Since the NHL expanded to 12 teams in 1967-68, thirty-one franchises have played 908 total seasons. If you had to guess, what percentage of those seasons do you think included a 10-game stretch like the Leafs just had, with only one win in regulation? Would you believe 541, or 60%? And how many teams had a 13-game stretch, like the Colorado Avalanche, where they only lost one game or less in regulation? Still a very high 32%. And the number of seasons in which a team did both?! 10.5%.
That seems amazing to me – 1 out of every 10 teams has a stretch that's as bad as the Leafs just had and as good as the Avs just had – in the same season! Even more amazing – six of the last sixteen Stanley Cup winners had both stretches during their championship season.
After the jump, the number of seasons in which each team lost just once in 13 games or won just once in 10 games…
Here are the number of seasons each NHL franchise had a 10-game stretch with one win or less since 1967-68:
| Team | Bad Seasons | Total Seasons | Pct |
| CGS | 10 | 11 | 91 |
| ATL | 8 | 9 | 89 |
| LAK | 36 | 41 | 88 |
| CBJ | 7 | 8 | 88 |
| TBL | 14 | 16 | 88 |
| PHX | 23 | 29 | 79 |
| VAN | 30 | 38 | 79 |
| SJS | 13 | 17 | 76 |
| MIN | 6 | 8 | 75 |
| ANA | 11 | 15 | 73 |
| FLA | 11 | 15 | 73 |
| PIT | 29 | 41 | 71 |
| NJD | 24 | 34 | 71 |
| WSH | 23 | 34 | 68 |
| CAR | 19 | 29 | 66 |
| TOR | 25 | 41 | 61 |
| DAL | 24 | 41 | 59 |
| NYR | 24 | 41 | 59 |
| EDM | 16 | 29 | 55 |
| CHI | 22 | 41 | 54 |
| DET | 22 | 41 | 54 |
| CGY | 19 | 36 | 53 |
| NYI | 19 | 36 | 53 |
| PHI | 21 | 41 | 51 |
| STL | 21 | 41 | 51 |
| NSH | 5 | 10 | 50 |
| OTT | 8 | 16 | 50 |
| COL | 11 | 29 | 38 |
| BUF | 14 | 38 | 37 |
| BOS | 14 | 41 | 34 |
| MTL | 12 | 41 | 29 |
The Leafs are right in the middle in terms of fan suffering. Folding the California Golden Seals/Cleveland Barons was probably a good idea.
And on the positive side:
| Team | Good Seasons | Total Seasons | Pct |
| MTL | 25 | 41 | 61 |
| OTT | 9 | 16 | 56 |
| PHI | 22 | 41 | 54 |
| BOS | 20 | 41 | 49 |
| EDM | 14 | 29 | 48 |
| CGY | 17 | 36 | 47 |
| BUF | 16 | 38 | 42 |
| NYR | 17 | 41 | 41 |
| DET | 17 | 41 | 41 |
| COL | 12 | 29 | 41 |
| CHI | 14 | 41 | 34 |
| NJD | 11 | 34 | 32 |
| WSH | 10 | 34 | 29 |
| NYI | 10 | 36 | 28 |
| PIT | 11 | 41 | 27 |
| STL | 11 | 41 | 27 |
| DAL | 10 | 41 | 24 |
| SJS | 4 | 17 | 24 |
| PHX | 6 | 29 | 21 |
| ANA | 3 | 15 | 20 |
| FLA | 3 | 15 | 20 |
| TBL | 3 | 16 | 19 |
| LAK | 7 | 41 | 17 |
| TOR | 7 | 41 | 17 |
| VAN | 6 | 38 | 16 |
| MIN | 1 | 8 | 13 |
| CAR | 3 | 29 | 10 |
| NSH | 1 | 10 | 10 |
| CGS | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| ATL | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| CBJ | 0 | 8 | 0 |
It certainly has been nice to be a Montreal Canadiens fan these last 41 years…
