3 reasons to explain Canada's 31-year Stanley Cup drought

A Canadian NHL team has not won the Stanley Cup since 1993 when the Montreal Canadiens were crowned champions. Since then, a team from the United States has won the Stanley Cup every single year as the drought for a Canadian team to emerge victorious continues.

Since the drought began, many NHL fans have wondered why that has been the case and when it will end. Here are three reasons to explain Canada's 31-year Stanley Cup drought.

3 reasons for Canada's Stanley Cup drought

#1. Fewer teams

The most obvious reason why Canada has had a Stanley Cup drought is because there are fewer teams from the country.

Canada has just seven NHL teams while there are 25 teams in the United States. With there being 18 more teams in the States than in Canada, it does make it that much harder for Canadian teams to win the Stanley Cup.

#2. Harder to attract talent

Although Canada has most players in the NHL, it is hard for the Canadian teams to attract talent.

Playing in a Canadian market is tough as the media is on them quite often if they are playing poorly. Also, the taxes in Canada are super tough to deal with, as more and more players want to play in warm climates and tax-free states.

#3. Parity in the NHL

The final reason is the fact that there is parity in the NHL, so it is hard for any team to win. With the salary cap in play, it forces every NHL team to be competitive as they can't exceed the cap, so big markets like Toronto and Montreal can't spend as much money as they bring in.

“I really think it’s a coincidence,” Patrice Brisebois said, via Washington Post. “The Ottawa Senators went to the Stanley Cup finals. The Vancouver Canucks did. Montreal two years ago. They just can’t close the deal. It’s as simple as that.”

With that, it makes the league more competitive and brings in so much parity that it is hard for any team to win.