Looking at Every Stanley Cup Champ From 1980 Through 2023

[@nates9029]

Thanks for all you do, Shannon! I appreciate you keeping me sane during the offseason.

[@BlakeWheelersBurnerAccount]

Shannon goes crazy so that you don’t have to!

[@Xstrangis]

Seriously he is doing a real service. Thank you Shannon

[@dustinsindledecker154]

I know watching these videos help me get this heat wave

[@LatinxGoyslop1994]

Two madness boards in two days? You're spoiling us, Shannon. Thanks for all your hard work. Great video as always!

[@larryn1929]

Great video. Fantastic start letting me relive 4 in a row and winning 19 straight series. 40 years since the last Cup.

[@petunia35]

Your videos are really relaxing and help calm me down after tough days. Thanks man

[@bluenotesnotes8280]

Thanks for everything

[@jeremydanchuk1897]

those Colorado/Detroit series were always much watch hockey

[@djd2819]

Great video, Shannon! AFAIK, no team has gone undefeated in the playoffs since the 1959-60 Habs did it (only two rounds in those days) and only two teams have lost only one game in the playoffs since the 1967-68 expansion (when a third round was introduced): the 67-68 and 75-76 Canadiens teams.

[@victorsforza5578]

From 1987-88 to 2011-12 the New Jersey Devils made the playoffs all but 3xxx won 3SCs and went to 2 more finals and I believe 2 more conf finals. While not a dynasty the long term successful run is pretty darn good. the red wings did something similar from the early 90s to about 2011-12 or so before the decline began. It'll be interesting to see how the Chicago BLACKHAWKS rebuild, from 2008-09-2014-15 they won 3 SCs and went to two more WC finals.. a great run in a cap dominant era.

[@wwk68tig]

I live on Long Island now, but before Isles started winning their Cups, I couldn't find this place on a map.........but WTF? Gordie Howe had retired when I started high school, and we went through years of the Dead Things and this expansion team was winning CUPS????? how can this be? So i started following the Isles along with the Wings, and Bryan Trottier is my second-favorite hockey player ever..........a very enjoyable post, Shannon. Thank you.

[@thebestwingsfan]

That 2013 Blackhawks team brings back bad memories. My Red Wings were so close to knocking out the Presidents Trophy winners and were a period away in Game 6 to doing it only to fold. They were on the decline so I didn't think they had a chance and they had them down 3-1 in the series. Just like the 1989 Flames, the Blackhawks were never in any danger after that.

[@sirekumasutra7022]

16:01 10 including Scotty Bowman and that was Datsuyk's rookie year IIRC.

[@TheScotian82]

that stretch where Cgy, Edm and Ott lost in 3 straight finals to relatively obscure American teams still really grinds my gears.

[@onua3963]

But if you're a Southern hockey fan it makes you pretty dang happy ;)

[@neeltheother2342]

Belittling said American teams in that way is more gear-grinding than that.

[@RRaquello]

For one year Anaheim had a great team. But only for one year. Ottawa's year was the one when they lost to the Devils in game 7 on that Jeff Friesen goal. With about 2 minutes left. Man, that was murder. Especially since it was in Ottawa.

[@djd2819]

Of course, I remember from 1984 to 1990 when a Canadian team won the SC every year and the decade before that pretty much belonged to the Habs. Oh for the good old days... 😉

[@MDK2_Radio]

15:05 as a Colorado fan, I felt that. I had half expected us to win a third time following NJ the year before.

[@smadas4192]

Shows how tough it is to stay on top! My isles dominated 4 yrs in a row, then handed over to Edmonton who has 5 of the next seven! Crazy to think, 2 teams holding 9 cups in 12 yrs, not anymore...

[@MDK2_Radio]

There was the nine year stretch where three teams (NJ, COL, and DET) won 8 Cups, something else that’s not likely to happen again.

[@benoitrobitaille5235]

You mean like the other 8 wins by 3 teams stretch that happened right after by LA, Pittsburgh and Chicago ?

[@TylerMorganShow]

Love your deep dives!!

[@BondandBourne]

Shannon’s dedication is something I strive for

[@projectnewmoon9314]

I’ll never forget that in 2014 three of the Rangers’ losses to the Kings were in OT. Including 2 double OT. Doesn’t look it but that series was close.

[@yoholmes273]

Same with the Devils- Kings series. People forget how close those Finals truly were.

[@frankharris1649]

The 2002 Detroit Red Wings and the Colorado aves were loaded with talent!

[@BarbaOlof]

The 96 Avalanche win is a favourite of mine. Sakic, Forsberg, Kamensky, Lemieux, Roy, Ozolinsh we’re all really fun to watch.

