Who's the best NHL team of all the times?
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Well, I can't really imagine that you are satisfied with the wide array of responses up above as neither they really address the question or even attempt to back it up whatsoever.  So here it is:\n\nThere has and always will be a debate over who is the greatest NHL team of all-time.  If you are wondering what has been the winniest franchise throughout history, it would be the Montreal Canadiens, who have won 24 Stanley Cups since 1917 when the NHL began it's official operations.  Next closest is the Toronto Maple Leafs with something like 12, but who really cares because they haven't won it since like 1967 and probably never will again at the rate that they are going.\n\nBut the best team of players ever assembled.  If you would like to read what Sports Illustrated's Tom Layberger has said on the subject, go to this link:\n\nhttp://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/tom_layberger/03/01/dominant.teams/\n\nHe lays out the top 10 teams of all-time in great detail.\n\nIf you want my opinion and likely anyone else with half a hockey brain to name the best team of all-time it would have to be the Edmonton Oilers between 1983-1984, 1984-1985.  They were stacked:  \nGrant Fuhr - a stone wall of a goalie, \nMark Messier - A solid skating, shit-kicking centre, \nGlenn Anderson - high speed winger, \nPaul Coffey - arguably to this day the greatest defenceman of all-time, \nKevin Lowe - current GM of the Edmonton Oilers, \nEsa Tikkanen, Old school version of Ville Nimmenen - annoying Finn player who scores goals and plays cagy defence, \nJari Kurri - the all-time leading Finnish points leader, who ALWAYS found the back of the net in clutch times,\nAnd all coached by Glen Sather - a revolutionary coach who demanded the best of his players and competed to always win.\n\nI am of course omitting one name:\nWayne Gretzky is undisputably the greatest NHL hockey player of all-time.  "The great one" holds more hockey scoring records than entire other teams combined.  Entire pages have been re-written into the record books and there they will remain in stone as they will never be broken.  His single season record of 212 points in a season will likely never be broken; 50 goals in 35 games is completely untouchable, and the fact is, he managed to amass these massive point totals over years and in clutch times in the playoffs as well.\n\nGretzky revolutionized hockey in a way that one way ever has before.  His quote:  "Well, I think an assist is just as good as a goal." is often repeated in minor hockey arenas.  His idea of using the boards, behind the net, other players' skates/bodies is completely unparalled.  He was fast, had a deadly accurate shot, and made behind the back passes while looking the other way to teammates who were practically too stunned to do anything about it.\n\nI saw Gretzky once score a goal right off the face-off.  That's how good he was.  I remember when he used to shoot the puck down the ice like it was icing, only to see it bounce in a funny way off the boards and straight to Jari Kurri for an easy tap-in.  Dude, Gretzky was seriously ridiculously good.  \n\nNow, the Edmonton Oilers won the cup 4 out of 5 years, between 83 and 88, although interestingly lost out in the 1985-1986 season in one of the most famed playoff series of all-time:\n  \nIn game 7 in the opening round against their arch-rivals The Calgary Flames, with 2.4 seconds left, Steve Smith (a defenceman for the Oilers) skated around the net in his own zone and in a completely harmless play accidentally passed the puck into his own net!  This play has been re-shown and re-played probably 1,000,000 times to hockey fans everywhere and became fashionable to say:  "To pull a Steve Smith."  The fans went nuts of course, and so did the media who of course expected the Oilers to coast to an easy 3rd straight Stanley Cup.\n\nAnd do you know how classy Wayne Gretzky is?  He said to the media, to the fans, to the
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Hockey, by a mile!  It's fast.  It's exciting.  It makes me jump on my couch and scream: Let's go Rangers!!!\n\nWhy do I love hockey?  Here are a few reasons:\n\nJagr, Lundqvist, Prucha, Malik, Kasparitis, Sykora, Nylander, Ward, Moore, Ortmeyer, Hollweg, Straka, Rucinsky, Ruccin ... and so on.
846274
BLACKHAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
843693
The Redwings have had great leadership and personal over the years from Steve Yzerman, to Scotty Bowman to Nic Lidstrom to Paul Coffey to Larry Murphy to Sergei Fedorov to Vlad Konstantinov to Dom Hasek to Brendan Shanahan to etc etc etc.. thats why they have been THAT good.. final answer.
280477
I agree with jt.  It's the Rangers all the way!  I don't really care too much if they're not the best team out there, but they're still my team.  If you don't like that, then tough luck. :)
282439
You can't really call Wayne, Mario, or Gordie Howe the best player in the world.  Remember they all played in different time periods under different rules, so you can't compare them to each other.  I have to say that they were each the best player of their time period, except when Mario Lemieux had heart problems.  Wayne has the records, Howe has the 2nd place records, Mario has a couple of Lord Stanley Cups.  Mario has also played with Jaromir Jagr and Tom Barrasso, possibly the best goalie ever.  Howe played in Detroit, the single greatest team based on reputation, while Wayne played with the great Mark Messier in New York, the great Mark Messier in Edmonton, and the great Luc Robitaille in Los Angeles.  I think they all were good and can't pick any one over the others.
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Well I would say Pistons are the best.\n\nBut the Spurs are good because they play strong defense, and have a perfectly balanced and salary-wise maintained roster. And they are the NBA's deepest team.
726794
East: 1. Buffalo 2. Rangers 3. Atlanta 4. New Jersey 5. Toronto 6. Carolina 7. Pittsburgh 8. Montreal\n\nWest: 1. Anaheim 2. Nashville 3. Vancouver 4. Dallas 5. Detroit 6. Calgary 7. San Jose 8. Minnesota
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Edmonton dude, they are the most phyical team in hockey right now and with Pronger, Symth, Samsonov, Pisani, Torres, and most of all Horcoff, unstoppable.
268571
The best team in the Nation
299826
Agreed about this being the greatest Stanley Cup Playoffs of all time (if not just because we've had to wait two long years for this).\n\nMy Buffalo Sabres will win Lord Stanley's Cup and make a great many long-suffering fans very happy!\n\nGO SABRES!!!
955627
Best Football team in the world.
303561
Hockey Rules!!  Fav. Team - Detroit Red Wings...
857419
Love the Sharks, Red Wings\nHATE the Avs.
592620
NO QUESTION ABOUT IT.........THE BEST TEAM EVER!!\n\nTHE NEW YORK YANKEES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  \n\nGO YANKEES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
448843
put your money on the favorite. detroit red wings.
672321
The Russians (w/Malkin and Ovechkin) look very strong, but I think the Canadians are still a better team.\n\nSo...Canada would be my pick.