Best Teams Ever Tournament

[TSmith1969]

What's the best team in hockey history?

This tournament will feature 32 of the best teams of all time to determine the best ever.

Using FHM7's "Import Historical Team" function, I created four qualifying groups of eight teams each, by era. The top four from each era will advance to the round of 16 single-elimination knockout tournament.

I selected teams based on a combination of winning percentage, division titles, and playoff performance, and teams from the same franchise had to be at least five years apart.

Here are the four groups, by ranking:

GROUP A
1929-30 NHL Boston Bruins
1943-44 NHL Montreal Canadiens
1938-39 NHL Boston Bruins
1973-74 NHL Philadelphia Flyers
1951-52 NHL Detroit Red Wings
1950-51 NHL Toronto Maple Leafs
1939-40 NHL New York Rangers
1974-75 WHA Houston Aeros

GROUP B
1976-77 NHL Montreal Canadiens
1971-72 NHL Boston Bruins
1983-84 NHL Edmonton Oilers
1981-82 NHL New York Islanders
1988-89 NHL Calgary Flames
1988-89 NHL Montreal Canadiens
1984-85 NHL Philadelphia Flyers
1974-75 NHL Buffalo Sabres

GROUP C
1995-96 NHL Detroit Red Wings
2000-01 NHL Colorado Avalanche
2000-01 NHL Detroit Red Wings
1998-99 NHL Dallas Stars
1993-94 NHL New York Rangers
2002-03 NHL New Jersey Devils
1995-96 NHL Colorado Avalanche
1992-93 NHL Pittsburgh Penguins

GROUP D
2012-13 NHL Chicago Blackhawks
2018-19 NHL Tampa Bay Lightning
2007-08 NHL Detroit Red Wings
2012-13 NHL Pittsburgh Penguins
2005-06 NHL Carolina Hurricanes
2010-11 NHL Vancouver Canucks
2006-07 NHL Anaheim Ducks
2015-16 NHL Washington Capitals

[TSmith1969]

Team Selection

1586 teams played from 1917-18 through 2019-20.
First cut was teams with at least a .625 win percentage (about 280 teams)
Teams were awarded points for win percentage over .625
Teams were awarded points for playoff performance (maximum pts for winning the Stanley Cup).
Teams were awarded a few points for winning their division.

Once a team was selected, no team from that franchise five years before or after could be selected. Ex: the 83-84 Edmonton Oilers were the highest rated Edmonton team. All other Oiler teams from 79-89 were not eligible.

I made some adjustments at the margins to increase representation across franchises.

I also moved the 71-72 Bruins to Group B (trading places with 74-75 Houston Aeros) so there are only two Boston teams in Group A.

[TSmith1969]

Next step:

Creating Group A in FHM7, using the "import historical team" feature.

With 8 teams in the mini-league, I will schedule a 14-game schedule (one home and one away). The top four will advance.

[reverist]

Originally Posted by TSmith1969

Next step:

Creating Group A in FHM7, using the "import historical team" feature.

With 8 teams in the mini-league, I will schedule a 14-game schedule (one home and one away). The top four will advance.

What a great idea! When you get to single elimination, how will you run this? With the exhibition?

[TSmith1969]

Originally Posted by reverist

What a great idea! When you get to single elimination, how will you run this? With the exhibition?

Yes, will probably do seven-game series in exhibition mode.

[TSmith1969]

Slight change. Because rosters change when you import historical teams into an all-AI league, I'm going with an exhibition series approach instead. Will play best of 7, using 2-2-1-1-1 home team format. Will reseed teams after each round.

Also I will play out each of the four groups separately, so we will have a Group A champion before moving on to Group B.

Group A, our earliest era, consists of six great Original Six teams (but not all Six, as there are two Bruins teams and no Black Hawks), along with the Broad Street Bullies era Flyers and the 1975 Houston Aeros (with three guys named Howe), which by my scoring system were the best WHA team (and the only one in tournament.

