Dynastic Oilers popular pick for best of all-time
Three Gretzky-led teams make league’s top 20 with plenty of Habs, Isles as well
The Great One thinks the 1986-87 Edmonton Oilers are the greatest team he played on, but there’s no shortage of debate over whether that’s the best team of all-time.
Four of Wayne Gretzky’s 1980s Oilers dynasty teams are among the 20 “greatest NHL teams” as voted on by fans during the league’s 100th anniversary. Also among the top 20 are three teams from the Montreal Canadiens’ 1970s run and three from the New York Islanders’ 1980s stretch, when each dynasty captured four Stanley Cup titles in a row before passing the torch to Edmonton.
Six-time Cup-winning defenceman Kevin Lowe said he and Gretzky agreed the 1986-87 Oilers were the best of the bunch of teams that filled the rafters in Edmonton with blue, white and orange banners during one of the finest eras of hockey dominance, even though it took seven games to beat the Philadelphia Flyers in the final.
“When (Kent) Nilsson got here, I think we went 10-1 in the regular season,” Lowe said. “There was just so much offence. I don’t know if that was statistically our best Stanley Cup run as a team. It probably wasn’t because we went to seven with the Flyers. But Wayne and I both thought that that seemed like the best overall team.”
The 1983-84, 1984-85, 1986-87 and 1987-88 Oilers, 1975-76, 197677 and 1977-78 Canadiens, 1979-80, 1981-82 and 1982-83 Islanders, 1990-91, 1991-92 and 2015-16 Pittsburgh Penguins, 1997-98 and 200102 Detroit Red Wings, 1969-70 Boston Bruins, 1988-89 Calgary Flames, 1993-94 New York Rangers, 2000-01 Colorado Avalanche and 2009-10 Chicago Blackhawks were voted the top 20 teams.
Some of the older teams from the Original Six era like the 1951-52 Red Wings and 1966-67 Toronto Maple Leafs — that franchise’s most recent Stanley Cup winner — fell victim to younger voters skewing toward more recent teams. As hard as it is to compare eras, the 1976-77 Canadiens, 1986-87 Oilers and 2001-02 Red Wings could easily duke it out for the greatest in the league’s first 100 years.
“It’s hard to pick one or the other,” said legendary coach Scotty Bowman, who had a hand in seven of the top 20 teams. “I guess you could make a (case) for Hall of Fame players, wins, losses, points, goal spread.”
Montreal’s 1976-77 team won 31 of its final 40 regular-season games, still holds the record for most points with 132, outscored opponents by 216 goals and went 12-2 in the playoffs on the way to the second of four consecutive championships.
“I would stack our ’76 team up against anybody in any era,” Hall of Fame defenceman Larry Robinson said. “We had everything. If you wanted to play tough, we could play tough. If you wanted to play fast, we could play fast.”