[@jasonpaul4308]

that was my question they asked you on the ducks interview! lol...i completely understand all your critiques on the question haha but i appreciate you still answering it to the best you felt you could :)

[@sagan7585]

Excellent, thorough converage. I do remember most of this, especially starting with the Islanders when I was only seven years old. BUUT, it is the complete breakdown and reminder....bringing those memories. (not that I remembered all of them)

[@tamarockstar45]

It's funny you can see he progressively had to make everything smaller as the board filled in. lol

[@tendresseak27]

7 straight wins by canadian teams in the 80's to none in the last 30 years

[@joemofo5689]

This is my go to channel for Hockey. 🍻

[@smadas4192]

Al Arbour did the same! After suffering defeat with top record, he reserved "gas" for playoff run!

[@daved1535]

IMO the 1983 Islanders and the 1984 Oilers are the best teams on the list because they ended up beating each other

[@Mazzter88]

Mike Vernon-4 stanley cup finals-2 cups and a conn smythe -all at 5’6”-wouldn’t even be in the league today

[@kcrowther14]

Dallas 99 no controversy except for brett hulls foot😂

[@indianabp]

That 2013 Blackhawks team, not only went 7 vs the Wings in the West Semis, but they were down 3-1 before storming back, eventually winning 11 of their last 14 playoff games.

[@adkeric]

NJD only had 3 HOF on 1995 playoff roster. Fetisov got traded at the deadline (to DET)

[@chazmaniandevil126]

I think that Colorado is the only team who has never lost a final they’ve been in.

[@Kenpoman999]

Excellent video for offseason consumption, especially when you're "hungry " for hockey! Well done!!

[@smadas4192]

Shannon, they weren't out of gas! They had injuries they couldn't overcome, they had rookies playing their first NHL games in the cup final and 2 players missed time cause their fathers passed away!

[@tsaunders225]

I am not a Flyers fan. But seeing how many times they got to the stanly cup and never able to win one makes me feel sad

[@fishbomb6378]

As a Rangers fan that 2014 final being 5 games is a bit misleading since three of the games went to overtime with two of them being double overtime but overall the Kings deserved to win that series

[@joeya8721]

Good vid. One thing to point out. 2014 Kings, each of the first three series went 7 games, as mentioned. Round 1 - Down 3 games to 0 - Won game 7 on the road Round 2 - Won game 7 on the road Round 3 - Won game 7 on the road Likelihood of that ever happening again?

[@VexJinks]

Oilers going 16-2 in the playoffs is likely something that will never be replicated again.

[@RRaquello]

An interesting thing about the 92 Penguins win is that in the second round they won the first game vs. the Rangers. In game 2 an Adam Graves slash broke Lemieux's wrist and he missed the rest of the series. The Penguins lost game 2 & 3, without Lemieux. Then they recovered and won the last 3 vs. the Rangers to advance. Then they swept the last two rounds vs. Boston & Chicago. I've always thought that without the Lemieux injury on a cheap shot, they would have also swept the Rangers, and adding that to the fact they came from 3-1 down to beat Washington, winning the last 3 games of that series, they would have ended up winning 15 games in a row to win the cup. We'll never know for sure, but I don't see how one can avoid coming to that conclusion.

[@benoitrobitaille5235]

2002 Red Wings with 9 confirmed hall of famers, most likely more, was the most stacked team by a long shot of the modern era. I do not think we will ever get anything close to it with a cap, unless close to a dozen HOF caliber players accepts to play severely underpaid together to chase the cup in the end of their career type of ordeal, on a team with cheap good rookies that will also end up HOF long after.

[@MikeG82]

on paper the most stacked team, but most of those guys were past their prime

[@benoitrobitaille5235]

Legends past their prime are still sometimes better then good players on their best years, the experience and name recognition is just a bonus.

[@markhodge7]

Great recap. Bringing back the memories

[@JeffKing310]

This is a great recap. One of the magical, and somewhat unusual things, about the NHL is that the first round of the playoffs is usually the best. And the Final often one sided.

[@father042]

I really doubt that any member of the 2019 Blues gets into the hall of fame, maybe O'Reilly

[@exaven]

ooo an interesting stat would be how many hall of famers the loosing team had in the finals / how many hof did the winners beat in the playoff run

[@brandonnarayan5796]

You can see, usually 4-5 teams seem to dominate over 10ish year spans

[@sukhpreetsingh4488]

As a Canucks fan I debated on watching this Thank you for everything you do tho

[@lucdelorme5923]

We couldn't just do this since 67. Yes, I'm a Habs fan, but come on. Include our best years. 😂I'm still excited for this video.

