If NHL history has taught us two things, it's that the Montreal Canadiens are the best team of all time when it comes to winning the Stanley Cup and Canadian teams don't go long without hoisting the Cup. The Montreal Canadiens have 24 Stanley Cup championships, the most ever and the second-most in sports history behind only the New York Yankees, who have 27.

Despite the glamorous resume of Canadian-based hockey franchises, Canada has not won a Stanley Cup since 1993, by far the longest drought in the nation's history.

The last Canadian team to win the Cup was (you guessed it) the Canadiens, led by Hall of Fame Goaltender Patrick Roy, who won two Cups with the team. Before this current 22-year drought, the longest period that no Canadian team won the Cup was just six seasons, from 1936-1941. Canada isn't exactly a mecca when it comes to basketball, football, baseball, or soccer with more than half of the NHL Canadian-born. There's a reason why Canada recently won the gold medal in hockey at the Winter Olympics, they have more players and they're better.

Since 1991, Canada has more World Series winners than Stanley Cup winners. Crazy, isn't it?

The NHL currently has seven teams based in Canada, as opposed to just one in Major League Baseball and one in the NBA. With almost a quarter of the league in Canada, a 22-year drought isn't going to sit well with our friends up north. Canadians have been known to riot after teams are eliminated from the postseason.

Since 1993, Canada has had five opportunities in the finals to win the Cup, and are an abysmal 0-5. This even includes a three-year run from 2004-2007 when a Canadian team lost three consecutive times in the Stanley Cup. It should also be mentioned that the Toronto Maple Leafs (who have 13 championships) haven't won since 1967. Does this mean America is now the best hockey nation in the world? No, but bragging rights are always going to come and the agony of defeat is always there.

In this year's NHL Playoffs, the Montreal Canadiens are the only team from Canada to qualify. It's unlikely that Montreal can defeat every team in their path and win all four rounds in the tough Eastern Conference, but a country is depending on them. It's pretty unlikely the Toronto Raptors will win the NBA Championship and Joe Carter isn't suiting up for the Blue Jays any time soon. Montreal has a tough road ahead of them.

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