Note - An online poll was conducted by the Vancouver Province where readers had to choose from 16 of the best all time playoff teams in a ranked playoff order format. Readers were asked to vote for which teams through the era's they thought would win each series. Panelists from the paper weighed in with their thoughts as the readers dropped their votes. The final result that will be played out pits the 1956 Canadiens against the 1976 Canadiens. I predict 7 games of triple overtime! Meanwhile, certain hockey fans still debate who is Canada's team. In my eyes, this vote dispells all notions from coast to coast. Canada's team is still the Habs. Follow the link given below for the final result.
THE FINAL: Same franchise from different generations skates through the competition to set up an all-Montreal series with some of the greatest players ever.
What's a fantasy Stanley Cup tournament without a little controversy?
OK, maybe more than a little.
After three weeks of voting -- by our panellists and online by readers -- in The Province's All-Time Stanley Cup Champion tournament, we've come down to a final that features the Montreal Canadiens playing themselves: The 1976-77 version versus the 1955-56 squad.
To the surprise of some -- and the consternation of others -- it will not feature either Edmonton Oiler team included in our original roster of 16 great clubs. Or the Bobby Orr-led 1971-72 Boston Bruins.
The semifinal between the 1972 Bruins and the 1956 Canadiens was particularly contentious, with online voters giving the Habs 66 per cent of the vote, while our panel narrowly went with Orr and company. Still, after a weighted vote calculation, Montreal maintained a 53 per cent win.
Here is our hypothetical final, along with the third-round results.
You can vote online to determine the all-time champ at:
To the surprise of some, and the consternation of others, it will not feature either Edmonton Oiler team included in our original roster of 16 great clubs. Or the Bobby Orr-led 1971-72 Boston Bruins.
The semifinal between the 1972 Bruins and the 1956 Canadiens was particularly contentious, with online voters giving the Habs 66 per cent of the vote, while our panel narrowly went with Orr and company. Still, after a weighted vote calculation, Montreal maintained a 53 per cent win.
Here is our hypothetical final, along with the third-round results.
You can vote online to determine the all-time champ at:
www.canada.com/theprovince/features/greatest_champ
1955-56 MONTREAL CANADIENS
Round 3: Defeated 1971-72 Boston Bruins
Readers: 66 per cent in favour of Montreal
Panellists: Boston
Cup Final Opponent: 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens
Province columnist Ed Willes bucked the trend on the panel, but was in line with the overall selection, forecasting Montreal in five games.
"Over 50 years after the fact, the game still stands in awe of the dazzling array of weapons possessed by the Habs in the mid-to-late '50s," he says. "Their goalie, Jacques Plante, won five straight Vezinas beginning in '56. Their best defenceman, Doug Harvey, won seven Norris trophies in eight years beginning in '55. Another Habs defenceman, Tom Johnson, interrupted that streak. From '54-55 to '57-58 three different Habs led the NHL in scoring -- Bernie "Boom-Boom" Geoffrion, Jean Beliveau and Dickie Moore. Rocket Richard wasn't the force he'd been five years earlier but he still scored 38 goals in '55-56, tied for second in the league behind Beliveau.
"The Bruins, of course, were formidable with Bobby Orr at his peak and a collection of size-and-skill forwards led by Phil Esposito. But when you compare the two lineups, sorry, there's no comparison. Orr couldn't beat the Canadiens by himself."
Province hockey writer Jason Botchford feels it would be a cakewalk for the Bruins, if only because they "somehow beat the 1983-84 Oilers -- an absolutely ludicrous decision."
He points out that teams from the 1950s are used hockey sticks with straight blades and the goalies didn't wear masks, so you would have to believe any team from the 1970s could beat them.
"If they were good enough to take out the best Oilers team ever -- a team that scored 5.58 goals a game -- they are certainly good enough to wipe out this Habs dynasty," Botchford adds.
"Forget the Habs' Hall-of-Famers, the Toe Blake-led Habs don't have anywhere near the Oilers' firepower -- just one player with 80 points -- so this one should be a breeze for the Bruins."
Panellist Barry McDonald of TEAM 1040 AM also likes the Bruins.
"If offence wins championships, then Boston takes care of the Habs," he says. "Their leading scorer was Phil Esposito with 133 points. Jean Beliveau topped the Habs with 88. Bobby Orr was second on the Bruins with 117 points. The Rocket was second to Beliveau with 71. Boston scored 330 goals in 78 games, Montreal managed 222 in 70. With all due respect to Dollard St. Laurent, he was no match for Orr."
