Article content

On June 9, 1993, Ed Ronan, then a rookie forward with the Montreal Canadiens, was sitting on the bench with one black eye and about 15 seconds left on the clock. He looked down the bench, toward two veteran teammates, eyebrows raised as the realization finally took hold: “I think we just won this thing.”

[np_storybar title=”Canadiens go out with a whimper in Game 6 defeat to Lightning” link=”http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/nhl/montreal-canadiens-go-out-with-a-whimper-in-game-6-defeat-to-tampa-bay-lightning”][/np_storybar]

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Members of 1993 Montreal Canadiens reflect on Canada's Stanley Cup drought, now at 22 years: 'That's kind of crazy' Back to video

Within moments, they were all out on the ice, having defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 to win the Stanley Cup for the 24th time in franchise history.

“Twenty-two years later,” Ronan said, “I know that I’ll never find that feeling again.”

Since that day, no fan of a Canadian NHL franchise has known that feeling, either, part of an unprecedented championship drought that is only getting longer. The dry spell will hit 22 years this spring, after the Canadiens, the final Canadian team standing in the playoffs this year, were eliminated in their second-round playoff series on Tuesday.