Playoff Streaks & Droughts

Hello everyone! Just wanted to say you guys have honestly been killing it with the media so far to start the season. I've always been someone who likes to dip into media here and there, but being out of the league now makes it hard to keep up with new up and coming players. Therefore any media pieces from me are now mostly geared towards veteran players of the league. On the bright side though, they are also different than the usual prediction threads. As you can see by the title, im going to be taking a look at the longest individual playoff streaks and droughts. I only did research for players on an NHL roster for this season, so it is possible that others have longer streaks than the ones I will be talking about. I'll be going over the Top 5 Longest Streaks, Top 5 Longest Droughts, along with a few honourable mentions at the end. For each player ill write a little piece sharing my opinions on the player, what has attributed to their streak, and if I believe their streak will continue. Let's get started with the Top 5 playoff streaks!


Side note: For a player to be considered for making or missing playoffs, they needed to play a full season in the NHL. I did not count seasons where players ECU'd from the AHL or got banned during a season.



#5) 6 straight seasons making playoffs: @AyoDoogs @Hra-ow @ExtraSweetSauce


Starting off with the GM of the New Jersey Devils, @AyoDoogs has yet to miss playoffs since being full time in the NHL starting in S13. Although this is the 5th best streak, there's alot to be impressed with. First off, it's extremely tough to come into the league and make an instant impact on a team but he did just that with a 20 win, 60 point rookie season. It's also extremely tough for your team to make playoffs while you have 6 wins on the season, but the S14 Capitals managed to pull it off. During these 6 seasons, Doogs has also had 5 different owners. To be fair he has been pretty lucky with the owners he's had but usually anyone with consistent playoff appearances is going to be with the same group of guys alot. Finally, Doogs already has 2 Stanley Cup Finals appearances in 6 seasons including a Stanley Cup win in S16 with the Hurricanes. Going into S19, Doogs has decided to take GM for the first time, teaming up with @Gourr- on what might just be the most veteran team ever assembled in LG. If this team was assembled a few years ago, it would probably be the cup favourite. Although that's not the case now, I still believe they will be good enough to make playoffs and extend Doogs' playoff streak to 7 straight seasons.


Next up with 6 straight seasons making the playoffs, we have @Hra-ow who perfectly personifies the underdog making it to the top. Once upon a time Hra was just a little annoying kid who was a 3rd liner spamming people's DMs on discord. Fast forward to S13, he applies for ownership coming off of 3 straight 13 win seasons and a 1-9 playoff record. Like with most non top tier players taking ownership, Hra recieved alot of flak and wasnt at all expected to succeed. As we can see now, Hra put those haters to sleep. 4 seasons as an owner with 4 different GMs, Hra managed to make playoffs all 4 times including 2 2nd round appearances. The following 2 seasons Hra decided to go into bidding. This led to another 2nd round appaerance with the Jets, and then finally after a career best 21 win, 83 point seasosn, a Stanley Cup win with the Capitals in S18. Coming into S19 Hra is putting his playoff streak on the line playing LD for the first time in his LG career. At a whopping 6M contract it may be difficult for the streak to continue, but im expecting Hra and the Leafs to grind their way to being a sneaky good team this season and make playoffs.


The 3rd and final player to have made the playoffs for 6 straight seasons is non other than my son @ExtraSweetSauce . Similar to Hra, Brax was an absolute handful to deal with at times when he first came into the league. At the end of the day though, when he listened to advice and put in the effort to get better, he slowly became one of the better LD's in the league. Unlike Doogs and Hra, Brax spent a majority of his time on the same team, being under my wing for just over 6 seasons on Florida and Arizona. However, even when he moved on to play under Jojo for his next 3 full seasons, he continued having success even with a stint at forwrad last season. Of all players with the longest current playoff streaks, Brax has the most Game 7 experience with 4 appearances and also won the Stanley Cup in S13 with the Coyotes. This season Brax is back on LD, and while he's at a very solid 4.25M contract, the team he is on could make it difficult for his streak to continue. I dont think the Kings are gaurunteed to miss playoffs but I think they need alot of things go go their way and certain players to exceed expectations if they're going to get in. I think Brax is on the type of contract however that playoff teams might want to trade for at the deadline if the Kings are out of the mix. No matter what happens though, it will always be a terrible day to be a blue can! (write up done before start of the season)