Adds David Pratt of TEAM 1040 AM: "The Bruins had Orr, eight straight Norris Trophies ..."
1976-77 MONTREAL CANADIENS
Round 3: Defeated 1987-88 Edmonton Oilers
Readers: 58 per cent in favour of Montreal
Panellists: Montreal
Cup Final Opponent: 1955-56 Montreal Canadiens
Province hockey writer Jason Botchford calls the Oilers-Habs matchup the defacto final and many would agree these two clubs are the most dominant of the modern era. But Botchford argues against consensus, picking the Oilers to vanquish the storied Habs with a Game 7 overtime decision.
"These are the two best teams left in the tournament," he says. "And these are two incredible teams. This contest is what this Stanley Cup championship tournament is all about -- two of the greatest teams ever, Lafleur vs. Gretzky, Shutt vs. Messier, Gainey vs. Tikkanen, Dryden vs. Fuhr. Sadly, this isn't the best-ever Oilers team (the 1983-84 team was) but they were still good enough to put up a fight against the greatest Habs team of all-time. The Oilers didn't have the gaudy numbers of years past (Gretzky had "just" 149 points this year), but they had learned exactly what they needed to do to win.
"The Flying Frenchmen will have their hands full trying to contain two of the best lines in hockey history led by two of the best centres. They'll likely try to put Bob Gainey on Wayne Gretzky's No. 1 line, which should have mixed results. Shutting down Mark Messier's line could be Larry Robinson's sole responsibility. Good luck. The Oilers, with their strength at centre, are just too much for Scotty Bowman and Ken Dryden who never saw anyone like Gretzky, or Messier in his career. Watch Gretzky somehow find Jari Kurri from behind Dryden's net to set up the goal that sends Game 7 into OT. And then, in the second overtime, Messier just can't be denied in front of the net."
But Province columnist Ed Willes begs to differ. He picks Montreal in six games.
"There has never been a more perfectly constructed team in the history of the NHL," Willes says. "Goalie Ken Dryden was one of the two or three best at his position in the game and he might have been the weakest link on the team. The defence featured three Hall-of-Famers: Larry Robinson, Serge Savard and Guy Lapointe. They had the best line in the league with Guy Lafleur, Jacques Lemaire and Steve Shutt. Scoring depth? How about Yvan Cournoyer, Peter Mahovlich and Rejean Houle. Grit? Mario Tremblay, Yvon Lambert and Doug Risebrough. And for all that, they're best all-around player might have been Bob Gainey who seldom scored more than 20 goals in a season. They beat tough teams (the Broad Street Bullies), skill teams (the Sabres of that era), big teams (the Boston Bruins) and young teams (the Islanders) They lost eight freaking games the whole season.
"The '87-'88 Oilers were the most mature, battle-tested edition of their Stanley Cup teams. But you go up and down the lineup and the Habs would seem to have an answer for everything the Oilers could throw at them. Their biggest advantage, however, would be behind the bench where Scotty Bowman would be pushing the buttons against Glen Sather."
Panellist Barry McDonald of TEAM 1040 AM also likes the Habs, also in six games.
"Esa Tikkanen might have driven Guy Lafleur to distraction, but Doug Jarvis quietly did a number on Wayne Gretzky," he says.
Note 2 - For the record let me state that my opinion on comparing great teams from different era's is a touch lucridous. Training, strength, and skill improve greatly by decade in any sport. Equipement and defensefive strategies play into the equation as well. Today's lamest teams, the 2007 Chicago Black Hawks for example, would kick either the '56 or '77 Canadiens asses badly. It reminds me of an old Henri Richard joke, only that I'd reverse the great Pocket Rocket's intended irony. The exchange between Henri and a reporter went something like this, in the early 1990's.
Reporter: If your brother, the Rocket, were playing in the NHL today, how many goals do you think he'd score in a season?
Henri: (Without hesitation) Ten, maybe 12.
Reporter: But Henri, your brother was the greatest pure goal scorer of his era!
Henri: I understand that, but he's seventy years old now!
Considering the different era's and changes to the game, if Maurice Richard were an NHL'er today, at 5'10", and 180 lbs at best, he'd fare slightly better than Duncan Milroy, given the Rocket's character and hatred of losing.
That, my friends, is the brutal truth of the matter.
No comments:
Post a Comment