Hockey and Canada go hand in hand. Without Canada, there can be no hockey. If it wasn’t for hockey, Canada simply would not be the identical. The NHL has a wealthy historical past of Stanley Cup success and Canadian groups, nevertheless it’s been many years since they lifted the cup north of the border.
Montreal: The Motherland of Ice Hockey
The recreation’s roots are deeply seeded within the provinces of Canada. It is sensible that ice hockey was born in Montreal, the place it snows continuously and ponds freeze 5 – 6 months out of the 12 months. Grabbing your skates and protruding is a proper of passage for any Canadian child who goals of creating it to the NHL.
Montreal is just not solely credited with being the birthplace of the game. They again it up with a protracted custom of successful, like all place that invented a sport. The Montreal Canadiens are the NHL’s winningest franchise, successful 24 Stanley Cups all through their illustrious historical past.. They received the primary Stanley Cup in 1916 once they took the National Hockey Association title and performed the Portland Rosebuds who received the Pacific Coast Hockey Association. The sequence went to 5 video games, nevertheless it was the Canadians who etched their identify on the Cup first.
Montreal would go on to win 23 extra Stanley Cups, as soon as within the 20s, twice within the 30s, twice within the 40s, however not till the 50s once they solidified their place as the game’s powerhouse. Guys like Jacques Plante, Jean Believeau, Bernie Geoffrion, Richard Henry and Dickie Moore led the Canadiens to a dynasty. They received it in 1953 after which received 5 straight Stanley Cups from 1956-1960.
Canadians set the usual from the beginning
The dynasty wouldn’t finish there. Montreal received Lord Stanley’s Cup 4 extra occasions within the ’60s after which back-to-back-to-back six occasions within the ’70s from 1976 to 1979. A drought that’s driving locals out of their minds. They received it in 1986 and had their final in 1993. There is a whole technology of Montreal followers who’ve by no means seen their workforce because the final folks standing after the Stanley Cup playoffs, one thing their dad and mom and grandparents might by no means have imagined.
As we take a look at the record of winningest franchises within the NHL, we’ll be north of the border. The Toronto Maple Leafs are second all-time in Stanley Cup wins with 13. The Leafs received their third Stanley Cup in 1918 in opposition to the Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association. They would go on to win three extra within the quarter following the century, however Toronto grew to become a dynasty within the latter half of the Nineteen Forties, successful 5 Cups from 1945 to 1951 with Turk Broda in objective, Bill Barilko as a defenseman and Ted Kennedy as middle.
Toronto followers must wait greater than a decade till their subsequent Stanley Cup win in 1962. They would win 4 in six years to make up for misplaced time, however the Maple Leafs have cooled off since 1967. Not solely did they not win the Cup however they hadn’t made the finals since beating the Canadians in ’67.
The Great One led the Oilers to greatness within the 80s
The Americans ultimately appeared 3-5 on the record, together with the Detroit Red Wings’ 11, Boston’s six and Chicago’s six. Edmonton sits simply above the Oilers who’ve received a complete of 5 Stanley Cups.
The Oilers joined the NHL in 1979 and did not take lengthy to start out dominating the league. They received their first Stanley Cup in 1984 in opposition to the New York Islanders, 5 years after leaping ship to the NHL. They made it back-to-back bids within the season after defeating the Philadelphia Flyers for his or her second Stanley Cup.
It ought to come as no shock that the Oilers’ golden years got here at a time once they had hockey’s golden boy, Wayne Gretzky. Gretzky was in Edmonton for 4 of the 5 titles in franchise historical past.
Gretzky would change broadcasts from Edmonton to LA after successful a fourth Stanley Cup for the Oilers, however that did not imply the Oilers had received. Mark Messier took over as captain and led Edmonton to their fifth and remaining title two years later.
Vancouver, Ottawa and Winnipeg are nonetheless and not using a Stanley Cup
The final Canadian workforce on the record is the Calgary Flames who’ve received simply as soon as since transferring to Calgary from Atlanta in 1980. Their solely Stanley Cup got here after Gretzky left Edmonton. They have solely after reaching the finals Heartbroken by the Canadiens within the 1986 season, the Flames returned to the finals 4 years later once they avenged their loss to Montreal.
There are three different Canadian groups nonetheless looking for their first Stanley Cup. The Vancouver Canucks are the workforce with out the longest title streak, having joined the NHL in 1970. They have reached the ultimate three completely different occasions however have come up empty on every event. The Ottawa Senators joined the league in 1992 and reached the finals in 2007 however by no means broke by to win the Cup.. Finally the Winnipeg Jets, who’ve flirted with only one Stanley Cup Final since transferring from Atlanta and rebranding the franchise in 2011.
Canada is determined to return to the Stanley Cup. Although these Canadian groups are thought-about rivals, followers from the identical nation will flock to their countrymen even when their groups fail to succeed in the finals. It stays to be seen, however the drought has stretched almost 30 years since a workforce north of the border received all of it.
