Where Does Pittsburgh Rank Among All-Time Teams?

For the first time in nearly two decades, the NHL has a repeat champion.

Not since the 1998 Detroit Red Wings has any team lifted Lord Stanley’s Cup in back-to-back years, until now. And while the sight of Sidney Crosby and his pre-pubescent facial hair lifting the greatest trophy in sports for a third time in his career is nauseating to some, the point has to be made that this sort of thing is supposed to be damn near impossible in the salary cap era. Even with the addition of a 31st team this offseason, Pittsburgh still has the best chance to win in 2018, according to odds makers. So just how good is this team?

During this year’s finals, the NHL celebrated its 100th anniversary by allowing the fans to vote on their selection for all-time greatest Stanley Cup champions. The results, while still debatable, are not entirely surprising. Even less surprising is that many of the top teams were part of repeat or “dynasty” runs for their franchises. So with a repeat championship under their belts, where do the 2017 Pittsburgh Penguins fit into this mix? To start this discussion, we will look at some of the past repeat champs who have been voted among the top champions as a metric to compare.

*Disclaimer: this is clearly a flawed system as it is entirely arbitrary. But there are similarities among many of these champions that can be used to measure each of them against each other, specifically the talent on their roster, their ability to repeat, and their place in history, both statistically and otherwise. There is always room for debate — and I’m assuming that’s why you came to The Unbalanced in the first place, is it not?

Edmonton Oilers, 1984–85; 1987–88

Occupying four of the top ten spots on the NHL’s recent list, the Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s has carried a reputation for dominance. It helps to have that guy Wayne Gretzky on the roster. But the star power went far beyond The Great One; Edmonton featured seven Hall of Fame players on these teams, including Jari Kurri, Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson, and Grant Fuhr, just to name some. Their ability to repeat was stunted twice by the Calgary Flames, who went to the finals in 1986 and won the cup in ‘89. If not for those two years, Edmonton may have very well won seven straight; they won all the others (1984–1990). This era of Oilers hockey is one of astonishing success and was compiled of some of the greatest players to don an NHL sweater.

Montreal Canadiens, 1976–1979

A franchise which boasts a whopping 24 Stanley Cup victories, perhaps one of its best incarnations came in the mid to late 1970s, when the Habs rattled off four straight cups. They asserted their dominance throughout the Original Six era, and re-asserted themselves after the expansion by producing what many believe may have been the greatest single team of all time in 1977. That team won 60 games in an 80 game season and Canadiens players won just about every piece of silverware available. They featured names such as Larry Robinson, Ken Dryden, Guy Lafleur, and Jacques Lemaire, just to name a few. Of the players on these cup winning teams, 10 are currently enshrined in the Hall, and that’s not including Scotty Bowman, who coached the team to all four titles. No one may ever come close to this level of dominance again, especially in today’s 31-team league.

New York Islanders, 1980–1983

The NHL went from one team winning four straight cups to another in 1980. A franchise with a checkered past, the New York Islanders reached levels of success only dreamed about since the expansion era when they collected all four their Stanley Cups from 1980–1983. As a loss to the aforementioned Oilers ended that reign in 1984, so a strange turn took the Islanders down a winding path to mediocrity (and occasionally worse than that) that stretched for decades. But during those four years, no one beat the Isles. This is certainly a team that lives in legend, and was also heavily laden with historic levels of talent. Seven of those players, including Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin, Billy Smith, and Bryan Trottier, have all been inducted into the Hall of Fame, and many believe that Bossy’s success may have mirrored some of his contemporaries had his career not been cut short by injury. This team truly stands near the top in all time greatness.

Pittsburgh Penguins, 1991–92

This earlier incarnation of the Penguins franchise featured consecutive cups to usher in the ‘90s, and featured one of the greatest scorers in history: Mario Lemieux. It featured six players who are enshrined in the Hall, including names like Lemieux, Ron Francis, and Paul Coffey. It also boasts the second appearance of Scotty Bowman, who coached this team to each of these two championships. The 1992 version of this squad was ranked by fans as the NHL’s second greatest championship team ever, and it was this era of Pens hockey that solidified the legacy of Lemieux far into the future. His impact is still felt today as the owner and savior of this franchise, so his contribution on the ice is still greatly valued thanks to the success of these two championship seasons.

Detroit Red Wings, 1997–98

Another back-to-back cup winner, the 1997 Red Wings snapped a 42 year drought when they lifted the cup. Beyond the star power of long time captain Steve Yzerman, this era of Wings hockey featured the Russian Five and players like Larry Murphy and Brendan Shanahan to help guide them to consecutive championships, including a four-game sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers in ’97. Their dominance was evident and this back-to-back feat stood as the last one in almost 20 years until this season. Oh, and for those keeping track at home, here’s the third appearance of coach Scotty Bowman.

So where do today’s Penguins fit into the mix? The truth of the matter is it’s nearly impossible to say at this point. If we’re talking about dominance over the hockey landscape, a great point in their favor is the fact that they are the first team to repeat as champions since the NHL expanded to 30 teams, a feat that’s even harder to accomplish in today’s salary-cap era. With their odds of three-peating at 8–1, Pittsburgh could put a stranglehold on the current epoch of hockey and truly write their name in the record books alongside the teams mentioned above.

They also have the benefit of featuring at least one player — Sidney Crosby — who seems destined for the Hall of Fame. However, it may be too soon to begin the ceremony for many of the other players on this team. What will the status of Kris Letang or Evgeni Malkin be when they retire? What do multiple championships do for the status of veteran players like Chris Kunitz or Matt Cullen? We have only seen the first glimpses of Matt Murray and Jake Guentzel; what is the ceiling for these young players?

The unfortunate reality is that we are too close to this team to see what their status will become in the annals of NHL history. They certainly have proven their greatness and are heavy with talent. But it may take a long time before we place this team alongside the names of teams like the Edmonton Oilers or New York Islanders of the 1980s or the Canadiens of the 1970s. And that might only happen if they are able to win a third consecutive next season. With a wild offseason ahead of us, how will that impact their chances?

For now, the jury is still out. It will be interesting to see how their legend has grown over time, and where the 2017 Pittsburgh Penguins will rank among all time teams.