OPINION

By Eric McErlain

updated 11:24 p.m. ET April 12, 2008

I've combed the NHL's post-1967 expansion archives to compile a list of the most unlikely Stanley Cup finalists:

10: 1968-69-70 St. Louis Blues
Coming out of the post-1967 expansion, the powers that be decided all six new franchises would reside in the Western Conference, geographic incongruities be damned. They also decided that, at least for a while, the top four teams in each conference would compete for a shot at the Stanley Cup, thereby guaranteeing an expansion team a place in the Finals.

Helped along by free-spending owner Sid Salomon Jr. and budding Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman, the Blues dominated the Western Conference their first three seasons, turning players such as Red Berenson, Glenn Hall and Jacques Plante into St. Louis sports legends and cementing the relationship between the Blues and the Cardinals-red city.

For the most part, the Blues disposed of Western Conference playoff opponents with little trouble, only to lose in the Finals all three years. They lost all 12 finals games in the process.

After the third drubbing, the NHL came to its senses and changed the playoff format to force Western Conference teams to play challengers from the East in the semifinals.

As for the Blues, they haven't been back to the finals since.

9. 1995 New Jersey Devils
Were this a list of unlikely Stanley Cup champions, this Devils team might have been atop it.

After taking the Rangers to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals the year before, the Devils never seemed to hit their stride during the strike-shortened regular season, finishing tied for fifth in the East. While plenty of teams fret about not having any secondary scoring, the Devils had little primary scoring.

What they did have was Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, Martin Brodeur, the Crash Line of Bobby Holik, Randy McKay and Mike Peluso and Stanley Cup good-luck charm Claude Lemieux. They made quick work of Boston, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, only to be rewarded with a finals series against the Detroit Red Wings, who had 18 points more than New Jersey during the regular season.

No matter. The Devils took down the Wings in four straight and Lemieux won the Conn Smythe. Overall, 10 of the Devils' 16 playoff wins came on the road.

8. 1998 Washington Capitals
At the start of the 1998 playoffs, there was little indication of anything special in Washington, D.C. The Caps, under first-year coach Ron Wilson, returned to the playoffs after a one-year absence, finishing fourth in the Eastern Conference.

In many ways, it was a season that was typical in the franchise's history: hard-working team claws its way to the brink of the league's elite, but without enough talent to get over the top. Then the East's top three seeds committed the equivalent of hockey Hari-Kiri, and the way to Eden was open.

Not that the Caps enjoyed a garden path, mind you. In Round 1 they had to beat a Bruins team that included Joe Thornton, Sergei Samsonov and Byron Dafoe at his best. Round 2 brought a five-game disposal of the Senators, who had yet to establish themselves as a power. Round 3 saw a six-game defeat of Dominik Hasek and the Buffalo Sabres.

Powered mainly by a Conn Smythe-worthy performance by goaltender Olaf Kolzig, the Capitals reached the finals, where the Red Wings won in a sweep.

7. 1996 Florida Panthers
Having gotten the expansion New York Islanders to the Stanley Cup Finals five times, Bill Torrey knew plenty about building a winner. When the Islanders dynasty played out, Torrey found his next challenge in Miami, becoming the Panthers' first president and general manager.

Cobbling together a team using nothing but the castoffs of other franchises, Torrey's Panthers posted the best record by a first-year franchise in 1994, narrowly missing the playoffs. After another near miss in 1995, the Panthers put it all together in 1996 under first-year coach Doug McLean.

Led by John Vanbiesbrouck, Scott Mellanby, Rob Niedermayer and Ed Jovanowski, the Panthers qualified as the fourth seed, disposing of Boston, top-seeded Philadelphia and second-seeded Pittsburgh on their improbable run to the finals.

Like most NHL Cinderella stories, this ended in another sweep, this time at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche.

6. 1994 Vancouver Canucks
Even though they featured a superstar in Pavel Bure and a budding leader in Trevor Linden, the Canucks weren't all that much to write home about. Finishing with 85 points, the Canucks ended the season seventh in the West, 15 points behind No. 1 seed Detroit, and had scored a paltry three more goals than they had yielded all season long.

Still, the Canucks pulled it all together in time for the playoffs, beating second-seeded Calgary in seven games. After that, they made it look easy, defeating No. 4 Dallas and No. 3 Toronto in five games each.

But then the Canucks had a head-on collision with destiny, meeting the New York Rangers in the finals. They acquitted themselves well, rallying from a 3-1 deficit before finally falling in Game 7 in New York. If you ever get a chance to watch Game 7 again, keep an eye out for Linden's first goal in Game 7.

Had the Canucks won, it would have been the goal that haunted Brian Leetch for the rest of his days.

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