I should change the time zone I'm listed in so that it doesn't look like I'm continually getting further from midnight with these posts, which I am. I promise, once I get more into the swing of this whole working thing I'll be less sporadic.
Orange - Sports category
What is the all-time best National Hockey League team ever assembled? This question is not who is the best hockey team ever so I don't want to see anybody say "Well the Canadiens have 23 Stanley Cups." I want one team, one year. So for instance, you could say "The 1999-2000 Atlanta Thrashers. Sure they only amassed 39 points on the strength of a 14-57-7-4 record, but damn did they do it in style," and I would tell you that you should have your right to breathe the same air as the rest of us revoked, but you get the idea and I didn't want to step on any toes. Let's play hockey.
Yesterday's winner: My vanity says:
Becca: I'm gonna suck up and say that you haven't written it yet.
My sensibilities say:
Timmy: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Nothing like a little teenage angst to express American Society.
Not just Teenage angst, Timmy, but the ultimate failure of the American dream, baseball, swearing, an amazing scene with a prostitute and arguably the sweetest hat in the history of American Literature.
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Boston Bruins 1969-1972
The personalities on this team were to the extreme. I think they really embodied what hockey was during that time. They had Cheevers, Espo, Orr, Bucyk and other fun guys. I especially love how they won a Cup in 1970, ended the next regular season with the most points but got knocked off in the first round of playoffs, then came back the very next season to win the Cup again. They found out that none of their physical ability mattered if they couldn't play the mental game. Mostly, I love the crazy shit they would do. PS - Every hockey fan should read Espo's book, Thunder and Lightning.
Ray, every fiber of my being wants to say the '67 Maple Leafs or the '93 Leafs, but I can't do it, because they were both aging teams that vastly overachieved. There is, however, only one correct answer to this question and that is the '83-'84 Oilers. Let's start with the roster, including stats for the top 5 scoreres: Gretzky (87-118-205), Coffey (40-86-126), Kurri (52-61-113), Mess (37-64-101), Anderson (54-45-99). Tikkanen joined them for the playoffs. Oh, and they also had some guy named Kevin Lowe. Goaltending wasn't a worry, with Moog (3.30, .894) and Fuhr (3.87, .884) splitting time. Keep in mind, this is the 80's, so those goalie stats are better than they look (those stats are also from 84-85, as Hockey DB is missing both their stats for that year). A .744 winning percentage to go along with all the rest. This team demolished the league and ended the Islander dynasty of Bossy, Trottier, and company. No team will ever approach their single season scoring mark of 446, while only allowing 314 goals, a whopping 132 goal differential. That means they outscored their opponents 5.575 - 3.925 each game, or by about a goal and a half for you COM majors out there. This team was unstoppable. I'm just glad I got to post first so no one else could snag the answer.
Umm... copying Matt a little bit, but I'd argue the 87-88 Oilers. They didn't have as great of a regular season, but does it matter there? It's all about playoff hockey. That season was by far the best post season of any team. 16-2 record in the playoffs. That alone should cement them into playoff history.
Although if we're going for a modern team, I hate to say it, but I think it might be the 02 Dead Wings. Aside from only getting trouble in the conference finals against the Avs, they stormed the rest of the post season after winning the President's. Although the homer in me says the 01 Avalanche... :-)
Since Becca and Matty stole my answers...the 2001 Colorado Avalanche. First of all, the depth on that team was excellent, Sakic, Forsberg, Hejduk, Tanguay. Patrick Roy. Adam Foote, Rob Blake. Just star power on all fronts. Plus, that's the night Shjon Podein celebrated by not changing out of his uni for over 24 hours, a brilliant way to celebrate it.
Oh yeah, and most importantly, Raymond Fucking Bourque and Christopher Drury both won the Cup, representing the best of both worlds of Boston hockey.
Oooh good closing argument from Nick.
PS - This is the first time since that 2001 team that the team I was rooting for in the finals actually won. Suck it PEaves.
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