#4) 7 straight seasons making playoffs: @newzealandtroak @KyleY12 @Norris Dud


Starting off the 7 season playoff streak Im going to talk about both @newzealandtroak and @KyleY12 together because both of their streaks have the same theme. They make playoffs when on good teams and they get banned when they're not on a good team. Also notable is the success each of them have had playing on a team with @JClaus33 . Kyle has played 6 seasons with Josh, winning 2 Stanley Cups. One in S4 with the Devils (Josh did get banned that season though) and another in S16 with the Hurricanes. Outside of those seasons Kyle has one season played with Desjy as his owner which was a Stanley Cup win for the S6 Blackhawks, and 2 other seasons which he took a ban mid season (Both times he was not on Josh's team). Troak has played 3 seasons with Josh, winning 2 Stanley Cups. One in S9 with the Sabres and the other in S16 along with Kyle on the Hurricances. The 3rd season, Troak and the Sabres fell short in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals to the eventual S10 Cup champion, New York Islanders. In those 3 seasons Troak posted a ridiculous 18-3 playoff record. Troak's other 4 playoff appearances are mixed in with bans he took in S11 and S13. His last full season played where he didnt make playoffs was in S7 with the Senators in which he had a 20 win season and the team finished just outside the playoff picture. In terms of my predictions for these 2, it's pretty simple. Kyle is back on Josh's team this season. He will 99.9% likely make playoffs. As I mentioned with Doogs earlier, the Devils are a veteran squad. Gour is a great manager. I think the Devils find a way to make it. If they implode? Maybe Troak gets banned and continues the trend. (Write up done before start of season)


Also coming into this season with a 7 season playoff streak is @Norris Dud . Without a doubt the most impresive part of Dudester's streak is the fact he's been able to keep it alive while playing all 3 positions. S8 and S9 he played forward, S11 he played goalie, and S15 - S18 he played defence. He didnt have the luxury of being on the same team for long either, playing under 6 different owners in that 7 season span. Like Troak and Kyle too, this streak has been kept alive due to the fact he took a ban in S10 and S12. It's also similar because he was a part of the S9 Sabres team with Troak that won the Stanley Cup. That season was Dudester's worst in which he posted 13 wins and 50 points. Every other season he's been a crucial part of his team's success posting 17 or more wins in each of his other seasons as a skater, and 33 wins as a goalie in S11. Coming into this season Dudester reeled in a very solid 5.5M contract going to what looks to be, a not so solid Boston Bruins team. In LG you never know what can happen but I dont like the odds of this streak continuing if he's on the Bruins all season. Begs the question, could we see another ban incoming? Or does he get moved to a playoff team before the deadline? We'll have to wait and see.



#3) 8 straight seasons making playoffs: @oshlag


Coming in with an 8 season playoff streak we have @oshlag . Although he's coming off a below average season with the Dallas Stars, I believe Oshlag is one of the more underrated C's in the league. He had 5 straight seasons with 15+ wins, eclipsing 60+ points in 3 of them between S11 - S15 and helped the Lightning reach the Stanley Cup finals in S13. He is also capable of playing RD which he proved in S16 with the Vegas Golden Knights, reaching a career high with 20 wins that season. That was his only season at RD and he carried a cap hit of 6.75M. Although it is not his natural position, the fact that he managed to only go for 4M this season completely shocks me. Add to the fact he was won by Tampa Bay, I think Oshlag is going to be a dominant player on the back end this season for the Lightning. If that is the case, Tampa will assuredly make playoffs extending his streak to 9 seasons.



