Shawn Horcoff remembers a pat on the back as he was pumping gas.

Wade Redden will never forget the throngs of fans waiting at the airport.

Jannik Hansen couldnB次元官网网址檛 walk down a grocery store aisle without getting an appreciative nod or a few words of encouragement.

Playing for a Canadian NHL team is a different animal.

Going on a long playoff run B次元官网网址� one that culminates in a Stanley Cup appearance B次元官网网址� in those hockey-mad cities is next level.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers were eliminated in the second round of this yearB次元官网网址檚 playoffs to stretch CanadaB次元官网网址檚 title drought to a head-scratching 30 years.

Yes, itB次元官网网址檚 been three decades since the Montreal Canadiens, led by PatrickB次元官网网址檚 Roy brilliance and accented by an incredible 10 straight overtime victories, celebrated in front of their fans under 23 other championship banners at the Forum.

Six groups of players on clubs north of the border have come agonizingly close since that warm night in June 1993.

None have ascended the mountain, but the memories of those failed Cup quests B次元官网网址� both good and bad B次元官网网址� live on.

B次元官网网址淓very person in that city was just completely absorbed,B次元官网网址� Horcoff, a member of the 2006 Oilers, said of Edmonton during that magical spring. B次元官网网址淭he only thing on anybodyB次元官网网址檚 mind.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淎 very special time,B次元官网网址� added Redden, whose Ottawa Senators made the 2007 final.

Four years later, it was HansenB次元官网网址檚 Vancouver Canucks with a chance to bring hockeyB次元官网网址檚 holy grail home.

B次元官网网址淏est time of our lives,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淪o exciting.B次元官网网址�

The Canucks (1994 and 2011), Calgary Flames (2004), Oilers (2006), Senators (2007) and Canadiens (2021) all fell one step short.

Four of those series B次元官网网址� 1994, 2004, 2006 and 2011 B次元官网网址� stretched to seven games.

And of the six teams to get the better of the Canadian contingent, four were from non-traditional hockey markets, including Tampa (2004, 2021), Carolina (2006) and Anaheim (2007).

Sure, there was still pressure to perform, but nothing like the external weight of expectation felt in the fishbowls of Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa and Montreal. Toronto hasnB次元官网网址檛 made a Cup appearance since last winning in 1967, while the Winnipeg JetsB次元官网网址� high-water mark was the 2018 Western Conference final.

B次元官网网址淵ou see some of the (southern U.S.) teams that have won B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 probably not in their face as much,B次元官网网址� Redden, whose Senators went down in five games to the Ducks, said of the fan and media attention. B次元官网网址淏ut thatB次元官网网址檚 what makes it more special. It would be great to win a Cup.

B次元官网网址淭o win in a Canadian city would be the ultimate.B次元官网网址�

Craig Conroy, a member of the 2004 Flames team that lost to the Lightning in seven, saw the increased scrutiny as a net positive.

B次元官网网址淎 rallying thing,B次元官网网址� said Conroy, now an assistant GM in Calgary. B次元官网网址淚 felt more excited because they were so excited.B次元官网网址�

His former rival a few hours north up AlbertaB次元官网网址檚 Highway 2 agreed.

B次元官网网址淚t added to the experience,B次元官网网址� Horcoff, currently a Detroit assistant GM, said of an Oilers team that lost to the Hurricanes in seven games. B次元官网网址淵ou want to measure yourself in pressure situations.B次元官网网址�

Hansen said outside noise B次元官网网址� positive or negative B次元官网网址� never entered the CanucksB次元官网网址� thinking during their seven-game series with Boston in 2011.

B次元官网网址淎nimosity toward Vancouver developed,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲e were B次元官网网址榯he most hated teamB次元官网网址� and all these things B次元官网网址� IB次元官网网址檝e been asked whether or not IB次元官网网址檇 prefer to play in a market where as soon as you leave the rink, youB次元官网网址檙e anonymous.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 nothing better than playing in a Canadian market when youB次元官网网址檙e winning. Everybody lives and breathes it.B次元官网网址�

Dave Babych, a member of the 1994 Canucks group that lost in seven games to the New York Rangers, still gets stopped by fans looking to reminisce.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 old and my hair is a different colour,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚t left an impression. If weB次元官网网址檇 have won, maybe weB次元官网网址檇 have to get security. That generation or two of people that went through that with us B次元官网网址� crazy.B次元官网网址�

The notion of being B次元官网网址淐anadaB次元官网网址檚 teamB次元官网网址� gets rolled out as soon as thereB次元官网网址檚 one club remaining each spring, but Hansen said that wasnB次元官网网址檛 a focus for the players.

B次元官网网址淚t had been almost 20 years since Canada won,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淏ut Vancouver had never won.B次元官网网址�

Conroy and Flames captain Jarome Iginla chatted about what it would be like to bring that Cup back over the border B次元官网网址� 19 years ago.

B次元官网网址淚 remember watching on TV and youB次元官网网址檇 see people in Nova Scotia or New Brunswick,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檇 have the flags or were wearing your jersey. YouB次元官网网址檙e like, B次元官网网址楻eally?B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淧retty amazing.B次元官网网址�

Brendan Gallagher, a player with time left in his career to transport the Cup through customs, said MontrealB次元官网网址檚 2021 experience that ended in a five-game defeat to Tampa was unique because of the pandemic.

B次元官网网址淥ne cool thing IB次元官网网址檒l say that came with all the COVID-19 brutalness was when we would win a series, youB次元官网网址檇 just be with your teammates,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭here was no going out celebrating. We stayed in the locker room, we had pizza and beer and youB次元官网网址檇 just sit and hang out.

B次元官网网址淚t was those special moments.B次元官网网址�

Another moment B次元官网网址� when the Cup dream died B次元官网网址� is one most would prefer to forget.

Babych, for instance, has never watched Game 7 against the Rangers.

B次元官网网址淧robably never will,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淩eally have no use for it B次元官网网址� still hurts.B次元官网网址�

Does the pain ever go away?

B次元官网网址淣o,B次元官网网址� Horcoff said bluntly. B次元官网网址淣ever does.B次元官网网址�

Hansen, who lives in Vancouver with his family, said itB次元官网网址檚 hard to escape the what-might-have-been conversations after the Canucks had chances to clinch in both Game 6 and Game 7.

B次元官网网址淕et reminded of it all time,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚f weB次元官网网址檇 won, IB次元官网网址檇 have a ring right now. YouB次元官网网址檙e immortalized. YouB次元官网网址檙e a champion until you die. ItB次元官网网址檚 one of those things that you carry with you until the end. It will be bitter every single time the playoffs roll around and the final comes and somebody lifts the Cup. That could have been us. IB次元官网网址檓 not as upset about it as I was.

B次元官网网址淏ut still when you think about it B次元官网网址� ah (expletive). That sucked.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址擩oshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

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