Breaking Down ESPN’s NHL Misery Index
ESPN created a bot designed to find the most miserable fans in sports. But did it get its NHL list right?
As every sports fan does during the offseason, we tend to look back on our past and what we experienced during the ups and downs of our teams’ history.
ESPN tried to quantify that across all sports to find some of the most miserable fans in sports.
A Buffalo sports fan, for example, would rank pretty high up on its scale with the Sabres being the No. 1 most miserable NHL team, the Bills clocking in at No. 19 in the NFL despite a recent window of contention, and the neighboring Toronto Blue Jays sitting in in 12th amongst MLB teams.
South Florida sports fans are riding high right now, with the Panthers having the third-least miserable fanbase in the NHL and the Heat being the second-least miserable fanbase in the NBA. The Marlins (3rd) and Dolphins (10th) are both in the Top 10 of their respective sports, however.
So, what does the misery index say about the NHL — and what are some of the biggest surprises on the list?
Let’s check it out:
Buffalo Sabres
Columbus Blue Jackets
Detroit Red Wings
Ottawa Senators
Anaheim Ducks
Philadelphia Flyers
Calgary Flames
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
San Jose Sharks
Minnesota Wild
Toronto Maple Leafs
Vancouver Canucks
Winnipeg Jets
Carolina Hurricanes
Montreal Canadiens
Nashville Predators
New York Rangers
Dallas Stars
Edmonton Oilers
Washington Capitals
Boston Bruins
St. Louis Blues
Chicago Blackhawks
Los Angeles Kings
Seattle Kraken
Colorado Avalanche
Pittsburgh Penguins
Florida Panthers
Tampa Bay Lightning
Vegas Golden Knights
Utah Hockey Club (not listed)
Least Surprising
No. 1 — Buffalo Sabres
Not to beat a dead horse here, but the Sabres have not made the playoffs in nearly 15 years and have watched multiple former players go on to be key pieces to Stanley Cup winning teams.
Jack Eichel was arguably the best player on the Vegas’ Cup winning team in ‘23, Sam Reinhart had standout performances in both of Florida’s closeout victories in its back-to-back wins in ‘24 and ‘25, and Ryan O’Reilly won the Conn Smythe for the St. Louis Blues in 2019.
A lot of fans are too young to remember the Sabres’ run to the 1999 Cup Final, but even that run has a stain on it for older fans. If you see anyone older than 30 in Western New York, you might not want to say the words “foot in the crease” to them.
No. 31 — Vegas Golden Knights
It is no surprise that the NHL’s most spoiled child gets the least amount of pity from the misery index.
You missed the playoffs once in your franchise’s history? Boo hoo. You rebounded the next year and won the Stanley Cup after lucking into an insane run of goaltending from a guy you acquired for a late-round pick.
Vegas has been one of the league’s boldest teams — stopping at nothing to acquire star talent and assemble one of the best rosters in the league. Their latest move for Mitch Marner this offseason only further exemplifies that.
No. 28 — Pittsburgh Penguins
Yeah, the Penguins have missed the playoffs three years in a row now, but that comes after a 16-year long streak of postseason appearances — and one that includes three Stanley Cups.
The Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin-led Penguins terrorized the league for the entirety of the 2010s, peaking with back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017. Everybody who grew up a fan of a Metropolitan Division (or previous rendition of the Atlantic Division) prior to the 2020s is not feeling any pity for the Yinzers as their contention window comes to a close.
Most Surprising
No. 3 — Detroit Red Wings
Sure, the Red Wings have been in the doldrums for the past decade, but anyone who has been watching hockey since the 1990s or the 2000s has to be wincing a bit after the long foothold they had on the league.
Detroit made 24-straight playoff appearances from 1990 to 2016 — the third-longest streak in the NHL and the only streak to span an entire stretch of years where the league had at least 20 teams.
The Red Wings won four Stanley Cups in that stretch, reaching the Cup Final a total of six times in that 24-year stretch. Sure, 10 years without playoff hockey is disappointing, but teams like the Ottawa Senators and New York Islanders are giving Detroit a major side-eye for this ranking.
No. 8 — New Jersey Devils
Sure, the Devils have been one of the NHL’s most mediocre teams ever since their last Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2012, but we’re not that far removed from their era of dominance, right?
New Jersey won three Stanley Cups from 1995 to 2003, making it to the Final twice more before their eventual fall-off. But even now, they have started to break away from their somewhat long rebuilding window.
Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier led the Devils to the playoffs twice in the past three years, and although injuries have proven to be a hinderance multiple times, they have the potential to be a contender now and in the future.
The past decade has been tough for New Jersey, but not enough for a slot in the Top 10.
No. 9 — New York Islanders
Sure, their back-to-back appearances in the Eastern Conference final gave Islanders fans a short period of success, but that shouldn’t be enough to mask the stench of the 1990s and the 2000s.
The Islanders held the longest drought without a playoff series win from 1993 up until 2016, when they defeated the Florida Panthers in a 2OT Game 6 victory riddled with controversy, and sank into becoming one of the league’s most mediocre teams following 2021.
The ending of their 2021 Conference final run was particularly painful. They lost 1-0 to the Tampa Bay Lightning with the lone goal coming from Yanni Gourde at a point where they appeared to have too many men on the ice. The battered Montreal Canadiens were waiting in the Stanley Cup Final and were easily dispatched by the Lightning.
Instead of lifting the Cup, the Islanders were sent into a four-year stretch of mediocrity, including multiple seasons riddled by injuries. The arrival of Matthew Schaefer brings some optimism, but that only comes after a period of suffering worthy of a spot in the Top 5.
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