Ranking the Top NHL Dynasties
The National Hockey League, known as the NHL, was formed in 1917.
Originally, it had four teams that were all based in Canada, but it has since grown to include thirty-two squads based across North America. In its lengthy history, some of these teams have become the stuff of legend, building dynasties that have won major trophies season after season.
Characterized by an abundance of Hall of Fame players, they remain the backbone of hockey lore. We discuss the top NHL dynasties in the article below.
Montreal Canadiens (1955-1960 & 1976-1979)
The Montreal Canadiens have had two major dynasties throughout the history of the NHL.
In many ways, they have come to embody more than just the hopes of a state, but a country, with the whole of Canada, even Toronto supporters, often backing them against stacked US opposition.
Its first real dynasty came between 1955 and 1960. This team managed to beat the Red Wings for the Stanley Cup. The following two years, they overcame Boston, then took the trophy two years on the bounce against their neighbours, Toronto.
Four of those seasons saw them finish first in the league, a feat no team has ever managed to replicate.
During this period, the team was awash with Hall of Famers. They included:
- Jean Beliveau
- Toe Blake
- Butch Bouchard
- Bernie Geoffrion
- Doug Harvey
- Tom Johnson Dickie Moore
- Bert Olmstead
- Jacques Plante
- Henri Richard
- Maurice Richard
- Frank Selke
Many of these players formed the backbone of the squad, appearing in most of their Stanley Cup victories. Maurice Richard was particularly of note, and now the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy is awarded annually to the leading NHL goalscorer.
Following them was the 1976-1979 team. Like their predecessors, they also managed to win four consecutive Stanley Cups. In ’76, they beat Philadelphia, Boston for the next two years, and rounded it off in ’79 with a win over the New York Rangers.
They also had a raft of Hall of Fame members on their books, including:
- Scotty Bowman
- Yvan Cournoyer
- Ken Dryden
- Bob Gainey
- Guy Lafleur
- Guy Lapointe
- Jacques Lemaire
- Sam Pollock
- Larry Robinson
- Serge Savard
- Steve Shutt
Not only was this one of the best teams Montreal has ever fielded, but many view it as the greatest hockey team in history. Players such as Guy Lafleur were at the top of their game, being the NHL's top goal scorer in three of four seasons. His linemates were not far behind, and the defensive line was lapping up accolades such as the Norris Trophy, the Selke Trophy, and the Vezina Trophy.
The team's run only ended when many of its major stars either retired or left to spend their final days of play at other teams.
New York Islanders (1980-1983)
The New York Islanders team of the eighties had its genesis in the 1979 season. The inclusion of players like Butch Goring began to turn the team into serious contenders, letting them cast off the yoke of being considered a lacklustre expansion squad.
While the season yielded just ninety-one points, the next season would see them gain one hundred and ten points, thirteen points over second-place Philadelphia and a return to the division title. The next year, they won the Patrick Title with a huge twenty-six points over the second-place Rangers.
For many, the 1982-83 season was one of the best in NHL history for the team. Despite coming second in the Patrick Division, it heralded their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup Win. This made them the first team in the US to win four consecutive Stanley Cups. In 1980, they took down the Philadelphia Flyers, in '81 it was the Minnesota North Stars, and this was followed by the Vancouver Canucks. For their fourth, they took down an Edmonton Oilers team that was soon about to forge a dynasty of its own.
The team at the time had notable Hall of Fame members:
- Al Arbour
- Mike Bossy
- Clark Gillies
- Denis Potvin
- Billy Smith
- Bill Torrey
- Bryan Trottier
This was not bad for a team that had only joined in the 1972‐73 season.
Their quick ascent was done through a robust acquisition of draft players, which combined experience with young talent. The Conn Smythe Trophy was awarded to Bryan Trottier for being the playoff MVP in 1980. Mike Bossy won it in 1982, with Billy Smith earning it in 1983. The result was nineteen consecutive playoff series for the team.
Edmonton Oilers (1984-1990)
In the 1979-80 season, four teams joined the NHL from the World Hockey Association. In their inaugural season, the Oilers managed to make it to the Stanley Cup final but, as previously mentioned, ducked out to the in-form New York Islanders.
Owner of the club, Peter Pocklington, remarked, “Within five years, Edmonton will have the Stanley Cup,” and was derided by the press and opposition fans. Little did they know, his predictions would soon come true.
By 1984, the team had won its first Stanley Cup, and it would usher in a period that would be known as the ‘Wayne Gretzky’ era. While success in this period did not solely belong to one man, he did define it. Gretzky had started in the NHL with the 1980 season, winning every MVP award and bagging his fifth by 1984. It came with an eye-watering eighty-seven goals and 118 assists.
Plenty of other players backed him, elevating the team to greatness. In fact, between the 83 and 86 seasons, the team had three 50‐goal scorers and four one-hundred-point players. In the eighty-four season alone, Glenn Anderson had fifty-four goals and was tied third in the league, and Jari Kurri scored fifty-two goals, making him fifth. A highly offensive outfit, even their defence was obsessed with attack. Paul Coffey had forty goals and eighty-six assists.