#2) 9 straight seasons making playoffs: @prodigytolegend


@prodigytolegend is the type of player im not surprised to see have this kind of streak. Although it may seem like it would make more sense for top tier owners to be in this range, being a cheap "Glue guy" on a team with great skill and chemistry makes it easy to see why he's here. Prod spent 4 straight seasons with Vancouver and played 2 seasons with Seattle in S12/S13. That's 6 seasons of teams with great skill and alot of chemistry they were able to build over multiple seasons. Despite his breakout season at LD this past season, his other 8 straight seasons which he made playoffs were at forward. In those 8 seasons, Prod only managed to hit the 50 point mark 2 times. A career high 68 in S12, and 56 in S15. He might not be the most elite offensive talent, but at the end of the day he was a great support glue guy that helped his line consistently click. Back at LD for a second straight season, I dont think im expecting 25 wins out of Prod but Vancouver has a solid team once again with alot of returning players. Im expecting they'll make playoffs with ease extending Prod's streak into double digits.



#1) 10 straight seasons making playoffs: @OhhCrosby87


The main reason I decided to do research for this thread will be talked about soon, but I can confidently say this is the last thing I exepcted to find out when I started digging thorugh stats. I had to double check, go to sleep and check the next day, but yes, @OhhCrosby87 has the longest current individual playoff streak on LG PSN at 10 straight seasons. Back in S6 with the Florida Panthers I was part of the group that decided to draft him 37th overall. At the time he was probably one of the most annoying people I had ever come across and I didnt expect him to do well at the NHL level. Through the ups and downs however, Crosby battled his way through critisism, backlash, and even a media piece at one point poking fun at the fact he couldnt win a playoff game over a few seasons. Well..... Look who's laughing now. Traded 19 times in his career, playing on multiple different teams under multiple owners, he continues to beat the odds with 10 straight seasons in the playoffs, and is coming off a career best 21 win season. Pure insanity! This season he finds himself back with the team he made it to the conference finals with last season. While they might have lost a few key players they made some big additions and should make the playoffs with ease extending the streak to an incredible 11 straight seasons! Im on the bandwagon, I hope it happens.



Time for the Top 5 Longest Playoff Droughts! We'll save the best for last



#5) 5 straight seasons missing playoffs: @i-CrAzYLiiSh-i @Wickie 71 @vShot94


@i-CrAzYLiiSh-i is 1 of 3 guys who have missed playoffs for 5 straight seasons. Part of me is not super surprised but Lish is an extremely skilled forward who can make plays and put the puck in the back of the net. Part of the problem might be that he hasnt found the right fit with a team. He's been traded 10 times and outside of a 20 win S13, he hasnt put up elite numbers that you'd expect out of a very skilled #1 LW. The main reason I probably do feel surprised is because of his performnce in the S10 playoffs. A little nostalgia for the veterans of the league who remember when Lish/Lou/Don had some of the most clutch wins in a single playoff run the league has likely ever seen, on route to the 8th seeded Islanders winning the cup. They went through an absolute gauntlet in the first 3 rounds like no other in league history. For anyone new to the league, go check out some of the lines they beat. Coming into this season Lish finds himself on the veteran savy Devils as I've spoken about twice earlier. 2 Streaks on the line with Doogs and Troak, now has a drought to try and end with Lish. We'll see if it happens or if the team implodes.


@Wickie 71 isnt someone I really expected to have on this list but I guess im not entirely surprised. What I am very surpried about is that he has also missed 7 straight seasons on xbox as well. Technically on a 12 season playoff drought, Wickie is actaully a pretty solid player. He's had his ups and downs but not so bad that he should be on a drought like this. S12 he had 20 wins while his team missed playoffs and in S13 his line imploded after an 0-3 week, capped off by a 12-1 beatdown from Colorado's west line. They started the season 6-0 too and I remember playing that line in the first game of my season thinking they were going to dominate the rest of the season. Idk how some of his other teams and seasons have been but what I do know is that Wickie is on a really good Ducks team this season while on a great contract. If he sticks for the entire season, expect the drought to end because there's no reason for that team to miss the playoffs.