Here are the first round pairings:

1 1929-30 NHL Boston Bruins
8 1974-75 WHA Houston Aeros

4 1973-74 NHL Philadelphia Flyers
5 1951-52 NHL Detroit Red Wings

2 1943-44 NHL Montreal Canadiens
7 1939-40 NHL New York Rangers

3 1938-39 NHL Boston Bruins
6 1950-51 NHL Toronto Maple Leafs

[TSmith1969]

Group A - First Round

1 1929-30 NHL Boston Bruins
8 1974-75 WHA Houston Aeros

Game 1
Boston 6, Houston 0
High-powered Bruins offense peppered Ron Grahame with 6 goals in the first two periods. 1930 goal and scoring champion Cooney Weiland led the attack with two goals and an assist, as Boston simply overpowered the WHAers, outshooting them 39-18.

Game 2
Boston 3, Houston 1
Andre Hinse's goal early in the second period made it 2-1 but the Aeros could not score again and Frank Waite's goal late in the third put the nail in the coffin.

Game 3
Houston 3, Boston 0
Late goals by Rich Preston and Frank Hughes broke open a tight 1-0 physical contest. Wayne Rutledge got the shutout with 18 saves and Gord Labossiere was the first star with an assist.

Game 4
Houston 2, Boston 1
The Aeros rallied from an early deficit with goals by Andre Hinse and Larry Lund, as Rutledge made 26 saves and Houston levelled the series at 2-2.

Game 5
Houston 2, Boston 1
Wayne Rutledge continued his hot streak, allowing just a single goal, and Larry Lund's goal midway through the second frame proved the game winner. Houston has won three straight and notched the first away win in in the series.

Game 6
Houston 3, Boston 0
A 46-year-old Gordie Howe finally got on the scoresheet with a pair of power play goals, son Mark Howe had two assists, and Wayne Rutledge got first star for his second shutout of the series, saving 39 shots. Rutledge turned the series around after first choice goalie Ron Grahame allowed 6 goals in the first two periods of Game 1. Boston only found the net 5 times in the next 5 1/3 games.

The WHA's only representative moves on to Group A Round 2.


Wayne Rutledge

[spartacus007]

Whoa, that's a huge upset

[TSmith1969]

Yeah, I don't know much about these old-timer teams, but 29-30 Boston had six Hall of Famers and 4-5 four-star players in the FHM engine.

Houston only had two HOFers—Gordie (46) and Mark (19) Howe—who were past and before their prime, respectively.

But, it is hard to know how teams from different eras would match up.

[TSmith1969]

Group A - First Round
4 1973-74 NHL Philadelphia Flyers
5 1951-52 NHL Detroit Red Wings

Game 1
Philadelphia 4, Detroit 1
The Flyers broke open a 1-1 game with three goals in the final period. Bob Kelly had two assists, including on Bill Flett’s game-winner just over five minutes from time. Barry Ashbee had a game misconduct for an illegal check to the head, and Ed Van Impe got a misconduct in the third period, but the Wings were 0 for 6 on power play opportunities.

Game 2
Detroit 4, Philadelphia 2
Another tight game that came down to the final minutes, when Glen Skov broke a 2-2 tie with a goal at 17:11 in the third. Philly outhit Detroit 25-7, and Andre Dupont was the third Flyer in the series with a misconduct, but Terry Sawchuk was solid between the pipes.

Game 3
Philadelphia 4, Detroit 1
Rick MacLeish scored the go-ahead goal 13:03 into the third period and Dave Schultz added a pair of empty-net goals, as Detroit won the physical game (26-19 in hits) but could not find the net after Gordie Howe’s opener four minutes into the game. So far, all three games have been decided in the third period.

Game 4
Detroit 4, Philadelphia 0
The Flyers held Detroit to 19 shots, but four of them went in, as the Red Wings scored twice in the first period and never looked back, levelling the series at 2-2. Gordie Howe scored his second and Ted Lindsay and Red Kelly each had a pair of assists. Sawchuk saved all 25 shots he faced for the series’ first shutout.

See-saw battle through four games. First three games decided in the third period, no team has won two in a row, and the leading scorer is the Flyers' Dave “The Hammer” Schultz, better known for the single-season record in penalty minutes (472).

[TSmith1969]

Game 5
Detroit 3, Philadelphia 0
Philly’s physicality backfired, as 18 first period penalty minutes (including a Gary Dornhoefer misconduct) resulted in Alex Delvecchio's power play goal with 18 seconds to play. Glen Skov added a pair, including an empty-netter, to run his series tally to four goals, and Terry Sawchuk got his second straight shutout, and first on the road.

