all for the cup
This year’s Stanley Cup Final features two teams that made it to the Finals in their first ten years. The Oilers made good in 1984, while the Panthers are still looking for their first Stanley Cup title.
The Stanley Cup is quite possibly the hardest trophy to win in all of sports. Not only does a squad have to go through a gruelling 82-game regular season schedule, but they must also endure a months-long, no-holds-barred tournament of attrition, just to be able to touch the cup. Think about that, next time you make a New Year’s resolution.
There have been only eight teams to win the Stanley Cup in the first ten years of their NHL existence. So, this week I’m looking back at these eight early-bloomers.
The Calgary FLames: 9 seasons
The Calgary Flames took the ice for the first time in 1980, and made it all the way to the Conference Finals in their first year in the Canadian Rockies, giving Calgarians something to hitch their wagons to — and you’d better believe Calgarians own wagons.
By their sixth season, the Flames got a taste of the Stanley Cup Finals, losing to the Habs and a goalie nobody had really ever heard of — Patrick Roy. Three years later those two teams would meet again, but this time it was Lanny and the Flames hoisting the Cup, completing their quest in just nine years.
Technically, though, the Flames organization was older than nine years, having been formed in 1972 in Atlanta. The team moved to Calgary in 1980, and major additions like Al MacInnis, Doug Gilmour, Mike Vernon, Joe Nieuwendyk, and Theo Fleury tipped the scales for the Flames, and helped them clinch the Cup.
carolina hurricanes: eight seasons
Another team to do it in nine years was the Carolina Hurricanes, who moved from Harford for the 1997-98 campaign, and secured Raleigh’s first NHL championship in 2006.
And while the Carolina crew got the deal done in nine years, they actually did it in eight NHL seasons, because the 2004-05 campaign was completely canceled.
It should be noted, though, that there was one player left over from the franchise’s Hartford days that contributed heavily to the ‘Canes success in Carolina — maybe the most underrated defenseman of his time, Glenn Wesley.
So, while the Hurricanes did win the Cup in just eight seasons, there was something of a seed already planted when they arrived on the Eastern Seaboard.
dallas stars: six seasons
It took only six seasons for the Dallas Stars to achieve what the Vancouver Canucks have been waiting since 1970 to achieve. But, unlike the Calgary Flames and the Carolina Hurricanes, the Stars brought over a good foundation of players to build on from their days in Minnesota, including a solid defense corps and a future Hall-of-Famer, Mike Modano.
Add to that one of the greatest scorers of all-time, Brett Hull, and one of the most legendary backstops to ever play, Ed Belfour, and by God, you’ve got yourself a Stanley Cup champion.
Colorado Avalanche: One Season
Avalanche fans in Denver have got to be among the most spoiled in all of hockey. They only had to wait nine months for their first championship. Hardly what I would call a tormented fanbase.
But, this one requires a HUGE asterisk, because the Avs started the 1995-96 campaign with 22 of the same players that finished second overall the previous season as the Quebec Nordiques.
Poor Quebec. Honestly. That team struggled to find its footing for 16 years in Quebec City (24 if you include their time in the WHA), and just as they started to get good, they moved to Colorado and won the Cup. My heart weeps for the Fleurdelisés faithful.
Randy Carlyle lifts the Stanley Cup after his team defeated the Ottawa Senators in the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals.
edmonton oilers: five Seasons
While the previous sub-decade dominators benefitted in some way or another from a previous life in a different city, the Edmonton Oilers come by their hot start a little more honestly.
The Oilers had to start over relatively fresh when the WHA was absorbed by the NHL, giving up the rights to all but two skaters and two goalies. One of those skaters, though, was a guy named Wayne Gretzky. Maybe you’ve heard of him.
Anyways, in their first NHL Entry Draft in 1979, the Oilers managed to secure three future Hall-of-Famers — Glenn Anderson, Mark Messier, and Kevin Lowe — all of whom would play pivotal roles in the Oilers’ incredible five championships in seven seasons during the 1980s.
That’s just great drafting.
Craig Berube celebrates with the St. Louis Blues after their incredible 2019 Stanley Cup run.
new york islanders: eight seasons
Sure, the Oilers took only five seasons to win the Stanley Cup, but the Islanders’ first cup is as pure as it gets. They didn’t retain players or personnel from a previous city or previous league, like the teams we’ve already looked at. No, the Islanders started with nothing but a blank slate in 1972. Eight seasons later, they were one of the most legendary squads to hit the ice in hockey history.
The key? GM Bill Torrey, who purposely built his new squad by drafting solid up-and-coming talent, rather than “taking the castoffs from the other teams”.
And, boy did it work. By their third season, the Isles were Conference Finals regulars, and in 1980, the Cup found its way to the Nassau Coliseum.
philadelphia flyers: seven seasons
In 1967, the NHL expanded from six to 12 teams, but the deck was stacked against the six expansion squads, which included the Philadelphia Flyers. The first NHL expansion draft featured a less than favorable group of aging veterans, elderly dogs, rusted out VW Beetles, and broken bricks. Not much to build a team on.
The Flyers didn’t have much success in their first couple years, and that led to team owner, Ed Snider, to instruct his GM to go out and get the biggest, toughest players they could find. The result was the Broad Street Bullies — one of the most ferocious teams to ever pull on a hockey jersey.
The idea worked, and the Flyers clinched their first cup in their seventh season, adding a second crown the following year.
vegas golden knights: six seasons
It only took one season for the newly minted Vegas Golden Knights to make it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. Five years later, they were Stanley Cup Champions, setting a new NHL record for quickest Stanley Cup win by a brand new franchise, beating the Philadelphia Flyers’ seven year mark by one season.
And the key, here, was exactly the opposite of the Flyers’ strategy. The Knights built the foundation of their squad in the 2017 expansion draft, picking up the most skilled players that nobody else wanted. The result was the Golden Misfits, who have been terrorizing the league ever since.
Delayed gratification
I have to admit, I’m kind of a fan of the franchises who go a long time before winning a cup. To me it helps solidify a faithful fanbase, and adds to the franchise’s lore — St. Louis Blues, anybody? I love the tradition and history of hockey, from hockey sweaters, to retirement banners, to fan traditions, and long periods of collective struggle give teams character and depth, and serve to weave a franchise into the fabric of hockey history.
Of course, I probably wouldn’t be saying that if I lived in Vegas or Denver.
That does it for this week. If you want more hot takes and hilarious insights on hockey culture and hockey jerseys, sign up for my 4 Shots with Keener newsletter below. It comes out every Friday and lands right in your email.
Don’t want more? Sign one of your enemies up. Either way, I’ll be back next week with another hockey-based meditation.
