We are officially in playoff season and Stanley Cup fever has taken over. Hockey fans around the world are gearing up for the best teams in the NHL to battle it out for the famous trophy. With the playoffs around the corner, now is a perfect time to make your picks and bet on who you think will make it to the last game, and ultimately lift the cup.
As ever, there are big favorites and major underdogs going into the playoffs this year. There will certainly be twists, turns and shocks as there always is in the postseason. It is so hard to repeat as champions and stay on top for long as this gruelling sport tests every player and team to the limit.
But, throughout the history of the NHL, there have been teams who have dominated on the ice for years, such was their greatness. However, debate about who the best team to ever play the game rages on today. Let’s take a look at our top three dynasties in NHL history.
- Montreal Canadiens, 1970-1979
We will start by stating the most obvious reason why they sit at the top of our dynasty leaderboard; they won six Stanley Cups from 1970-1979. During that amazing run, they won four straight titles from 1976-79 and if you go back even further they won five titles in a row in the 1950s, although there were only six teams in the league back then.
In the team that started the decade of dominance there were 11 Hall of Famers, while the team that saw out the decade contained 10. Legends such as Guy Lafleur and Henri Richard were mainstays of those teams during the 70s and went an incredible 6-0 in the finals. Montreal stand alone at the top of the table when it comes to Stanley Cup wins, having won 24 so far. The next team on the list, the Maple Leafs, have 13.
- New York Islanders
If the 70s was the Canadiens’ decade, the Islanders can claim at least half of the 80s, with the team winning four straight Stanley Cups at the beginning of the decade. They entered the league in 1972 and until that first championship had failed to get past the semi-final stage. Since their famous run, no team has managed to claim two titles in a row.
During their reign, they won 19 straight playoff series, something that is unheard of today and unlikely to ever be repeated. You can toss a coin between New York and the team we will be talking about next on this list (Oilers) but the 19 straight series wins seals it for me. This was certainly the pinnacle of their history, the Islanders have not gone past the semi-finals since.
- Edmonton Oilers
The second dynasty of the 1980s, the debate is extremely fierce about who was better between the Edmonton Oilers and New York Islanders. As mentioned above, I went with the Islanders thanks to their unmatched playoff run. The counter argument is the Oilers featured the best player to ever step foot on the ice, Wayne Gretzky.
In addition to the GOAT, other players like Paul Coffey, Mark Messier and Grant Furh helped the Oilers win five Stanley Cups from 1984-1990. The last of those titles came sans Gretzky, after he was traded to the LA Kings in a mammoth trade.