Hall of Fame players at the time included:
- Glenn Anderson
- Paul Coffey
- Grant Fuhr
- Wayne Gretzky
- Jari Kurri
- Kevin Lowe
- Mark Messier
- Glen Sather
Records held by the squad were also plentiful. They scored 446 goals, an NHL record, in the 83-84 season.
As well as their five Stanley Cups, Gretzky himself held two NHL records for the most assists at 163 and most points at 215, both gained in the 1985-86 season.
Toronto Maple Leafs (1947-1951 & 1961-1967)
The Maple Leafs’ squad, which formed in 1947, was one of rebirth.
Following 1947, the players of this great Maple Leafs team had provided four consecutive Stanley Cups. It made them the first to win three in a row since 1906.
The 1947 season cup ended with a win against Montreal, Detroit twice, and then the Canadiens in 1951. The team was awash with Hall of Fame members in this period, including:
- Syl Apps
- George Armstrong
- Max Bentley
- Turk Broda
- Hap Day
- Fernie Flaman
- Tim Horton
- Ted Kennedy
- Frank Mathers
- Bud Poile
- Joe Primeau
- Conn Smythe
- Harry Watson
A run of Stanley Cup wins was something the team would repeat with the 1961 to 1967 team. A lot of this success was due to Punch Imlach, who had started as an assistant manager at the team but later took over coaching and managerial duties. Their form ran from a win against the Chicago Blackhawks in 62, Detroit in 63 and 64, then the Canadiens in 67.
During this period, the squad was stacked with Hall of Fame members, including:
- Al Arbour
- George Armstrong
- Andy Bathgate
- Johnny Bower
- Gerry Cheevers
- Tim Horton
- Red Kelly
- Dave Keon
- Frank Mahovlich
- Dickie Moore
- Bert Olmstead
- Marcel Pronovost
- Bob Pulford
- Terry Sawchuk
- Allan Stanley
The Maple Leafs' run ended in 1967, in what has been since dubbed the ‘Leafs Curse.’ This year, the league expanded from 8 to 12 teams. With the increased competition, the team struggled and has not won since, spending 58 years without a cup.
Detroit Red Wings (1997-2002)
The Detroit Red Wings' season in 1997 started with what went down in history as the Avalanche-Red Wings brawl. It was a huge on-ice physical altercation between the team and its rivals, the Colorado Avalanche.
The battle began brewing in the 1996 Western Conference finals, in an incident involving Avalanche winger Claude Lemieux and Red Wings winger Kris Draper. It featured eighteen major fighting penalties and 144 minutes in penalties.
After this, the team established a reputation as hard-hitting and no-nonsense opponents. Yet this often overshadowed their actual skill on the ice. In this period, they managed to win a record sixty-two games in the 1995-96 season. By '97, they had their first Stanley Cup since the fifties. The great run by the team began when Scotty Bowman became the new coach in 1993. They would soon go on to win four consecutive Stanley Cups.
Behind all this was a foundation known as 'The Russian Five'. These were Russian players who moved to the Detroit side after the collapse of the Soviet Union. They were Sergei Fedorov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Vyacheslav Kozlov, Viacheslav Fetisov, and Igor Larionov, and while they came in the early nineties, they were instrumental to the late nineties and early noughties performance.
Several of the team became Hall of Famers, including:
- Steve Yzerman
- Nicklas Lidstrom
- Sergei Fedorov
- Brendan Shanahan
- Igor Larionov
- Chris Chelios
- Dominik Hasek
- Brett Hull
- Luc Robitaille
- Scotty Bowman
Pittsburgh Penguins (2009-2017)
By 2009, sport and the NHL had changed drastically. Global television licensing and the internet were making the game global. With a bigger reach and teams becoming more international, schedules became more punishing, and players wanted recompense. In 2004-05, a lockout cancelled the entire season, and major changes were underway in the NHL to resolve it.
In 2004-2005, a limit was imposed on the amount of money a team could spend on player wages. This meant squads now had to balance a budget, and wealthier teams could not simply buy up the league.
The result of this was a period known as ‘The Salary Cap’ era. The Pittsburgh Penguins were the first team to win back-to-back Stanley Cups in this time, winning them in 2009 and then in 2016 and 2017. Tied with the Edmonton Oilers, the Penguins are the team that has won the most Stanley Cups outside of the original six league teams.
In 2010, they also moved into a new home at the Consul Energy Centre. This ushered in a new era, where Evgeni Malkin began to dominate the league scoring, finishing with fifty goals. Sidney Crosby also returned from injury, setting them up as one of the most formidable goal-scoring combos in the league. Unfortunately, during this period, injury was a commonplace factor.
Other accolades include winning the 2009, 2016, and 2017 Prince of Wales Trophy and the 2013 Presidents' Trophy. Several players from this period are potential future Hall of Fame inductees. These include Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang.
While this is our pick of the best dynasties and their ranking, everyone will have their own opinion, and many people will be swayed by the love of their hometown team or local heroes.
Regardless of preference, these teams have helped to shape the NHL, adding to its myth and legend. With the future being unwritten and a whole new host of stars on the way, we await the next great NHL dynasty to add to the list.