All-Time Team: Florida Panthers (1993-present)

 

This article took far too long to write. Sorry 'bout that.

These are terrible and dark times indeed. In a tragic turn of events this year, Lord Stanley's Cup was won by the Las Vegas Golden Knights – I refuse to just call it “Vegas” – a very unpopular team that has enjoyed an inordinate amount of early success in its first six seasons. In a break from tradition I will not be doing an all-time lineup for this year's Stanley Cup champs, for two reasons. The first is that the Golden Knights are a team I absolutely despise! The second and more pressing reason is that I simply can't. That team doesn't have enough historical players for me to draw on; not enough Golden Knights qualify by the “minimum 220-240 games rule” for me to make a full roster of 20 players. So just like in 2021, I'm going to go with the runners up. Here is the all-time team for the Florida Panthers! But first, a brief history.

The NHL added a lot of expansion teams throughout the 1990's thanks to the newfound (supposed) boost in hockey's popularity in the American sunbelt. In 1993 the league welcomed its two newest teams: the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Florida Panthers. Not only were the Panthers the first professional hockey team in Miami since 1939, but their arena wasn't built yet and not a single person in the team's business operations knew anything about hockey. In other words, it was your typical southern expansion team BS. The Panthers picked some decent players in the expansion and entry drafts of 1993, assembling a respectable team for their inaugural season (1993-94) in which they just barely missed the last playoff spot. In their first year Florida finished with 83 points, which set a new record for an expansion team.

After a second near-miss season a shake-up happened. A new coach, the drafting of defenceman Ed Jovanovski, and the acquisition of Ray Sheppard was the shot in the arm that the Panthers needed. Not only did the team make the playoffs for the first time, but they went on a tear through other – and most would say, better – Eastern Conference teams on the way to the Stanley Cup finals thanks to some heroic goaltending from John Vanbiesbrouck. But alas, the Panthers were crushed in a four-game finals sweep against the mighty Colorado Avalanche.

Florida began the 1996-97 season strongly but coasted its way into the playoffs that year, getting eliminated in five games in the opening round. With this, the Panthers began a long period of stagnation and failure. A blockbuster trade in January 1999 brought in goal-scoring legend Pavel Bure, who helped push Florida back into playoff action the following year, but the team got swept in the opening round by the eventual Cup champions, the New Jersey Devils. Draft picks just weren't working out they way many had hoped and there were some bad trades that got rid of talented players, the most infamous of which dealt away star goaltender Roberto Luongo in 2006 for a has-been and some chump change. All told, the Florida Panthers only qualified for the playoffs three times in the 21 seasons between 1998 and 2019! Home game attendance suffered heavily during this time and the Panthers were seen by many as a joke of a franchise.

An early-2010's rebuild finally got the team in order, with many new players, a new general manager, and a new head coach. The Panthers won their first ever division championship in 2011-12 and made the playoffs for the first time in over a decade(!), losing again to the Devils in the opening round. However, the club stumbled over the next two years, finishing at or near the bottom of the league standings. One interesting stat I found to illustrate just how bad the Panthers were around this time was that Nick Bjugstad led the team in scoring in 2013-14 with a measly 38 points – the lowest team-leading points total ever in an 82-game season! Another rebuild around 2013-15 brought improvements, with a new head coach, the reacquisition of Luongo, and the drafting of stars such as Aleksander Barkov and Aaron Ekblad. By 2015-16 the team had turned its fortunes around so well that it finished with another division title and its best record ever. Unfortunately the season came to an end with yet another first-round exit at the hands of the New York Islanders.

Things fell apart shortly thereafter as the Panthers failed to make the playoffs for another three seasons between 2017-19. But by the 2019-20 season (after multiple new head coaches) things had finally levelled off. Since then the Panthers have been a consistently competitive club, earning a playoff spot every year and even winning a few rounds. How about that? During this time the Panthers finally became the challenging rivals they were always meant to be to fellow Florida team Tampa Bay Lightning.

In their twenty-nine NHL seasons the Florida Panthers have qualified for the playoffs nine times, made two Stanley Cup finals appearances, won three division titles, and won one President's Trophy (best regular season record in 2021-22).

Now let's take a look at the best players this franchise has ever had. Only their performances in a Panthers uniform will be considered and only players who have spent at least 220 games as a Panther will be included. Let's go!