I didnt know whether to count @vShot94 's drought as a 5 or a 6 streak considering he didnt actually get banned in S14 but we'll get to that shortly. Either way there's only 3 things I wanna talk about with Shot. Number 1, that drought is extending if he remains on Pittsburgh the whole season. My guess is he doesnt play the full season with the Penguins, but I also dont see him going to a playoff team either, so in other words the drought will likely continue. Secondly, Shot has missed playoffs in 11 of 13 full seasons he's played at the NHL level. Last but not least, he actually had a fantastic chance to end his playoff drought and threw it all away in 1 game. Long story short, in S14 Shot is on Carolina with JClaus as his Owner. He starts the season 7-0-1 but proceeds to have an 0-3 week capped off by a game in which Josh subbed himself last minute into a 3v3 vs my Coyotes. My Yotes ended up winning the game 3-0, I Lost a $120 bet with my 3rd line, and Shot lost his LG career as he was put on waivers soon after the game, stemming from his poor performance that included these 2 infamous moments (Clips linked below) that are absolute gems! He didnt end up playing another game that season and hasnt been on an NHL roster since, until this season where he looks for redemption. Good Luck my dude.

https://clips.twitch.tv/ReliableStylishMangetoutKappaWealth

https://clips.twitch.tv/SpineyDoubtfulDaikonArgieB8



#4) 6 Straight seasons missing playoffs: @AAli x 21 @SLOTTERx9


One of the OG's of the league, @AAli x 21 comes in with a 6 season playoff drought. I have a ton of respect for Ali as we have had our playoff battles in the past, but he is just not the same player as he was when he reached the playoffs in 8 of 9 seasons prior to this drought. It even got so bad that he wasnt allowed to own in S18. If im being honest, I dont think it was totally warranted seeing as there's usually always a few even less deserving players getting ownership each season. It's tough because I dont think he's worth the free contract but he was always able to build a good team around himself. When that stopped happening, things got a little ugly. After 1 season in bidding, Ali has been allowed to own again but I really dont see much changing this season unless alot of guys really step up and over achieve for the Bruins. Another reason for my lack of confidnece is due to the next player I will be talking about.


Also going 6 straight seasons without making the playoffs is Ali's teammate and AGM, @SLOTTERx9 . Slotter's drought actually began when he was on the S11 Coyotes with me. He was a part of a west line on a game where it was a little more difficult to get west host. This caused him and his line not to have the best stats but not the worst either. I still felt like he had potential, and like I had done with other guys in the past, I thought I could work with him to improve his game. Going into S12 it went downhill fast as I got @BOTTERx9 instead of @SLOTTERx9 and shipped him out quickly. 6 seasons later and while i'll still say he's a servicable 3rd pair guy, he hasnt made a great impact outside of a 16 win season in S13. As mentioned, him and Ali are teaming together and they have surrounded themselves with a few west guys. I dont like the odds but we'll see if they can pull a rabbit out of their ass and make playoffs to end their drought.



#3) 7 straight seasons missing playoffs: @Xx LoL xX 9


Although he's past his prime days, @Xx LoL xX 9 is not a name I expected to be on this list and especially with a 7 season drought. In S11 he missed playoffs as a free contract being GM for the Redwings. After that I think the big issue for LoL is that his thumbs started declining faster than his cap hits from bidding. From S12 to S18, his cap hits steadily declined. 10.75, 8.25, 6.75, 5.5, 4.0, 3.0 and finally 2.75 this season. I'd like to think the last 3 cap hits listed are at least reasonable for him as he is coming off a 68 point season, but man has he struggled to put up a good record. It might be even more difficult to put up a good record after being won by Pittsburgh in bidding this season. On the cheapest contract he's ever had (other than his xbox contract this season) since *S19 on xbox* at 1.25M, I could very well see LoL as a great veteran pickup for a playoff team in need of a better 3C. If he struggles on a Penguins team looking destined to be out of the mix, he could be a cheap option especially considering his lack of any recent success on PSN.



