SportsPulse: We have the makings of a great Stanley Cup Final on our hands and USA TODAY Sports' Kevin Allen breaks it all down. USA TODAY Sports
Alex Ovechkin had played in 1,003 NHL games entering Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night. He's scored more than 600 career goals, been named to 11 All-Star teams and led the Washington Capitals to the playoffs in 10 of his 13 seasons.
But, until now, he's neither played for — nor won — a title.
Ovechkin is the latest in a long list of megastars who, despite their prolific individual accomplishments, have never won a championship. The 32-year-old will try to take himself off that list in the next week or two with a series victory over the Vegas Golden Knights. In the meantime, here's a look at Ovechkin and nine other stars across the sports world who always found a championship to be elusive (voting by USA TODAY Sports staff).
Ernie Banks
19 seasons | 2,528 games | 0 playoff appearances
The man known as "Mr. Cub" is arguably the best player to ever suit up for one of the most iconic franchises in sports — and he never made it to the postseason. The two-time MVP and 14-time All-Star came close in 1969, but the Chicago Cubs lost 17 of 25 down the stretch to finish just outside the playoffs, which at the time consisted of just four teams.
Dan Marino
17 seasons | 242 games | 10 playoff appearances
Marino threw for more than 61,000 yards and 420 touchdowns, and he guided the Miami Dolphins to Super Bowl XIX in 1985. But the Dolphins suffered a lopsided loss to the San Francisco 49ers, and Marino never got another shot in the title game. "If there is anyone that ever deserved a Super Bowl (ring)," John Elway said, "it was him."
Jim Kelly
11 seasons | 160 games | 8 playoff appearances
Perhaps nobody on this list got as close to winning a championship as often as Kelly. Four years in a row, he led the Buffalo Bills to the Super Bowl. And four years in a row, they left empty-handed, including a 20-19 heartbreaker against the New York Giants in 1991.
Barry Bonds
22 seasons | 2,986 games | 7 playoff appearances
Bonds is most often remembered as a central figure in the steroid era — the controversial home-run king. But a 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Angels in Game 7 of the 2002 World Series kept him without a ring, and he only made one other playoff appearance thereafter.
Ty Cobb
24 seasons | 3,034 games | 3 playoff appearances
It's a bit deceptive to say Cobb reached the postseason only three times because, in the early 1900s, the "postseason" consisted of just the World Series. Cobb and the Detroit Tigers made it there in 1907, 1908 and 1909 but lost all three — and, perhaps most noticeably, were shut out in the final game of each series.
Karl Malone/John Stockton
18 seasons together | 1,422 games together | 18 playoff appearances
It is impossible to talk about one without the other. Stockton and Malone made the playoffs in each of their 18 seasons together, including three trips to the conference finals and two Finals appearances. But they were never able to get past Michael Jordan and those iconic Chicago Bulls teams of the late 1990s.
Alex Ovechkin
13 seasons | 1,003 games | 10 playoff appearances
It's remarkable, really, that Ovechkin had never even reached the Eastern Conference final prior to this season, given Washington's track record of success. Only four players in NHL history have scored more career goals than Ovechkin's 607 and never won the Stanley Cup.
Tony Gwynn
20 seasons | 2,440 games | 3 playoff appearances
Though Gwynn only made three postseason appearances in a career that spanned two decades, two of them featured trips to the World Series. Unfortunately for Gwynn, however, both resulted in blowout losses for his San Diego Padres, despite his .371 batting average in the Fall Classic.
Patrick Ewing
17 seasons | 1,183 games | 13 playoff appearances
Ewing led Georgetown to a 1984 championship, was selected No. 1 overall in the 1985 draft and made 11 All-Star appearances in his NBA career. But his two trips to the NBA Finals were thwarted by the likes of Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson. "He didn't win a championship," former New York Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy told ESPN in 2002. "But he conducted himself like a champion and put more into trying to win a championship than anyone.''
Randy Moss
15 seasons | 218 games | 7 playoff appearances
Moss made five Pro Bowls in seven seasons with the Minnesota Vikings but never reached a Super Bowl. Then, when he got there with the New England Patriots in 2007 and San Francisco 49ers in 2012, he fell just short. Both games were decided by a mere three points.
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
- Charles Barkley (16 seasons | 1,073 games | 13 playoff appearances)
- Rod Carew (19 seasons | 2,469 games | 4 playoff appearances)
- Ken Griffey Jr. (22 seasons | 2,671 games | 3 playoff appearances)
- Paul Kariya (15 seasons | 989 games | 6 playoff appearances)
- Eric Lindros (13 seasons | 760 games | 6 playoff appearances)
- Barry Sanders (10 seasons | 153 games | 5 playoff appearances)
- Ted Williams (19 seasons | 2,292 games | 1 playoff appearance)
Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.