Forwards

L-R: Whitney, Jokinen, Barkov

Left Wing	Centre	Right Wing
Ray Whitney (1997-2001)	Jonathan Huberdeau (2013-22)	Pavel Bure (1999-2002)
Rostislav Olesz (2005-11)	Olli Jokinen (2000-08)	Nathan Horton (2003-10)
David Booth (2006-11)	Alexsander Barkov (2013-present)	Radek Dvorak (1995-99, 2007-11)
Peter Worrell (1998-2003)	Brian Skrudland (1993-97)	Scott Mellanby (1993-2001)

For our first forward line we've got the Panthers' all time assist leader Jonathan Huberdeau, who is also second on the team's all-time points list. He is joined by the underrated-yet-consistent playmaker Ray Whitney (227 points in 273 games) and the Russian Rocket Pavel Bure who twice led the NHL in goal-scoring during his time in Florida, with 58- and 59-goal campaigns. (Bure was previously selected for my all-time Canucks team in October 2017.) The second line features some tight defensive work from Olesz (who kept a consistent +/- for some pretty weak teams), and the scoring prowess of Nathan Horton (5x20 goals) and Olli Jokinen (3x30 goals, 4x65 points). Smooth skater and forechecker David Booth (3x20 goals), two-way specialist Barkov (4x70 points), and defensive anchor Radek Dvorak (+8 overall while playing on some lacklustre squads) make up the third line. And on the fourth trio we've got the team's first captain Skrudland, a key contributor in the franchise's early years; the feared enforcer Worrell (1375 total penalty minutes); and the Rat Man himself, power forward Scott Mellanby (354 total points).

Honourable mentions: Evgenii Dadonov, Bill Lindsay, Rob Neidermayer, Stephen Weiss

Defencemen

L-R: Bouwmeester, Laus

Jay Bouwmeester (2002-09)	Brian Campbell (2011-16)
Robert Svehla (1995-2002)	Aaron Eckblad (2014-present)
Ed Jovanovski (1995-99, 2011-14)	Paul Laus (1993-2002)

For the first defensive pairing we've got what I think are the two most versatile d-men that have ever played for Florida. Both Brian Campbell (376 consecutive games) and Jay Bouwmeester (5 seasons without missing a game, 3x40 points) were skilled skaters and iron men who could shut down opposition and contribute on the offence. Both Svehla (4x40 points) and Eckblad (8x10 goals) add even more offence from the blueline. Meanwhile the third pairing adds some toughness from Jovanovski (also on the all-time Canucks team) and gritty defensive work from fan-favourite Paul Laus.

Honourable mentions: Erik Gudbranson, Gord Murphy

Goaltending

Luongo

Roberto Luongo (2000-06, 2014-19)

John Vanbiesbrouck (1993-98)

This one was a pretty easy call to make. While the Beezer did have some great seasons in the 1990's, Roberto Luongo is undoubtedly the most talented netminder that Florida has had. Although the team didn't experience much success during his tenure, Luongo was often the guy carrying the whole team. Quick, durable (4x60 games), and highly competitive, he stole the show regularly. Trading him away in 2006 was the biggest mistake Florida ever made. (He's also the starting goaltender of my all-time Canucks team.)

Honourable mention: Tomas Vokoun

All-Time Team: Colorado Avalanche (1995-present)

Heh heh heh. No threepeat this year, Tampa Bay. I get to write about a new championship team this time. The Colorado Avalanche have just won the Stanley Cup as the NHL's top team and as per tradition I'm going to assemble the all-time best that this franchise has to offer. But before we get to that here's a brief rundown of Avalanche history.

That history began at the start of the 1995-96 season when the Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver and continued operations there as the Avalanche – so really, just go back and read up my all-time team article on the Nordiques (from May 2017). To put things bluntly, a Cup-contending team was delivered right on the front doorstep of those lucky Colorado hockey fans and with the midseason blockbuster trade for goaltender Patrick Roy the final piece of the championship puzzle had been assembled. With multiple Hall of Famers on their roster (Roy, Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg), it's little wonder why the team captured the Stanley Cup in their very first year.

As one of the dominant NHL teams of the late 1990's to early 2000's, the Avs were doing pretty fabulously. They were division champions in each of their first eight seasons and in the playoffs they made it to the semi-finals or better six times between 1996 and 2002. The franchise captured its second Stanley Cup in 2001. Around this time, the Avalanche developed a titanic rivalry with the Detroit Red Wings, the other dominant Western Conference team of the age. The two teams faced off in the playoffs five times from 1996 to 2002, with Colorado winning three of those matchups.

But by the 2005-06 season things had changed. The core of the championship lineups had gone – whether by trade or retirement – and the newly implemented NHL salary cap had forced Colorado to let go of a lot of its top talent. That season saw the Avalanche get swept in the second round of the playoffs by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. In 2007 the Avs failed to qualify for postseason play for the first time ever (while at the same time becoming the first ever team to miss the playoffs despite amassing 95 points). Some free agent acquisitions helped boost the team back to postseason play for 2007-08, but the bottom fell out for Colorado the following season as they finished third-last in the league's regular season standings.

