This year's Stanley Cup is so much more than the typical "what an amazing year for such a great team". Anytime a team wins multiple championships in a short number of years we have to ask a couple questions. First, is this a dynasty? Second, where does this team rank among the all-time greatest teams? With the Pittsburgh Penguins being the first team in the salary cap era to win back-to-back Stanley Cups, we have to ask these questions.
This is part one of a two part piece on the greatest dynasties in NHL history and where the Penguins fit into that group. The first thing we have to do is define what a dynasty is in the world of sports. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a dynasty as "a powerful group or family that maintains its position for a considerable time". This definition lends itself more to political power. However, the considerable time portion of this definition also applies to sports. I think that is they key to a sports dynasty, duration of their success. So simply winning a championship in back-to-back years does not make a team a dynasty. You have to win more than twice and over the course of a number of years.
So this led me to thinking about the teams I would definitely call a dynasty. Personally, I discount any team that won a bunch of championships before the 1967 expansion. Sorry, but when there were only six teams in the NHL it was easier to win Stanley Cups. The Oilers of the 80s, Islanders of the 80s, Canadien's of the 60s and 70s are all lead pipe locks. There are a couple other fringe teams to consider: the late 90s/early 2000s Red Wings, Devils of the same time frame and the recent Blackhawks. Each of these teams won at least three championships with essentially the same group of core players. That is the key.
So back to those lead pipe locks, if they are the standard this is all based on, what did they all have in common? Well, each of them won four Stanley Cups in at least five seasons. The Canadiens won 10 Stanley Cups in 15 seasons, from 1965-1979, twice winning four in five years during that time. The Islanders won four consecutive championships from 1980-83. The Oilers won five Stanley Cups from 1984-1990. These were truly special teams that handed the torch from one to the other over the course of 25 years. Once the 1990s arrived the league had expanded so much that parody became unavoidable.
With the parody of the 90s we became introduced to competing dynasties. The Devils, Red Wings, Avalanche and Penguins each won multiple Stanley Cups between 1991 and 2003. Especially during the late 90s there was no clear cut favorite to win the Stanley Cup each season. So is it possible to have dueling dynasties? I think yes, especially if they play each other in the Stanley Cup final.
The Devils won three championships in nine years (1995-2003). The Red Wings won three in six years (1997-2002). The Blackhawks won three times in six years as well (2010-2015). These are the three post-expansion "fringe" dynasties that we need to debate. To me they each meet the criteria. They all won at least three Stanley Cups with the same group of core players. The Devils took a little longer to get their third championship, but they also lost in the Stanley Cup finals once during their run and happened to beat the Detroit Red Wings for their first Stanley Cup. They dominated the Eastern Conference for a decade.
So the obvious argument from Penguins' fans would be, "Well, Pittsburgh won three times in nine years (2009-2017)." This is very true and a valid argument. My counter-argument would be that only five players have been a part of all three championships (Crosby, Malkin, Fleury, Letang and Kunitz). So I think their return to championship glory is more a credit to the front office staff and maturity of star players. Also, they had some average seasons in between those championships. So I have a very hard time giving this current Penguins team the dynasty label.
In breaking down the possible dynasties in NHL history, I think we have a fair definition of what makes a team a true dynasty. An NHL dynasty is any post-expansion team that wins at least three championships within a decade, utilizing the same core group of players for each championship. With that definition, here are the six undeniable NHL dynasties since 1967.
This is part one of a two part piece on the greatest dynasties in NHL history and where the Penguins fit into that group. The first thing we have to do is define what a dynasty is in the world of sports. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a dynasty as "a powerful group or family that maintains its position for a considerable time". This definition lends itself more to political power. However, the considerable time portion of this definition also applies to sports. I think that is they key to a sports dynasty, duration of their success. So simply winning a championship in back-to-back years does not make a team a dynasty. You have to win more than twice and over the course of a number of years.
So this led me to thinking about the teams I would definitely call a dynasty. Personally, I discount any team that won a bunch of championships before the 1967 expansion. Sorry, but when there were only six teams in the NHL it was easier to win Stanley Cups. The Oilers of the 80s, Islanders of the 80s, Canadien's of the 60s and 70s are all lead pipe locks. There are a couple other fringe teams to consider: the late 90s/early 2000s Red Wings, Devils of the same time frame and the recent Blackhawks. Each of these teams won at least three championships with essentially the same group of core players. That is the key.
So back to those lead pipe locks, if they are the standard this is all based on, what did they all have in common? Well, each of them won four Stanley Cups in at least five seasons. The Canadiens won 10 Stanley Cups in 15 seasons, from 1965-1979, twice winning four in five years during that time. The Islanders won four consecutive championships from 1980-83. The Oilers won five Stanley Cups from 1984-1990. These were truly special teams that handed the torch from one to the other over the course of 25 years. Once the 1990s arrived the league had expanded so much that parody became unavoidable.
With the parody of the 90s we became introduced to competing dynasties. The Devils, Red Wings, Avalanche and Penguins each won multiple Stanley Cups between 1991 and 2003. Especially during the late 90s there was no clear cut favorite to win the Stanley Cup each season. So is it possible to have dueling dynasties? I think yes, especially if they play each other in the Stanley Cup final.
The Devils won three championships in nine years (1995-2003). The Red Wings won three in six years (1997-2002). The Blackhawks won three times in six years as well (2010-2015). These are the three post-expansion "fringe" dynasties that we need to debate. To me they each meet the criteria. They all won at least three Stanley Cups with the same group of core players. The Devils took a little longer to get their third championship, but they also lost in the Stanley Cup finals once during their run and happened to beat the Detroit Red Wings for their first Stanley Cup. They dominated the Eastern Conference for a decade.
So the obvious argument from Penguins' fans would be, "Well, Pittsburgh won three times in nine years (2009-2017)." This is very true and a valid argument. My counter-argument would be that only five players have been a part of all three championships (Crosby, Malkin, Fleury, Letang and Kunitz). So I think their return to championship glory is more a credit to the front office staff and maturity of star players. Also, they had some average seasons in between those championships. So I have a very hard time giving this current Penguins team the dynasty label.
In breaking down the possible dynasties in NHL history, I think we have a fair definition of what makes a team a true dynasty. An NHL dynasty is any post-expansion team that wins at least three championships within a decade, utilizing the same core group of players for each championship. With that definition, here are the six undeniable NHL dynasties since 1967.
- Montreal Canadiens (1965-1979)
- New York Islanders (1980-1983)
- Edmonton Oilers (1984-1990)
- New Jersey Devils (1995-2003)
- Detroit Red Wings (1997-2002)
- Chicago Blackhawks (2010-2015)
We have definitively answered the question of what is a dynasty, and this Penguins team is not a dynasty (yet). However, this Penguins team does deserve a place in the list of greatest teams of all-time.
