are the red wings the best hockey franchise ever?

Question

cmon stevie y , gordie howe hockeytown right?

Answer 1

1.) Montreal ( most cups)

2.) Detroit ( consistency)

3.) Toronto ( tradition)

4.) Edmonton ( were amazing from 80-92)

5.) NY Isles (only because they won 4 in a row)


also I had to laugh at Mark 67 who claimed the Islanders have won more Cups then the Red wings. The guy obviously is a Hockey Novice and has no idea what He is talking about. Also the website he used bites donkey ***!

Answer 2

The best hockey franchise ever are the Habs (24 cups and easily the most fabled franchise ever, I hardly think this is arguable), and to the guy who said the Islanders and Oilers have more cups than the Red Wings, I suggest suicide... The Red Wings have 10 cups...

The best hockey team ever were either the late 50's Habs, or the late 60's Habs, second would be the 70's Habs, and then the 80's Oilers, and yeah I sound like a homer, but do the research and you'll see I'm right.

ALTHOUGH, there was 2 years the Habs had exclusive rights to ALL French Canadian players (1936-1938) due to their HORRID season, which I'll agree was not fair, but during those years never won a cup (Until 1944)...

Although I consider Gordie Howe a top 3 player of all time, the Habs are the best hockey franchise ever, sorry.

P.S. The Habs are not the most successful sports team ever in terms of championships, the New York Yankees have 26 to their 24... And to the other guy who said the Red Wings have been the most consistent team ever in the NHL, they didn't win a single cup in the 60's, 70's, and 80's... So far not including this decade the Habs have won a cup in every decade of their existence, try some research "65 year Leaf fan"... Ugh, some of you people's posts are angering.

Answer 3

This question is certainly subjective....When I think about hockey (the finest sport on the planet) and I think about its' history. I certainly put my Red Wings up there. BUT since I am a true hockey fan, having watched and played since I was a young boy, I can't make them #1 over the history of the game. When a topic like this comes up there can ONLY be six teams included. The "Original Six" will ALWAYS be a step above all other in my book. Of those 6 only 3 teams really garner a reasonable shot at the "Best Ever".

Montreal, Toronto & Detroit. Both have loyal fan bases, high average attendance and a pile of players in the HHOF. Over the breadth of the hostory I'd even rank them in the order above. Of course the Wings over the past 20 years have definitly closed the gap considering that both Montreal and Toronto haven't been at their best all of that time. Montreal has won 1 cup in the last 20 years and Toronto hasn't won it since the 66-67 season. But I give them that over the history of the game they win out. Newer fans that don't know the history would be well advised to read about it. It's a great game and it has a L O N G history not just the last 20 years.

After reading several of the answers I had to add a note that favors my Wings since so many love to knock them. The Habs did have Richard during the Howe days and during a game Howe knocked him out cold after Richard decided to try to let him know he was King. Even Richard admits Howe could do everything. And while some say the 50's and 60's were ALL the Habs and the Leafs, they won 9 and 5 respectively and the Wings still took 4 and had they finished the regular season with the best record for 7 consecutive years, something the Habs & Leafs I don't recall have ever done.

Answer 4

Alright die-hard Wings nut, and my answer is no...

Edmonton is no where near the best fanchise ever either; the history is too short, and they haven't been consistantly successful since the 80's. Same with the Islanders. On Cups alone, it would go Montreal, Toronto, Detroit, but there is more to the story; Toronto hasn't won a Cup in 40+ years (was it '67 the last time they won?). Detroit has been consistant, but is disqualified for the Dead Wings era (late 60's, 70's, early 80's). Montreal, although they missed the playoffs last year has probably been the most consistant (24 Cups). They are in the midst of they're longest drought (going on 15 years...), and that drought is shorter than the Wings drought from 55 to 97, the Oilers current drough, Torontos current drought, and the Islanders current drought. Here's how I would rate the great franchises...

1) Montreal (terribly consistant, more Cups than anyone, was once a time when the Yankees were called the Canadiens of baseball)
2) Detroit (consistantly good, only one bad era, been around forever, 10 Cups which leads all American franchises, great ownership)
3) Edmonton (made hockey in the 80's, Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey, Grant Fuhr, etc., 5 Cups, often in the playoffs, but not consistantly good)
4) Toronto (would've been three, but the last couple years have seen this organization fall apart, still, 13 Cups, another Original 6 franchise, for most of their history a playoff contender, sold out every night since, well, seemingly the dawn of time)

From here on out there is no clear 5, 6, 7, etc. Colorodo has been constantly good, but is a young franchise, the Islanders won 4 straight Cups, but what have they done since, Philly is constantly good, but once again, what have you done for me lately, St. Louis went to the playoffs 25 straight years, but never won a Cup, Boston made it 29 straight season, but recently has fallen apart. It's tough to call. In my opinion though, the top 3 in my list are tought to argue against, and Toronto may or may not belong there, but an organization with 13 Cups deserves some credit.

Answer 5

Detroits my favorite, but Toronto and Montreal have more of a right to that title than Detroit does. The Wings have had much more success than the Habs or the Leafs over the last 10-15 years, but these teams go back a lot further than that. I would say those are the best 3 franchises ever though. On a side note, I do think the 2002 Red Wings had the greatest roster in NHL history.

Oh yeah, and the Islander and the Oilers do not have more cups than the Wings.

Answer 6

I will say they are the best american hockey franchise I think the habs and leafs are better than the wings but there is no way in hell edmonton or the islanders are better yeah they won a bunch of cups in the 70 and 80s but hwta have they done since then? and the wings have won 10 titles last i checked more than both the oilers and the islanders. and sshueman did you watch the playoffs this year the wings seemed to do pretty well they held their own against some pretty good teams. i say give em 3 years and they will win another cup.

Answer 7

No. The Wings have been a great team over the last 15 years or so, but if you want to start talking about "best hockey franchise ever", as in your title, the Montreal Canadiens are the team. Most Cups, original team, you can't beat that. I'm not even a Canadiens fan and I can recognize that.

Answer 8

Not sure there. The Wings have been good but come on. 99 and the Oilers, the great Canadiens teams (24 cups), the great Islanders dynasty, the Leafs run, the original Ottawa franchise.

I think you would have to narrow down the era for them to be a greatest franchise of...

Plus Gordie played quite a bit in the WHA didn't he?

Answer 9

I don't think so, but they're up there. The Habs and Leafs dominated back in the 50s and 60s, while the Wings sat by. And the Habs had Maurice Richard during the Gordie Howe days to rival him, and they won five consecutive Cups with him as captain. Howe didn't do that now, did he?

Answer 10

I'm a die hard Wings fan but I would have to disagree with you.

Although the Habs have not won a Cup since 1993 they have won more Cups than any other team and they have such a storied history.

It will be awhile before any team can say they are a better hockey franchise than the Habs.