A Stanley Cup championship is the ultimate goal for every NHL player, including goaltenders.
Yet, some of the league's greatest goaltenders from the past and present have never had the opportunity to hoist the Cup.
Despite having all the tools, their on-ice careers never led to a championship. While there’s still time for at least one player on this list to win it all, for the others, that time has come and gone.
Here are the top five NHL goalies who have never won a Stanley Cup during their playing career.
5. Curtis Joseph
Curtis Joseph, a.k.a ‘Cujo,’ is one of the most underappreciated goalies in NHL history. He played for six different NHL teams throughout his career, and it’s fair to argue that on some of those rosters, he was the team’s best player.
Undrafted, he began his career with the St. Louis Blues in 1989-90, playing there until 1995. He later joined the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs before playing the rest of his career in Detroit, Phoenix and back in Toronto.
In 943 regular-season games, Joseph had a 454-352-90-6 record, 2.79 goals-against average, .906 save percentage and 51 shutouts. The 1999-2000 King Clancy Trophy winner also had a 63-66 record, 2.42 GAA, .917 SP and 16 shutouts in 133 playoff games.
Joseph’s career included deep runs with the Maple Leafs in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Those teams ran into playoff powerhouses, such as the New Jersey Devils, Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes.
4. Henrik Lundqvist
Henrik Lundqvist will be remembered as arguably the best goaltender in New York Rangers history. He delivered 11 30-win seasons in his first 12 years – the one year he didn’t reach 30 wins was the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign, when he went 24-16-3. Lundqvist also won the Vezina Trophy in 2011-12, when he had a 39-18-5 record, 1.97 GAA, .930 SP and eight shutouts.
Still, he never won the Stanley Cup.
The Hockey Hall of Famer got as far as the 2013-14 Stanley Cup final against the Los Angeles Kings. Despite recording a 2.14 GAA and .927 SP in that post-season, Lundqvist’s Rangers lost the final in six games.
3. Roberto Luongo
Roberto Luongo has won the Stanley Cup twice, but not during his playing career.
Luongo’s been a special assistant to the GM with the Florida Panthers since 2019-20, winning the Cup in 2023-24 and 2024-25.
As a Hall of Fame netminder, he got close but didn’t win it all. He took the 2010-11 Vancouver Canucks to a Game 7 loss in the Stanley Cup final before the team became less of a contender in his final seasons there. Luongo's career took a turn when he rejoined the Panthers, but this was before they became the elite franchise they are today.
Luongo’s 489 regular-season wins are the most among NHL goalies who have not won the Cup as a player.
2. Carey Price
Carey Price carried the Montreal Canadiens before they embraced a full rebuild. He took them through deep playoff runs – including to the 2020-21 final against the Tampa Bay Lightning – but the team was never able to provide him with the right surrounding cast before injuries derailed his NHL career.
Price had 361 wins with a career .917 save percentage and 2.51 GAA. It’s a shame he’s no longer able to play in the NHL, given that the team is trending in the right direction with young, talented players who could turn that franchise into a Cup contender in the next few seasons.
1. Connor Hellebuyck
Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck is the only remaining active player in this list. Considering the Jets are the defending Presidents’ Trophy winners, they’re in their Cup-contending window, and Hellebuyck remains in top form.
Hellebuyck, 32, has won the Vezina Trophy three times, the Jennings Trophy twice and the Hart Trophy once. He has a career 2.56 GAA, .918 SP and 45 shutouts with a 322-185-44 record.
The Jets have advanced past the second round just once in Hellebuyck’s decade-long career. Will this be the season they get over the hump?
Honorable Mention: Ron Hextall
Ron Hextall was one of the most entertaining goaltenders in the NHL and arguably one of the better netminders of his era. His best chance at winning the Stanley Cup came in the 1987 final, but his Philadelphia Flyers were up against the dynasty Edmonton Oilers, which dominated the NHL, winning Stanley Cups four times in five seasons. The Oilers beat the Flyers in seven games, but Hextall still earned the Conn Smythe Trophy for a 15-11 record, 2.76 GAA and .908 SP.
Hextall got another Cup final appearance in 1997, but the Flyers lost to the Detroit Red Wings in four games.
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