#2) 8 straight seasons missing playoffs: @ltsDxstin


With the 2nd longest current playoff drought we have @ltsDxstin at an impressive 8 straight seasons. I should really preface this by saying I dont hate Dustin, but he was without a doubt top 1 least favourite D partners Ive ever played with. There are only a few people who truly know the amount of frustration I was holding back at times when playing with him. With all that being said let's get into this crazy stat. 8 straight seasons he's missed playoffs and the past 7 of those have been at defence. The prior 6 seasons to that, he played forward and made playoffs all 6 seasons. Maybe defence just aint it? Who knows, but Dustin's giving it another go this season. Luckily for him he was dealt prior to the season to the Flames who are led by @Theos-_- and @Akonvict21 . This gives him a remarkable chance of breaking his drought if he manages to play well enough to maintain his spot on the roster. I really wish he wasn't dealt however because I think it would have been hilarious if Pittsburgh had an AHL 3rd line Owner, the player with the 5th longest playoff drought, the player with the 3rd longest playoff drought, the player with the 2nd longest playoff drought, and a GM with the longest playoff drought in LG PSN HISTORY!



#1) 13 straight seasons missing playoffs: @EPICxSKILLZY


Let's get into it! The star of the show. The main reason I decided to do some research and make this thread. @EPICxSKILLZY comes in with the longest playoff drought at 13 straight seasons. This drought is so bad that it is actually more impressive than sad in my opinion. Does anyone truly understand how hard it is to reach a personal 13 season playoff drought in the NHL? Let me break it down for you all and hopefully it doesnt get too confusing. First of all, you need to find yourself on a bad team for 13 straight seasons. That's almost impossible in itself if you really think about it. On top of that, you have to be a bad enough player to poorly impact the results of your team, however you have to be good enough on the bad team to maintain a spot in the NHL. If you're just a bad 3rd liner on a bad team (Maybe outside of @vShot94 ) you're bound to not catch a bid eventually if you're too bad of a player. If you're too good though, odds are you'll have a strong enough impact to eventually help your team to the playoffs, or find a home on a good team that gets into the playoffs. In other words you have to be a remarkably average 2nd liner who either gets overpaid or takes the free contract when not 100% worth it, and have to play just average enough to hurt the team but not your stock as a player. Owner x4, 5M contract x4, 1 season at 3.75M at Forward and Owner x2 at Defence. @EPICxSKILLZY I think you fit the bill perfectly my friend. Going into this season as GM of the Penguins im expecting this streak to hit 14. If I decide to make a comeback next season, my goal is to get EpicSkillzy into the playoffs! Got no hate for you @EPICxSKILLZY you're a good guy with an extremely unfortunate (But impressive) streak, and I feel like it led me to making an entertaining media piece. So I thank you for that!



Before I cap this off I just wanna shoutout a few honourable mentions involving playoff streaks but also some other interesting playoff statistics I've known about or come across in my research.



Honourable Mentions:


@eastons- A staple to the LG PSN scene, Eastons has been here since S1 and has made playoffs a league best 16 of 18 seasons. He made it in 12 straight to start his career before finally missing in S13. The 2 seasons he missed playoffs in? 18 wins with 79 points and 21 wins with 76 points. He will make playoffs this season. Dont fuck it up @I MT98 I .


@JClaus33 Josh has technically only missed playoffs once in S15. If it wasnt for that season, his streak would currently be at 13. It would have likely been even longer if it werent for his ban in S4. The fact that he also made multiple deep playoff runs while taking up 1/3 of his teams cap space for a couple seasons while on NML is absolutely absurd.


