Here's a conversation starter, pretty short and sweet. And it's a question that I never really hear asked that often. Which team is the best team that didn't win the championship in their respective season?
My choice is the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins. Hall of Famers Mario Lemeiux, Ron Francis, and Larry Murphy all had their best seasons. Future hall of famer Jaromir Jagr had a breakout season. Mulitple time all stars Kevin Stevens and Rick Tocchet had their best seasons. There are probably other player I'm forgetting who were also very good. The team won a record 16 straight games that still stands to this day. They had just won 2 straight Stanley Cups. All signs pointed to a 3rd.
However, the team did not anticipate a nobody goaltender named Glen Healey pretty much single-handedly beating them. I was at the 7th game of that series against the Islanders, where the Pens lost in OT. After the game I was not upset, it didn't not register with me that it actually happen until probably 10 years later. The Islanders didn't even have the good manners to put up a fight in the next series against the Canadiens.
There are probably some other good examples, post some