[@markhodge7]

1976 Montreal Canadiens 12-1, after their 8 loss season. Domination defined!

[@smadas4192]

Memories...

[@regg97]

My first Stanley cup final I watched was the Rangers in 94

[@danielkrall6501]

There really isn't a comparison between hockey 40 years ago vs now. Those Islanders and Oilers teams will never be replicated. Same with the 70's Flyers. There is no way to know whether the Lightning of 2020-2023 could give the 85 Oilers or the 82 Islanders or the 77 Canadiens or the 75 Flyers or the 72 Bruins a run for their money, because it's just a vastly different game with completely different play and culture.

[@yoholmes273]

Teams today could NEVER hang with those teams you mentioned. I don't care what goof cites whatever computer printout analytic report .... Todays game is sooooo soft compared to back in the day. The Oilers and most especially The Flyers under old school (real North American NHL) rules would DESTROY any modern team you care to mention.

[@RRaquello]

We'll never see a really great team again, just because the cap won't allow it. The teams we see now are just the best of a mediocre bunch. I don't mean the players are mediocre, but the teams are. The talent is more spread out. Edmonton is a good example. They have two great players, a handful of good players and the rest are just fillers. The team that wins any one year is just the team that gets hot at the right time. Unlike when Montreal or the Islanders or Edmonton won and you knew they were the best, now you'll have five teams that look about the same and the team that wins is just the hot team in June.

[@yoholmes273]

@RRaquello Bruh, Your assertion is just erroneous. We all just saw The Lightning win 2 in a row and LA Kings win 2 in a row before that. Those were really great teams. Pittsburgh won 2 Cups in a row & also, the Blackhawks won 3 in 5 years. So yeah, we have seen "really great teams" in the cap era. Cmon man.....

[@RRaquello]

@@yoholmes273 I wouldn't consider those really great teams, at least not in comparison to, say, the late 70s Canadiens. Nowadays, even the best teams aren't good enough to sustain a great season both in the regular season and the playoffs. The Habs or Islanders or Oilers were enough better than the other teams that they'd be better the whole season, from October to June, but now it's a different team every month and whoever gets hot at the right time ends up winning the cup. You can be good in the regular season or good in the playoffs, but you can't be good in both because there are about five other teams just as good as you and you each take your turn at being the best--but only for a month or 6 weeks.

[@RIPJimmyA7X]

​@RRaquello idk that Avs team 2 years was pretty darn stacked, not to far off of alot of pre lockout champs

[@killerbeau97]

When a madness board comes up you know it's gonna be a good day

[@Oilers1972]

👍❤️for the vid. I like the jersey also. That’s the one I have. Tie down strap and all. The Edmonton Oilers would have won 5 in a row had they beat the Flames.

[@poejavelski148]

I think the 2022 Avs will be the most impressive cup winner for a long time imo. Of the 20 games, they were outplayed in only 2 (game 2 vs Blues and game 3 vs Lightning) and made their 16 wins look easy. They are also one of the few cup winners to have mediocre goaltending, they probably could have used one of those cardboard training nets and still won. This being in the salary cap era makes me more impressed than any of the previous dynastys.

[@Thynqikan]

my opinion is the 1988 Oilers are the #1 team of the 1980+ era. 16-2 record and extremely dominant.

[@MDK2_Radio]

Not being dominant in goal isn’t mediocrity, it’s just not being dominant in goal.

[@poejavelski148]

@@MDK2_RadioThey quite literally had mediocre goaltending. I never said anything about “not being doninant” I explicitly used the word mediocre for a reason. Kuempers 0.902 save percentage ranks him last among cup winning goalies since 2000, and Francouz with 0.906 ranks him second last. Also off the top of my head I remember Kuemper had the second worst GSAA after Fleury in 09, as Kuemper had a -4.2 GSAA. So no, they did have mediocre goaltending in the playoffs.

[@poejavelski148]

@@ThynqikanYes but there was no salary cap, so I don’t put as much weight on those teams. There was basically no parity in the league, it was like the NBA where the dominant teams got a free pass to the 3rd round.

[@MikeG82]

got to win more than once to be truly great

[@nuvve8159]

when you start your video, you should start it with "welcome back"... that can be your classic catch phrase. Just like the guy that had the phrase "he shoots, he scores". Yours is "welcome back"!

[@williamsteffey3434]

Yeah…that ‘02 Red Wings team will hit double digit HOF’ers when Datsyuk gets in.

[@maxfish4270]

Well yes, that 2006 Carolina Hurricanes team had only 1 Hall of Famer, however Rod Brind'Amor should be in but Lanny McDonald doesn't like him or whatever.