Game 6
Philadelphia 5, Detroit 2
The Flyers avoided elimination with an impressive road win, scoring four unanswered goals after falling behind 2-1. Philly spread out the offense with five different goalscorers and nine different assist men, and backup goalie Bobby Taylor had 30 saves and a .938 save percentage. Game 7 is back in the Spectrum.

Game 7
Detroit 4, Philadelphia 1
The Red Wings outshot the Flyers 46-28, including 26-8 in the first period when they jumped to a 2-0 lead on goals by Alex Delvecchio and Tony Leswick. Philly’s Barry Ashbee ended the series the way he started it—with a game misconduct for an illegal check to the head. C Glen Skov was the series’ top scorer with 5 goals and an assist, and Terry Sawchuk had a 1.29 GAA and .949 save percentage, and the visiting team won 5 of 7 games.

The Flyers' last team in the tournament is the 84-85 Ron Hextall team that went to the Stanley Cup Finals in Group B. Detroit will have three more entries in Groups C and D: the 95-9, 00-01, and 07-08 teams.

[Incidentally, the 51-52 Wings are winning the "best hockey names" sub-contest so far, with the likes of Enio Sclisizzi and Metro Prystai.]


Glen Skov

[TSmith1969]

Next up:

2 1943-44 NHL Montreal Canadiens
7 1939-40 NHL New York Rangers

[TSmith1969]

Group A - First Round (3/4)
2 1943-44 NHL Montreal Canadiens
7 1939-40 NHL New York Rangers

Game 1
New York 5, Montreal 4, OT
The Rangers second-leading scorer Neil Colville assisted and scored the game-tying and game-winning goals, the latter coming in overtime, to reverse a 3-4 deficit at the Montreal Forum. Habs’ Hall of Fame center Buddy O’Connor also had a goal and assist.

Game 2
Montreal 5, New York 2
The all-Hall of Fame line of Toe Blake, Elmer Lach, and Maurice Richard produced three goals and two assists, and took all three stars. Lach had two goals and an assist. The game was scoreless until Butch Bouchard broke the deadlock at 14:20 in the second.

Game 3
New York 2, Montreal 1, OT
The Canadiens outshot the home team 28-13 but still managed to to lose. The Rangers’ Mac Colville and Montreal’s Maurice Richard exchanged unassisted goals in the second, and New York C Phil Watson (who was also a center for ‘44 Montreal) scored the winner in overtime. Rangers goalie Dave Kerr saved 27 of 28 shots.

Game 4
Montreal 5, New York 1
Montreal again dominated play, outshooting New York 38-26 and scoring five goals in the first two periods. The top like of Blake-Lach-Richard again produced two goals and three assists and LW Bob Fillion had a pair of assists. Third line winger Alf Pike got the lone goal for the Rangers.

Game 5
Montreal 2, New York 1
The Habs outshot New York 45-27 and outhit them 27-10, and Bob Fillion got the game-winning goal midway through the third period, as Montreal took a 3-2 series lead.

Game 6
Montreal 3, New York 0
Bill Durnan got the shutout with 35 saves as Maurice Richard and center Ray Getliffe scored in the first period and the Habs never looked back. “The Rocket” Richard scored his fifth goal of the series and won series MVP with seven points.

As the top remaining seed in the group, Montreal will play the 74-75 Aeros in the second round.

Some notes on the 43-44 Canadiens:
Montreal won it’s 5th Stanley Cup. Bill Durnan joined the club as the new goaltender and became the first rookie to win the Vezina Trophy. He stated he was happy as an amateur and happy with less money if it meant avoiding the stress of the professional game. He remained unsigned until 10 minutes before the first faceoff.
The Punch Line of Elmer Lach, Rocket Richard, and Toe Blake were all eventual Hall of Famers. Richard scored 32 goals these season, he became the first to score 50 in a season the following year, and retired in 1960 as the all-time leading scorer with 544 goals.


