The Montreal Canadiens have had the most winning seasons (76) of all NHL teams. A little under 82% of the Canadiens seasons have been winning ones. The highest percentage of winning seasons by any current NHL team. Checkout the chart below for a complete tally of winning and losing seasons by team in the NHL.
Winning and Losing Seasons in the NHL
Legend: W (# of winning seasons), L (# of losing seasons), .500 (# of .500/even seasons), % (percentage of W/L/.500 seasons), W Streak (greatest streak of winning seasons), L Streak (greatest streak of losing seasons)
Note: Data only includes regular season records. Includes WHA seasons. Winning/losing seasons determined by points percentage.
NHL seasons span two years and they are usually noted to reflect that (ex: 2010-11). But to avoid clutter I only noted the year at the tail end of the season.
The NHL cancelled the 2004-05 season. Streaks weren’t considered broken because of this.
| Atlantic Division | |||||||||||
| Team | W | % | L | % | .500 | % | W Streak | L Streak | |||
| Devils | 20 | 56% | 16 | 44% | 0 | 0% | 18 (1992-2010) | 13 (1975-87) | |||
| Flyers | 31 | 72% | 11 | 26% | 1 | 2% | 16 (1973-88) | 4 (Last: 1990-94) | |||
| Islanders | 19 | 50% | 18 | 47% | 1 | 3% | 14 (1975-88) | 7 (1995-2001) | |||
| Penguins | 22 | 51% | 21 | 49% | 0 | 0% | 11 (1991-2001) | 8 (1980-87) | |||
| Rangers | 43 | 51% | 39 | 46% | 2 | 2% | 9 (1967-75) | 15 (1943-55) | |||
| Northeast Division | |||||||||||
| Team | W | % | L | % | .500 | % | W Streak | L Streak | |||
| Bruins | 61 | 71% | 25 | 29% | 0 | 0% | 29 (1968-96) | 8 (1960-67) | |||
| Canadiens | 76 | 82% | 16 | 17% | 1 | 1% | 32 (1952-83) | 4 (1939-42) | |||
| Maple Leafs | 55 | 59% | 33 | 35% | 5 | 5% | 10 (1960-69) | 10 (1980-89) | |||
| Sabres | 31 | 78% | 7 | 18% | 2 | 5% | 11 (1975-85) | 2 (1971-72) | |||
| Senators | 12 | 67% | 6 | 33% | 0 | 0% | 12 (1998-2010) | 5 (1993-97) | |||
| Southeast Division | |||||||||||
| Team | W | % | L | % | .500 | % | W Streak | L Streak | |||
| Capitals | 22 | 61% | 14 | 39% | 0 | 0% | 7 (1983-89) | 8 (1975-82) | |||
| Hurricanes | 17 | 45% | 21 | 55% | 0 | 0% | 4 (2006-09) | 8 (1991-98) | |||
| Jets | 3 | 27% | 8 | 73% | 0 | 0% | 2 (2006-07) | 5 (2000-04) | |||
| Lightning | 6 | 33% | 12 | 67% | 0 | 0% | 4 (2003-07) | 6 (1997-2002) | |||
| Panthers | 7 | 41% | 10 | 59% | 0 | 0% | 4 (2006-09) | 4 (2001-04) | |||
| Central Division | |||||||||||
| Team | W | % | L | % | .500 | % | W Streak | L Streak | |||
| Blackhawks | 40 | 48% | 44 | 52% | 0 | 0% | 16 (1961-76) | 14 (1947-60) | |||
| Blue Jackets | 1 | 10% | 9 | 90% | 0 | 0% | No Streak | 7 (2001-08) | |||
| Blues | 24 | 56% | 18 | 42% | 1 | 2% | 8 (1997-2004) | 4 (1976-79) | |||
| Predators | 7 | 58% | 5 | 42% | 0 | 0% | 7 (2004-11) | 5 (1999-2003) | |||