[@protoman1365]

On a quiz detailing Stanley Cup champions, I can list 41 of these 43 from memory. I always get 1994 and 2011 wrong. My trauma as a Canucks fan won’t let me answer either of them correctly.

[@edschramm6757]

this is definitely a difficult thing to rank. arguments for multiple interpretations, like you said. i don't necessarily think any specific way is an invalid interpretation, even if i disagree with the output of that interpretation. about the only thing i can really call out is surrounding the "well, they came back from 3-1" i don't see as particularly valid for team strength, since they still were down 3-1. resilience, sure, but that feels like it says more about their opponent letting up than it says about the team's ability directly. actually a point against the 2014 kings, my team. i'll also point out there is a relationship between the most exciting runs and the least dominant runs. using the kings, the 2014 series against Chicago was the closest i have ever seen. about the closest i think you can get to a power ranking is a "run dominance" rating. that, in theory, measures how strong a team was in their environment. like you said, a team from 30 years ago would likely get flattened by a modern team, just with the shift towards depth and better equipment.

[@Joe_Ma99]

13:48 maybe avs will learn the same lesson. Seems like they put a lot of weight into winning the division when playoffs is what really matters.

[@tsaunders225]

Shannon, as a fan of both teams how was watching the 2011 cup?

[@The_Room_2_Doggys_Revenge]

Summer is the season for madness boards

[@jabbers081769]

hockey can you do me for me, ranking stanley cup champions from 1960-2023 please

[@shanew5957]

So you need at least 3-4 future HOFers on your team to have a good chance for a cup.

[@neeltheother2342]

I will say, even though it is impossibility to "rank" cup champions, if there's one person online that's allowed to rank them it is the THG. Your knowledge is incredible and any criticism you get from randoms about how you'd rank teams is in vain.

[@smadas4192]

Never has mattered what's done regular season, real season starts when playoffs start!

[@andrewpadaetz5549]

The 1980 Finals was lost by the Flyers simply due to stupid penalties-15 power play goals by the Islanders during the series which is still a Finals record.

[@andrewpadaetz5549]

PS that game 5 in 1982 was as close as any time for the dynasty to end. Penguins led 3-1 with 6 minutes to go but gave up 2 goals (McEwen and Tonelli) near end of regulation, then Tonelli again in OT to finish off the Pens.

[@thomasanderson1342]

I believe 1995 Devils only had three HOFers.

[@Lcngopher]

And that detroit sweep in 98 is still the last one in a cup final

[@luisvaldes1568]

Wild, 5 cities won the first 14 cups in the list. by the way from the teams I hate love vid. I still hate Montreal.

[@davelgary]

Awesome content, Shannon! Bill Guerin is a HOFer on that ‘09 Pitt team. Regardless, love the videos.

[@EFO841]

I love my Isles, top o' the list!

[@Average_Canadian]

Last year where all 4 isles cups are there

[@joebarr725]

2012 Kings lost Game 5 of the Final in NJ, then won Game 6 at home to take the Cup. That was their only road loss of the playoffs. They won their previous ten for a 10-1 road playoff record. Has any team gone through the entire playoffs with no road losses?

[@artokilponen6989]

Request: What do you think of the rest of the 2020's for this? That is, considering the teams where they are now, how many you can limit out like "well they for sure aren't winning in 2029 or earlier" or how many of the next six Stanley Cups you can tell that "well this team I can pretty much guarantee wins at least once"? I don't think the actual years are relevant, that is, if you say Devils wins a Stanley Cup, then if that's in 2026 and not in 2028, I don't think it really matters anything in the end (that is, when you look back to it in, say, 2031).

[@The_Unkown_144]

Do the 1915 Stanley Cup Vancouver Millionaires

[@ronfehr7899]

I loved the Islanders final Stanley Cup win because they swept the Gretzky-led Oilers, who I hated. And the next five years were upsetting for me. I didn't mind the fifth Oilers Cup win as much because Gretzky was gone by then.

[@somerandomidiot1333]

Gretzky was just too good so you didn’t like him huh? Lol

[@ronfehr7899]

@@somerandomidiot1333 Basically, yes. I just don't like players who are so far ahead of everyone else.

[@rickyaz8640]

Teams that won, sucked and bottomed out, then rebuilt are fairly unusual (Pitt/ TB and Colorado) and somehow as impressive as the dynasties

[@fd9447]

I'm racking my brain and wondering if he counts HoFers who got traded and didn't play for that team the playoffs? The 92 Penguins traded Coffey and Recchi (who won the cup with them in 1991) for Tocchet and K. Samuelsson. Also, what controversy was there for 2004 Tampa? I am drawing a blank

[@flowersforanalog]

Gelinas’ shot in game 6 that looked to be in the net for calgary

[@fd9447]

@@flowersforanalog I'd honestly forgotten about that for the last 17 or so years

[@KrisVic91]

What was your favourite era of hockey/sports Shannon?

