8. '97 Red Wings: This team was the first of the Russian invasion in the NHL. The "Wizards of Oav showed that Russian players could have a huge impact on the game, and the Wings drafted smarter than anybody else in the NHL to put this Cup-winning team together. Larionov, Fedorov, Fetisov, Kozlov, and Mironov led the Russian invasion while Yzerman, Shannahan, Lapointe, Brown, Lidstrom, and Murphy led the rest of the group to their first Cup in about 40 years.
7. '94 Rangers: This team is on the list because of their tremendous ability to play under pressure and, of course, for their amazing team. Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson, Steve Larmer, Mike Richter, Brian Leetch, Adam Graves, Sergei Zubov, Alexei Kovelev, Mike Gartner and company led the team to their first Cup in 54 years.
6. '02 Red Wings: This Red Wings team was superpowered. They had the Dominator, Dominick Hasek, in net, along with a star-studded lineup with Steve Yzerman, Brenden Shannahan, Pavel Datsyuk, Sergei Fedorov, Igor Larionov, Niklas Lidstrom, and Chris Chelios, as well as Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille. They had 116 regular season points, and captured the Stanley Cup.
5. '92 Penguins: Any team with Lemieux on it is going to be amazing, but how about you add Jaromir Jagr, Tom Barasso, Kevin Stevens, Mark Recchi, Larry Murphy, Joe Mullen, Paul Coffey, and Ron Francis on the team, along with an aging Bryan Trottier? You get a powerhouse team, one of the greatest of all time. This team didn't have a stellar regular season, but swept the Cup Finals in 4 games to win their second straight Cup.
4. '74 Flyers: Led by Captain Bobby Clarke and stellar goalie Bernie Parent, the Flyers would become the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup. Parent was excellent, with 47 wins during the regular season, and 16 in the playoffs to bring the Flyers their first Stanley Cup. They were better known as the "Broad Street Bullies", and are on this list because they could out-tough any team in history, which allowed them to win.
3. '82 Islanders: This Islanders team, led by superstar Mike Bossy and clutch goaltender Billy Smith, was one of their 4 straight Cup-winning teams during the early eighties. This team didn't just win the cup: They owned it. With players like Bossy, Trottier, Gillies, Potvin, Nystrom, two Sutters, and Tonelli, they were truly a force to be reckoned with. They won 54 games that year, including their third straight Cup.
2. '77 Canadiens: This is a team that won 60 games during the regular season, and won the Stanley Cup as well. Led by Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, Yvon Cournoyer, Pete Mahovlich, Jacques Lemaire, Guy Lapointe, and goaltender Ken Dryden, this was one of the best lineups in history. Put this team against almost any other team and they will win a best of seven series EVERY time.
1. '84 Oilers: I just wrote that the '77 Canadiens could beat almost any team in a 7 game series? This team is the reason for the almost. Wayne Gretzky, Paul Coffey, Mark Messier, Grant Fuhr, Jari Kurri, Esa Tikkanen, Glenn Anderson, this team was a monster. They didn't just BEAT teams, they DESTROYED them. For example, here are some games in which they won. They beat New Jersey 13-4, Vancouver 12-2, and Calgary 9-2. They beat the defending Cup champions (and winner of four straight Cups), the New York Islanders, and captured their first Stanley Cup. This is the greatest team ever to play.
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