@xGianTx A little bit of a different direction with this one. In S17 Giant posted a career best 24-3-1 record with 30 points. The St. Louis Blues, the team he spent the entire season with, went 17-33-4 without him, missing the playoffs by 13 points..... If anyone knows a player with more wins while missing playoffs (Xbox too) lmk.


@Dirtyduster88 Jonah has had 5 playoff appearances in his career and didnt lose a single game until his 5th appearance. Despite having a 12-0 record in his first 4 playoff appearances, the teams he was on have not been able to clutch up and win a cup. Of course Carolina goes on to win the cup the season after he runs out of re signs. Redemption season being back on Carolina for S19? We'll see.


@Levac27 Probably something that likely wont be accomplished again, Levac managed to reach the conference finals in 3 straight seasons between S12-S14 and he did it playing a different position each season. Forward in S11 with the Blue Jackets, goalie with the Lightning in S13 and defence with the Leafs in S14. He was a key piece to each team's playoff success as well, and reached the Cup finals with the Lightning.


@I MT98 I @AyoMoran @xSnipeSter Hopefully im not missing anyone but these are the only Triple Crown winners on PSN having won the Memorial Cup, Calder Cup and Stanley Cup on PSN. This is such a hard feat to accomplish becuase you likely only get 2 shots at the absolute most to win in the CHL. If you're there for much longer you're likely not good enough to get a good shot in the NHL. After that you basically have to be not good enough to make NHL (But still good enough AHL player) or manage an AHL team to a title. The easiest part of the Triple Crown might honestly be winning the Stanley Cup but all in all, very difficult for a player to win all 3.



That was a lot longer than I anticipated it to be but I had a blast doing the research and writing about playoff streaks and droughts. I tried to go in a unique direction outside of the usual media pieces (Which are still great btw) and Im glad I did. For those of you who made it to the end, I appreciate you and really hope you enjoyed it. Lmk what your thoughts are, anything else you'd like to potentially see from me and if you have any sort of cool facts/statistics you would like to share.
I dont know how much effort I personally want to put into media but I do have some interesting ideas in mind that I think would be cool to potentially collab on, or if someone wants to take the reigns and run with them id be ok with that too. Hit me up on Twitter @ MrPurpleCrush or on Discord @ MrPurpleCrush#7827 (Not on there as often anymore) if you're potentially interested. Thank you guys and for those of you doing media pieces, keep killing it! The leauge needs more and they're a ton of fun!

 

Love it man glad to see you kicking around again, great read

 

With all this research you mind as well grab a controller again! Miss having ya around Cody

 

6 straight here and never missed!

 

Great write up dad come home soon

 

Shit man, my bad dude. Was really hoping I didnt miss anyone because there was no shot I was double checking every veteran player in the league. You and @AyoDoogs both tied with the longest streak without missing playoffs once since entering the league. Keep it up this season man.

 

this is dope

 

Baby come back

 

I haven't won a playoff game since S5 that's gotta count for something right

 

Haven’t won a LG title since 2010 on either console

 

looking forward to next season mi amor

 

@owners this is proof having me gets you into playoffs

 

OHHHCROSBYYYYYYYYYYY

 

Honorable mention... Kernsy (G) s6. Only goalie in NHL to ever go 9-0 in a single playoff run!

 

10 straight losses in playoffs. That's tough. Keep battling tho

 

Not for a lack of trying. Multiple playoff appearances with an alright playoff record. Just shows how hard it truly is to win.

 

Im gonna guess this is true but off the top of my head I know that @vOutragEz is a very close 2nd, posting a 9-1 record in S10 playoffs with the Islanders.

 

There was no way I wasn’t mentioned

 

Cody you were a good player and all , you expected me to play like my pro series defensive self when I was out of the loop of the game for seasons just playing for shits . When you were tryna get me on to play I didn’t care about playing in all honesty , now look at the past teams I’ve been on and who I’ve played with . You’d lose your mind trying to play with half of them and 70% of the league would’ve trade requested or begged to get out . You’d be proud I’m finally playing the game again .

 

L act