Welcome to part two of our piece breaking down the greatest teams in NHL history. In part one we defined who the true NHL dynasties are. In part two we take a deeper look at these teams and decide who is truly the greatest dynasty in NHL history.
There is no simple way to compare great teams across eras. Each decade of the NHL is vastly different than the last. In the 70s the league was violent and player movement was almost non-existent. The 80s saw the transition to a more high skilled game with limited player movement. The 90s was the era of high priced free agency and low scoring. The 2000s introduced the salary cap which created mass player movement and pushed the league to a more skill based game again. So you could not simply drop the 2017 Penguins into 1975 to see how they would match-up with the Flyers of that year.
When you compare teams across eras you have a couple criteria that work to give a fair comparison. First, how difficult was the era to maintain success in? Second, did they have truly transcendent talent that would succeed in any era? Lastly, how dominant were they compared to the other great teams of that era. The last one is key.
We're focused on comparing the Pittsburgh Penguins of 2015-2017 to the dynasties we previously mentioned. So how difficult is the current era to maintain success? The current NHL is by far the most challenging era to maintain a great team year after year. The introduction of the salary cap in 2005 made it seem impossible for championship teams to keep their key players. Every NHL player wants a bigger contract, the best time get that big contract is right after you have helped your team win the Stanley Cup. The problem is, under the salary cap, each team can only afford four or five large contracts. So players looking to cash-in must go to free agency. This was not an issue for dynasties prior to 2005.
The Canadiens of the 60s and 70s had virtually no player turnover, outside of retirement. The Oilers and Islanders of the 80s were similarly fortunate. The Red Wings and Devils competing dynasties did have to deal with free agency, but they benefited more than they lost. Since there was no salary cap in place, teams could spend as much as they wanted to build a super team. So the teams winning Stanley Cups made the most money and therefore could spend the most money. That is what made it possible for the great teams of the late 90s to stay great.
This is what makes the Blackhawks and Penguins successes post salary cap so impressive. They keep losing great role players, but find a way to quickly replace them and continue winning. No doubt the modern era is the most difficult to build a dynasty in.
The next factor in figuring how great a team is examining how great are their superstar players. Could they have the same success in any era? The answer with each of these dynasties is yes. The Canadiens had a lot of the top players in the league at that time. Guys like Jean Beliveau, Yvan Cournoyer and Henri Richard would be just as great in the 80s, 90s or 2000s. The Oilers had a team full of the greatest players to ever play. No one could ever say they would not dominate against any other era.
The question mark to me is the Islanders of the 80s. Sure Mike Bossy is one of the greatest goal scorers to ever play. He would be equally effective today. However, the rest of their team seems to have been perfectly assembled for the time frame they succeeded in. They won four championships in a row during the time the NHL shifted from the very physical and fight filled 70s to the high scoring and skilled teams of the 80s. The Islanders blended these two styles so well that they were a nightmare match-up for any opponent. A team for their time, but not transcendent talent.
The dominant 90s teams are intriguing. The Devils changed the way the NHL played. They introduced a completely defensive minded trap system that relied completely on the goaltender to win the game. It is difficult to say how they would have matched up with teams in other eras. However, there is no denying that Martin Brodeur and Scott Stevens could be dropped in any decade and be equally as effective. The Red Wings dynasty is the prime example of transcendent talent. Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan and Nick Lidstrom were the great players and they would be great on any team. The amazing thing about this team was their role players. They had depth players that also would have been the best third and fourth liners in the league during any other decade. Every player on those Red Wings' teams could be put in a time machine and dropped into any decade to play.
The modern NHL certainly lacks in this area. The game is so different now due to rule changes, playing styles and team system based success that it is hard to imagine the current players matching up against the earlier successful teams. For example, Patrick Kane is probably too small to play the same style that has made him so successful today. I am not sure the same is true of Crosby or Toews though. They both play an old school style that reminds you of the great players of the 80s and 90s. For them it is all about outworking their opponent and breaking them down over the course of a game or series. Much the same way players like Trottier, Messier and Sakic were successful.
The last comparison and most important is how dominant were these dynasties in their time. The modern dynasties certainly lack in these areas. The Blackhawks have been eliminated early in the playoffs multiple times during their dynasty. They also are hanging by a thread to the claim they are the best team of this era. Pittsburgh and Los Angeles could easily take that crown in the next two seasons. If Pittsburgh does complete a three-peat you could definitely say they owned the NHL for a stretch of seasons. That is so valuable to this argument. Multiple championships in a row show absolute ownership of the league you play in.