[@stanthemn]

Those 90s Penguins teams don’t even include Jagr in their Hall of Fame count 😳

[@Mach141]

You had it right the first time, no worries. Pens were #1.

[@mattcampbell8939]

Only 3 Hhof players on the 95 NJ team***

[@smadas4192]

With poor management and ownership which caused his trade I'm glad Chara got a cup, he deserved it! Wouldn't have gotten with isles, should have been an Islanders for career!

[@klompsauce]

Oh!

[@thepuckhead1973]

There is no ranking "Stanley Cup Champs". If you win, you get your name on the Cup. Quit bitching about Covid Cups and lockout years and all that. As a fan who waited most of my adult life for my Cup Parade, I'd never belittle any fans experience. I said "Just one before I die" I meant it, and being a Blues fan, that may be all I get. OK, PLAY GLORIA!!!!!!!!!

[@tonycarr8757]

One of your recent madness boards made me think of a really niche topic- how good are players in the NHL draft 18 years after their country wins a major global tournament?? Could even be as specific as players from Nova Scotia, Boston, BC, etc

[@tonycarr8757]

you know- celebration babies. LOL

[@coltsgotluck6518]

Lightning fans have to be bitter that 2/3 cup wins both have asterisks lol.

[@markhodge7]

Hockey is made of apples. Era wins are as impressive as any other era. Same sticks. Same pucks. Same pads. Always the same net. You won. Same accolades.

[@sophiejune4515]

I'd like it if they went back to best of five. Maybe best of five until the conference final and the cup final, then those could be best of 7. I think more upsets would work in the NHLs favor nowadays, to draw in new fans and they'd have more people watching if the series were shorter and they'd probably be more intense. Maybe.

[@smadas4192]

Yeah, 93! I still wonder what would have happened if hunter didn't cheap shot turgeon and knock him out of the playoffs after scoring winning goal against Washington! Should have been kicked out of the league, turgeon wasn't the same after!

[@smadas4192]

Imo can't compare different eras, too much change from 1 to another! Imo though I think the league is too watered down with 32 teams! I hope they are done expanding!

[@joestrunk9663]

fun to look at but imposable to name the best team . we do know some of those players are just timeless talents .and does the salary cap era have anything to do with any of it .and there i go just rambling on .but what about Betman and the refs .cost us the game last year they did in Toronto yeah

[@andrewhamp2893]

I never hear it go the other way: how does eg. Matthews fare without modern medicine, video analysis, equipment etc. Stick any modern player into skates from the 40's and let's see.

[@MK-ji9ke]

I thought your Stanley Cup power rankings list was pretty good. No strong disagreements from me. But what do I know... I'm a moron!!!

[@madmen2288]

You can't compare era, it pointless. Even the sample size will screw up any analysis. If you start from 1970 Flyers get a couple of cups on the board, the Bruins get a couple, the Habs lap the field. If you start in 1990 you screw over the Oilers and the Islanders who had a hell of a 80s... Like I said pointless. I think a decade by decade analysis is probably the fairer view. Same players, same equipment, same rules...

[@tim_nj_devil176]

A bit off topic: as a treat for the fans, I would love to see both teams wear their colored jerseys (at least) for the SCF. What is your opinion? Do you think the NHL would consider this? Also, I would like to see you do a summer video series of a team-by-team comparison as to which colored jerseys (home, 3rd, ALT) you think would work best.

[@joshmajka4980]

The NHL would never consider it, but back in the early days of the NHL teams only had one uniform. Not seperate home and away ones. In fact that didn't start until the 1955-56 season.

[@tim_nj_devil176]

@@joshmajka4980 yeah, I know that the white jersey came in being due to B&W tv.

[@gobeethoth]

how about the best teams that lost the cup final ?? the islanders and the oilers in the 80's had all the tools, and were difficult to stop. but what about the teams that were better, but somehow lost the final ?? hhmmm....

[@smadas4192]

Still say Islanders should have beaten Tampa that 2nd year! Maybe they still lose but that unseen too manyen on the ice when scoring winner never called! They would have beaten Montreal too! Tampa got karma though against Colorado when they scored with too manyen not called!

[@smadas4192]

Rangers should have lost to Vancouver!

[@bobvail1000]

North Star/Wild fan here. I think I'll just skip this video.