The Punch Line: Maurice Richard, Elmer Lach, Toe Blake

[Xavier's Crown]

Love it - great idea and looking forward to seeing how it plays out.

note: Hard to believe the 1959-60 Montreal Canadiens aren't there. They won 5 cups in a row (NHL record) and are considered the second greatest Montreal team in history (source: https://www.nhl.com/news/top-10-mont...ms/c-288697184)

[TSmith1969]

I had to make some tough choices to whittle the list down to 32. Plus I made some allowances to have the broadest number of franchises represented, which allowed some lesser teams (like the Leafs) to sneak in ahead of some objectively superior Montreal teams.

But so many great Habs teams to choose from! Of those five straight Cup winners in the late 50s, the 1955-56 team scored highest by my system, which probably gives more weight to regular season win percentage than the real-life Canadiens did, focused as they were on decorating their building...

[TSmith1969]

Speaking of lesser teams... the Leafs are up next. Their only entry in the tournament: the 50-51 Stanley Cup winners.

Interesting Toronto tidbit (or is it a Timbit?): of their 13 Stanley Cup seasons, only twice did they also come in 1st in the regular season. This '50-51 team finished second, but had the highest regular season pts percentage in franchise history (until 2020-2021, that is...)


3 1938-39 NHL Boston Bruins
6 1950-51 NHL Toronto Maple Leafs

[TSmith1969]

And speaking of number of entries, here's the breakdown of most-represented franchises in the 32-team tournament:

4 - Detroit Red Wings
3 - Montreal Canadiens
3 - Boston Bruins
2 - Colorado, NY Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh
1 - Anaheim, Buffalo, Calgary, Carolina, Chicago, Dallas, Edmonton, Houston, New Jersey, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington

[TSmith1969]

Group A - First Round (4/4)
3 1938-39 NHL Boston Bruins
6 1950-51 NHL Toronto Maple Leafs

Game 1
Toronto 5, Boston 3
Three first period goals set the Leafs on a path to an easy victory, as the outshot the hosts 42-25. Boston pulled within one midway through the third before goals by Toronto’s Sid Smith and Gus Mortson put the game away. Mortson was the first star with a goal, an assist, and a +3.

Game 2
Boston 3, Toronto 0
Frank Brimsek saved all 35 shots he faced, and Red Hamill, Roy Conacher, and Eddie Shore scored for the Bruins, who levelled the series, 1-1.

Game 3
Toronto 6, Boston 0
Returning to Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto dominated all phases of the game, outshooting Boston 50-13, outhitting them 32-11, and outsourcing them 6-0. Sid Smith assisted on four goals, and Tod Sloan had two goals and two assists.

Game 4
Toronto 7, Boston 1
Sid Smith got first star a second game in a row, with a pair of goals and an assist, as Toronto scored five unanswered goals until Boston finally got on the board late in the second period.

Game 5
Toronto 3, Boston 1
Cal Gardner had three assists and Joe Klukay scored a pair, as the Leafs won their third straight to seal the series 4-1 in Boston. Goalie Al Rollins held Boston to just two goals in the last three games, and Sid Smith took series MVP honors with 11 points, as Toronto outscored the Bruins 21-8 across five games. Next up for Toronto: the ‘51-52 Red Wings


Some notes on the ‘50-51 Maple Leafs:
1950-51 was the final year of the Leafs’ era of dominance; they won four Stanley Cups in five years starting in 1946-47. Toronto had the stingiest defence in the league, thanks to goalie Al Rollins, who lead the league in GAA en route to his one and only Vezina Trophy, and Second-Team All-Star D-man Jimmy Thompson. The team's top scorers were eventual Hall of Famers Max Bentley and Ted "Teeder" Kennedy.

Kennedy was the Leafs captain for eight years, a three-time All-Star, and went on to win the Hart Trophy in 1954-55; he was the last Maple Leaf to win the award. Renowned for his face-off skills, he was also the first player—with teammate goalie Turk Broda—to win five Stanley Cups.


Ted "Teeder" Kennedy

[TSmith1969]

Group A Semifinals:

2 1943-44 NHL Montreal Canadiens
8 1974-75 WHA Houston Aeros

5 1951-52 NHL Detroit Red Wings
6 1950-51 NHL Toronto Maple Leafs

[croatian]

Group C looks like a group of death