| Red Wings | 46 | 55% | 34 | 40% | 4 | 5% | 19 (1992-2011) | 14 (1974-87) | |||
| Northwest Division | |||||||||||
| Team | W | % | L | % | .500 | % | W Streak | L Streak | |||
| Avalanche | 25 | 66% | 12 | 32% | 1 | 3% | 13 (1995-2008) | 6 (1987-92) | |||
| Canucks | 16 | 40% | 23 | 58% | 1 | 3% | 11 (2000-11) | 15 (1977-91) | |||
| Flames | 24 | 63% | 13 | 34% | 1 | 3% | 8 (1984-91) | 8 (1996-2003) | |||
| Oilers | 21 | 55% | 16 | 42% | 1 | 3% | 9 (1982-90) | 7 (1993-99) | |||
| Wild | 8 | 80% | 2 | 20% | 0 | 0% | 8 (2003-11) | 2 (2001-02) | |||
| Pacific Division | |||||||||||
| Team | W | % | L | % | .500 | % | W Streak | L Streak | |||
| Coyotes | 19 | 50% | 17 | 45% | 2 | 5% | 5 (1975-79) | 4 (2003-07) | |||
| Ducks | 10 | 59% | 7 | 41% | 0 | 0% | 6 (2006-11) | 3 (1994-96) | |||
| Kings | 16 | 37% | 25 | 58% | 2 | 5% | 3 (Last: 2000-02) | 6 (1968-73) | |||
| Sharks | 10 | 53% | 9 | 47% | 0 | 0% | 7 (2004-11) | 8 (1992-99) | |||
| Stars | 23 | 53% | 20 | 47% | 0 | 0% | 14 (1997-11) | 7 (1987-93) | |||
| Highest % / Most Winning Seasons in the NHL | ||||||||
| Highest % of Winning Seasons | Most Winning Seasons | |||||||
| Rk | Team | % | W Sea | Rk | Team | W Sea | % | |
| 1 | Canadiens | 82% | 76 | 1 | Canadiens | 76 | 82% | |
| 2 | Wild | 80% | 8 | 2 | Bruins | 61 | 71% | |
| 3 | Sabres | 78% | 31 | 3 | Maple Leafs | 55 | 59% | |
| 4 | Flyers | 72% | 31 | 4 | Red Wings | 46 | 55% | |
| 5 | Bruins | 71% | 61 | 5 | Rangers | 43 | 51% | |
| Highest % / Most Losing Seasons in the NHL | ||||||||
| Highest % of Losing Seasons | Most Losing Seasons | |||||||
| Rk | Team | % | L Sea | Rk | Team | L Sea | % | |
| 1 | Blue Jackets | 90% | 9 | 1 | Blackhawks | 44 | 52% | |
| 2 | Jets | 73% | 8 | 2 | Rangers | 39 | 46% | |
| 3 | Lightning | 67% | 12 | 3 | Red Wings | 34 | 40% | |
| 4 | Panthers | 59% | 10 | 4 | Maple Leafs | 33 | 35% | |
| 5t | Kings | 58% | 25 | 5t | Bruins | 25 | 29% | |
| 5t | Canucks | 58% | 23 | 5t | Kings | 25 | 58% | |
Winning Season Streaks
The Montreal Canadiens had winning seasons from 1951-52 to 1982-83; 32 consecutive seasons. It’s the most consecutive winning seasons by any team in the NHL.
The Detroit Red Wings currently have the longest active streak of winning seasons in the four major sports leagues (19). Although the New York Yankees of MLB will most likely tie them in a few weeks for the honor.
Losing Season Streaks
The New York Rangers had losing seasons from 1942-43 to 1954-55: 15 consecutive seasons. The Vancouver Canucks also had a streak of 15 losing seasons from 1976-77 to 1990-91. The longest losing season streaks by any current NHL team.
The New York Islanders have the longest current streak of losing seasons in the NHL; 4 consecutive losing seasons since 2007-08.
Reference: Hockey-Reference.com
