Days in first place: NHL division and league races, 1917-18 to 2025-26
The longest anyone has led an NHL race without winning it: the Montréal Canadiens ended 91 of the 1954-55 NHL race's 100 playing days in first place, 91% of them, and finished behind the Detroit Red Wings. The longest unbroken spell of that lead ran 50 days. At the other end, the Colorado Avalanche won the 2002-03 Northwest race having led on two of its 154 playing days, never more than one in a row. Both lists below rank by the share of a race's playing days a team spent in first place. How that is counted is spelled out under the lists.
The Montréal Canadiens led the 1954-55 NHL race on 91 of its 100 playing days, 91% of them, and finished behind the Detroit Red Wings.
The Carolina Hurricanes led the 2007-08 Southeast race on 136 of its 150 playing days, 91% of them, and finished behind the Washington Capitals.
The Ottawa Senators (1917) led the 1920-21 NHL race on 23 of its 26 playing days, 88% of them, and finished behind the Toronto St. Patricks.
The Boston Bruins led the 2023-24 Atlantic race on 136 of its 157 playing days, 87% of them, and finished behind the Florida Panthers.
The New York Rangers led the 1990-91 Patrick race on 135 of its 156 playing days, 87% of them, and finished behind the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The New York Rangers led the 1928-29 American race on 58 of its 71 playing days, 82% of them, and finished behind the Boston Bruins.
The Los Angeles Kings led the 2015-16 Pacific race on 139 of its 171 playing days, 81% of them, and finished behind the Anaheim Ducks.
The Ottawa Senators led the 2007-08 Northeast race on 120 of its 150 playing days, 80% of them, and finished behind the Montréal Canadiens.
The Florida Panthers led the 1999-00 Southeast race on 128 of its 162 playing days, 79% of them, and finished behind the Washington Capitals.
The Montréal Canadiens led the 1992-93 Adams race on 128 of its 163 playing days, 79% of them, and finished behind the Boston Bruins.
Winners who led least
The Colorado Avalanche won the 2002-03 Northwest race having led on 2 of its 154 playing days, 1% of them, and took first place for good on April 6, 2003.
The Colorado Avalanche won the 2022-23 Central race having led on 11 of its 168 playing days, 7% of them, and took first place for good on April 14, 2023.
The Anaheim Ducks won the 2015-16 Pacific race having led on 13 of its 171 playing days, 8% of them, and took first place for good on April 10, 2016.
The Washington Capitals won the 2007-08 Southeast race having led on 12 of its 150 playing days, 8% of them, and took first place for good on April 4, 2008.
The Pittsburgh Penguins won the 1990-91 Patrick race having led on 14 of its 156 playing days, 9% of them, and took first place for good on March 17, 1991.
The New Jersey Devils won the 1996-97 Atlantic race having led on 16 of its 176 playing days, 9% of them, and took first place for good on April 4, 1997.
The St. Louis Blues won the 1986-87 Norris race having led on 14 of its 145 playing days, 10% of them, and took first place for good on April 5, 1987.
The Boston Bruins won the 1992-93 Adams race having led on 18 of its 163 playing days, 11% of them, and took first place for good on April 6, 1993.
The Florida Panthers won the 2023-24 Atlantic race having led on 20 of its 157 playing days, 13% of them, and took first place for good on April 16, 2024.
The Phoenix Coyotes won the 2011-12 Pacific race having led on 20 of its 154 playing days, 13% of them, and took first place for good on April 6, 2012.
How these lists are ranked
Everything on this page comes from the same season files the charts draw, with standings read as each day ended. All 308 charted NHL races from 108 finished seasons enter: every division and league race from 1917-18 to 2025-26. Wild card races are not ranked; their story is the playoff cutoff, not first place. A team's time in first place is counted once per season, at its longest, whichever of its charted races it came in.
Longest leads lost is the club that ended the most of a race's playing days in first place and did not finish first. Any club in the race qualifies, not the runner-up alone, because a club can lead for four months and finish fifth.
Winners who led least is the same count for the club that did win, ranked from the fewest days up. Each row closes on the day that winner took first place for good, which the comebacks page ranks on.
Only days this race's teams played are counted, the same rule the closest races page counts closeness over. A strike or a pause freezes the standings, and a leader sitting out an idle stretch would collect time on top for nothing.
The ranking is by share rather than by the raw count, because a league's seasons are not all the same length and a short one would otherwise win by being short. Seasons cut short by a strike or a stoppage are ranked on what was played, which is the same rule and the reason for it. The count and the total are printed beside the share, so the order can be checked; where two rows print the same whole percent, the unrounded share put them in that order.
A day two clubs end level at the top is a day in first place for both of them, which is what holding first place means in English. So the two counts of one race can add up to more than the race's playing days. Races whose top two the standings cannot separate appear on neither list: with no winner, the data can name neither the club that lost a lead nor the club that kept one.
A lead measured in days and a lead measured in points are different questions, and the two lists often disagree about which season was the bigger collapse; the comebacks page ranks the same blown leads by size. Only finished seasons are ranked; every irregularity in the record is listed in the data notes.