Over the years, the NHL has been blessed by some incredible teams that have helped make the league more exciting. These are teams that didn’t just have the odd standout player but were able to work together as a cohesive unit and form a greater sum than their individual parts. Teams can be successful with one or two top players, but it takes a team effort to be one of the best hockey teams in history.
This season, the NHL has already gotten underway, and we’ve seen some great games, but will any of this year’s teams ever make a best-of list? It’s hard to say at this point, but we do know that you can find free NHL picks for every game this season.
Edmonton Oilers 1984-85
For many years, the Oilers lead the way in the NF and several of their seasons went down as the best in history. As a result, it would be hard not to find them somewhere on the list of greatest-ever NHL teams. Of course, they had the incredibly talented Wayne Gretzky, easily the best player of all time. However, their success wasn’t entirely dependent on Gretzky.
Aside from Gretzky, the Oilers also had the likes of Jari Kurri and Paul Coffey, who also had over 120 points that season. They also had multiple players who would go on to become hall of famers, including Grant Fuhr, who was a big fan favorite at the time. During the playoffs, the Oilers easily beat the Los Angeles kings and the Winnipeg Jets before defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in the Championship series.
During the 1980s, the Oilers had their most successful era in history, going on to win multiple Stanley Cups over the years. Although they had many great teams during that time, the 1984-85 season saw them at their very best. During this season, they managed to score five goals per game on average and this was their third straight season competing for the Stanley Cup in the Championship series.
Montreal Canadiens 1976-77
Although it was several decades ago now, many NHL fans still remember just how good the Canadiens were back in the 70s. Modern fans may not share the same appreciation for this side, but it’s hard to argue with them being one of the top teams of all time.
The 1976–77 team were the defending champions, having beaten the Flyers the previous season. The Canadiens swept the Boston Bruins in four games to win the Stanley Cup in impressive fashion. Two of their standout performers that season where Lafluer and Shutt, who each scored an impressive 50 goals and terrorized defenses for the Canadiens.
Not only did this side have great attacking prowess, but they also had the excellent goaltender Ken Dryden, who helped limit the opposition offense and led to multiple shutouts against strong teams.Perhaps an even bigger achievement is that eight of the players from this team would go on to join the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Pittsburgh Penguins 1991-92
In the 1991-92 season, the Penguins managed to win their second Stanley Cup in two seasons, cementing their place as one of the top NHL sides in history. They defeated the Chicago Blackhawks over four games, sweeping the opposition despite initially going 4-1 down in the first game. The Penguins had two exceptional talents in Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr, both of whom were instrumental to their success. However, they also had several other great players who formed part of a strong and cohesive team.
Mario Lemieux was probably the most important player for the Penguins in this season, and he shone in the Stanley Cup Championship Series, winning the MVP award. Lemieux helped the Penguins overturn a three goal deficit in the opening Championship game, a first in the NHL since 1944. In addition, he finished with a league-best 16 goals and 34 points in 15 playoff games.