP feels like a forgotten man in Carolina this year Im guessing at least a few of you had an oh yeah moment when you saw his name and hes not even the best option on his own team.

But we love to welcome a new name here at OGWAC headquarters, so Hall has to make the list.

18.

Brendan Gallagher, Canadiens Another first-time OGWAC, Gallagher wont turn 33 until the first week of May.

Montreal will probably be out by then, but if not, this lifetime Hab has the advantage of being the only OGWAC option in town.

Advertisement 17.

Jacob Markstrom, Devils Goalies make for tricky OGWAC cases, for reasons Ive never quite been able to figure out.

You could argue theres never been a truly great goalie OGWAC; the best was probably Dominik Hasek with the 2002 Red Wings, but that didnt seem to resonate with fans nearly as much as Bourque had a year earlier.

Still, Markstrom is 35 and in his 15th season, and hes been a friend of the column ever since the shutout incident , so well make him one of two goalies on todays list.

16.

Brandon Tanev, Jets 15.

Chris Tanev, Maple Leafs The Tanev boys, the rare OBWACs, have combined for 25 seasons without a ring.

Big brother Chris came the closest, losing Game 7 in the Final as a rookie for the 2011 Canucks.

They say you never know if youll get that close again, and so far, neither brother has.

Lets not try to think about what it would be like if they faced each other in this years Final.

14.

Cam Atkinson, Lightning Luke Glendening represented the Lightning on last years list, and he still has a solid case.

But Im going to go with whats admittedly a higher-risk pick as Tampas rep this year.

Atkinson will turn 36 during the Final, and has only been out of the first round once in a 14-year career that includes a full season lost to injury.

He spent a chunk of this year in the AHL and was only recalled at the very end of the season, so theres a good chance we dont even see him much in the Lightning lineup.

But that also makes this feel like the very last chance for a player whos had to overcome a ton for one more shot.

13.

Adam Henrique, Oilers 12.

Jeff Skinner, Oilers The Oilers were tricky.

I made the tough decision to drop Mattias Ekholm from this years list, as its starting to sound like he may not be healthy enough to contribute to an Oilers run.

Derek Ryan also just missed out, and I refuse to acknowledge that Zach Hyman is now old enough to be old even though hell turn 33 during the Final.

Advertisement That leaves Henrique, still chasing a Cup in his 15th season.

Hes been to the Final twice, with the 2012 Devils and of course last years Oilers.

With just one year left on his current contract, the clock is ticking.

And then theres Skinner, the ultra-rare OGWAC whos also making his playoff debut despite being in the league for 15 years.

11.

Freddie Andersen, Hurricanes Our lists second goaltender, the 35-year-old Andersen ranks ahead of Markstrom based on the playoff narrative thats haunted him over his dozen seasons.

Mix in his health troubles the last few years, and hes an easy story to root for.

10.

Marcus Foligno, Wild 9.

Jared Spurgeon, Wild The Wild have taken over from the Stars as the most OGWAC-stacked team in the league; theyve also got Jon Merrill, Marcus Johansson, Gustav Nyquist and one more name well get to in a bit.

But Foligno and Spurgeon are both great stories, forming the teams leadership core while combining for 29 Cup-less years.

8.

John Tavares, Maple Leafs This is his 16th season and second as a qualified OGWAC.

It will be his 10th trip to the playoffs, but the first since 2013 in which hes not his teams captain.

Thats actually a good thing for our purposes, since part of any great OGWAC story is seeing a guy get that first Cup handoff honor.

You cant do that if youre the captain.

You also cant do that if youre a Maple Leaf, apparently, but well keep Tavares on the list anyway.

7.

Matt Duchene, Stars 6.

Jamie Benn, Stars Dallas has spent the last few years collecting OGWACs, even as Pavelski was the clear top story.

His retirement frees up some breathing room for Duchene and Benn, two veterans whove taken different paths to get here.

The 34-year-old Duchene has bounced around five different teams, while 35-year-old Benn has never played anywhere else.

Both are taking what could be their last swings in Dallas.

5.

Mats Zuccarello, Wild Hes 37 in his 15th season and, more importantly, hes so adorably tiny that hes easy to root for.

He went to the Final with the Rangers over a decade ago and has been trying to get back ever since.

It will take a series of upsets for him to get there, but hes used to playing the underdog.

By the way, since I know some of you are wondering, there are three playoff teams missing from this years list.

The Kings and Golden Knights dont have any OGWACs on their roster, while the Capitals had Nic Dowd and Dylan McIlrath as honorable mentions.

Advertisement 4.

Ryan Suter, Blues Its a very OGWAC-y blue line in St.

Louis, where Cam Fowler and Justin Faulk also qualify.

But Suter, the leagues oldest OGWAC, has been a mainstay on this list for years.

Now 40, hes been in the league for two decades without ever playing in a Final.

It would take a miracle run for him to get there this year, but the Blues have shocked us before.

3.

Claude Giroux, Senators With all due respect to teammates Travis Hamonic and Nick Jensen, theres not much doubt over wholl suck up all the OGWAC oxygen in Ottawa if the Senators can make a run.

Giroux is 37 and in his 18th season, and came within two wins of a Cup with the Flyers back in 2010.

Hes a popular player who chose to join his hometown team rather than chase rings as a hired gun, and if the Senators had just slightly better odds of winning it all, he might be in the mix for top spot.

2.

Brock Nelson, Avalanche We saw one beloved former Islander win his first Cup after a deadline deal to a contender last year.

Unlike Okposo, Nelson didnt need to make a stop in Buffalo first, but hell be looking to pull off a similar storyline.

His odds arent bad on a stacked Avalanche team.

Its not his last shot, because hes only 33.

But well give him OGWAC bonus points because he looks 58.

1.

Brent Burns, Hurricanes Hes waited patiently for the top spot to open up, and now its his.

And in a way, its fitting that the OGWAC torch continues to be passed to former Sharks, going from Joe Thornton to Pavelski and now to Burns.

At 40, Burns is one of the oldest players left in the league, and the only one on our list who made his NHL debut in the pre-cap era.

Hes now in his 21st season and will be appearing in his 12th playoff run.

He fell just short with San Jose in the 2016 Final and has two other trips to the conference finals since.

Advertisement In addition to playing at a Norris Trophy level, hes been one of the leagues more entertaining characters over the years.

But now hes in the final year of his contract and his play has fallen off.

Is this his last shot at the Cup thats eluded him? Does he join former teammates Thornton and Pavelski on the all-time never won it all roster? Maybe, but hes got a shot to rewrite his own story in the coming weeks.

And really, thats all any OGWAC can ask for.

(Photos of John Tavares and Brock Nelson: John E.

Sokolowski and Talia Sprague / Imagn Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article.