The Oilers of the 80s won back-to-back Stanley Cups twice. Very impressive and proof of greatness. The Islanders won four consecutive Stanley Cups. There is no denying that for that stretch of four seasons, the Islanders were the unquestioned team that everyone was aiming for.
The Red Wings and Devils sort of cancel each other out in this category. Neither one owned their era, because they were equally matched and traded championships. They were both great teams, but neither was as dominant as the other dynasties we have mentioned.
The definitive leader in terms of dominance is the Montreal Canadiens of the 60s and 70s. They won 10 times in 15 seasons. This includes a stretch of four Stanley Cups in a row and winning back-to-back championships two separate times in the same dynasty. They were the top dog of the NHL for a decade and a half. That is so hard to do when every other NHL team is targeting you.
So we have broken down each dynasty and their success in these key qualifiers. The only thing left to do is figure out what team is truly the greatest dynasty. To do that I broke it down with a little statistical math. Below you see each team we discussed and the three categories we compared each of them in. I have associated a rating with how each team fairs in these categories, 5 being best and 1 being worst. The total should give us an accurate ranking of the greatest dynasties in NHL history.
The Canadiens of the 60s and 70s had virtually no player turnover, outside of retirement. The Oilers and Islanders of the 80s were similarly fortunate. The Red Wings and Devils competing dynasties did have to deal with free agency, but they benefited more than they lost. Since there was no salary cap in place, teams could spend as much as they wanted to build a super team. So the teams winning Stanley Cups made the most money and therefore could spend the most money. That is what made it possible for the great teams of the late 90s to stay great.
This is what makes the Blackhawks and Penguins successes post salary cap so impressive. They keep losing great role players, but find a way to quickly replace them and continue winning. No doubt the modern era is the most difficult to build a dynasty in.
The next factor in figuring how great a team is examining how great are their superstar players. Could they have the same success in any era? The answer with each of these dynasties is yes. The Canadiens had a lot of the top players in the league at that time. Guys like Jean Beliveau, Yvan Cournoyer and Henri Richard would be just as great in the 80s, 90s or 2000s. The Oilers had a team full of the greatest players to ever play. No one could ever say they would not dominate against any other era.
The question mark to me is the Islanders of the 80s. Sure Mike Bossy is one of the greatest goal scorers to ever play. He would be equally effective today. However, the rest of their team seems to have been perfectly assembled for the time frame they succeeded in. They won four championships in a row during the time the NHL shifted from the very physical and fight filled 70s to the high scoring and skilled teams of the 80s. The Islanders blended these two styles so well that they were a nightmare match-up for any opponent. A team for their time, but not transcendent talent.
The last comparison and most important is how dominant were these dynasties in their time. The modern dynasties certainly lack in these areas. The Blackhawks have been eliminated early in the playoffs multiple times during their dynasty. They also are hanging by a thread to the claim they are the best team of this era. Pittsburgh and Los Angeles could easily take that crown in the next two seasons. If Pittsburgh does complete a three-peat you could definitely say they owned the NHL for a stretch of seasons. That is so valuable to this argument. Multiple championships in a row show absolute ownership of the league you play in.
The Oilers of the 80s won back-to-back Stanley Cups twice. Very impressive and proof of greatness. The Islanders won four consecutive Stanley Cups. There is no denying that for that stretch of four seasons, the Islanders were the unquestioned team that everyone was aiming for.
The Red Wings and Devils sort of cancel each other out in this category. Neither one owned their era, because they were equally matched and traded championships. They were both great teams, but neither was as dominant as the other dynasties we have mentioned.
The definitive leader in terms of dominance is the Montreal Canadiens of the 60s and 70s. They won 10 times in 15 seasons. This includes a stretch of four Stanley Cups in a row and winning back-to-back championships two separate times in the same dynasty. They were the top dog of the NHL for a decade and a half. That is so hard to do when every other NHL team is targeting you.
So we have broken down each dynasty and their success in these key qualifiers. The only thing left to do is figure out what team is truly the greatest dynasty. To do that I broke it down with a little statistical math. Below you see each team we discussed and the three categories we compared each of them in. I have associated a rating with how each team fairs in these categories, 5 being best and 1 being worst. The total should give us an accurate ranking of the greatest dynasties in NHL history.
According to this rating, the Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s are the greatest dynasty of all time. I think this is a pretty fair system. Common opinion is the Oilers are the greatest dynasty and this formula backs that opinion. Also, the two teams that tied for second happened to play 50 years apart. So this formula also does not show bias to specific eras. I realize Devils fans probably take offense, but guess what... your team was boring and virtually ruined the NHL for a decade. Truly great teams make the game exciting and draw in new fans. That is what every other team on this list did.
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