The next few years were a rebuilding phase for this franchise. This usually means a bunch of sub-par showings and the Avalanche's record during this time was no exception. Between 2009 and 2017 the team only qualified for the playoffs twice, despite a division championship resurgence in 2013-14 under their new head coach Patrick Roy. He resigned two years later. And yet during this time Colorado was slowly assembling a team of talented young guns, taking full advantage of its favourable draft picks: Gabriel Landeskog in 2011, Nathan MacKinnon in 2013, Mikko Rantanen in 2015, and Cale Makar in 2017. Add to that some wise trades deals – Nazem Kadri in 2019 and Darcy Kuemper in 2021 – and you've got a high-scoring, competitive team that had no problem returning to playoff glory. This team, which hasn't missed the postseason since 2017, finished with the NHL's best regular season record in 2020-21 and won its third Stanley Cup championship the following year.

In its twenty-six seasons the Colorado Avalanche have eleven division championships, eighteen playoff appearances, and three Stanley Cup finals appearances, all of which ended in victory.

Today this article will pay tribute to the best players that this franchise has to offer throughout its history since 1995. Only players' achievements during their time with Colorado will be considered for this roster and they must have played a minimum of 240 games with this team to have qualified (sorry, Cale Makar). Let's begin.

Forwards

L-R: Forsberg, Sakic, MacKinnon

Left Wing	Centre	Right Wing
Alex Tanguay (1999-2006, 2013-16)	Joe Sakic (1995-2009)	Mikko Rantanen (2015-present)
Gabriel Landeskog (2011-present)	Peter Forsberg (1995-2004, 2008-11)	Milan Hejduk (1998-2013)
Valeri Kamensky (1995-99)	Nathan MacKinnon (2013-present)	Claude Lemieux (1995-99)
Cody McLeod (2007-17)	Ryan O'Reilly (2009-15)	Dan Hinote (1999-2006)

First line: top scorers only. First we've got Alex Tanguay the 5-time 20 goal scorer (and 4x60 points). Next to him is all-time franchise points leader Joe Sakic with 1015 total points, two 50-goal seasons, and three 100-point seasons. (Joe Sakic was previously chosen for my all-time Quebec Nordiques team.) Rounding out the first line is the point-per-game playmaker Miko Rantanen who so far has thrice managed 55+ assists. On the second scoring line is the sniper Milan Hejduk with three 30-goal seasons (including one season with 50 tallies). His linemates are the gritty, two-way player Gabriel Landeskog (8x50 points) and unstoppable set-up man Peter Forsberg (0.92 assist per game, 1.30 points per game) who was one of the greatest forwards of his time. As for the third line we have the Avs current career points leader Nathan MacKinnon fresh off his fourth 80+ point season (1.31 points per game in the past five seasons). On his left is Valeri Kamensky, a vital component of the 1996 championship team (3x65 points), and on his right is everyone's (least) favourite pest Claude Lemieux. On the final line there's enforcer Cody McLeod, two-way expert Ryan O'Reilly (3x50 points), and penalty killer Dan Hinote.

Honourable mentions: Matt Duchene, Ian Laperriere, Paul Stastny, Stephane Yelle

Defencemen

L-R: Ozolinsh, Foote

Rob Blake (2001-06)	Adam Foote (1995-2004, 2008-11)
Tyson Barrie (2012-19)	Sandis Ozolinsh (1995-2000)
Greg de Vries (1998-2003)	Erik Johnson (2011-present)

This all-time team's defensive corps is headlined by the tough and dependable Adam Foote (only three full seasons with a negative +/-) and Rob Blake, playmaker (averaged 37 assists per season) and world-class checker. (Adam Foote was previously selected for my all-time Nordiques team as well.) On the next pair is a couple more d-men who were capable of chipping in offensively: Tyson Barrie (averaged 39 assists per season) and Sandis Ozolinsh (4x50 point seasons, only one negative +/- season). The third pairing provides some stay-at-home toughness on the blueline from the likes of de Vries and Johnson.

Honourable mentions: Alexei Gusarov, Jon Klemm, Nikita Zadorov

Goaltenders

Roy

Patrick Roy (1995-2003)

Semyon Varlamov (2011-18)

No contest here. St. Patrick was my pick as best Canadiens' goalie of all-time (September 2021) and he's easily the best Avalanche goalie of all-time too. In his seven full seasons in Colorado Roy never played less than 60 games, never won less than 31 games, never had a save percentage of less than 0.913, and recorded 34 shutouts. He was selected to play in five all-star games and was named playoff MVP in 2001. As far as Colorado hockey history goes, no one else comes close.

All-Time Team: Montreal Canadiens (1909-present)

  Well shoot, it's time to do another all-time line-up for an NHL team. Traditionally I put together a team roster made up of the best ever players from the most recent Stanley Cup-winning franchise but this year's champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning, were repeats. So go read last year's article and then come back here where I'm assembling a team from this year's runner-ups: the Montreal Canadiens (AKA the Habs), an Original Six team that's been around for over a century. Strap yourselves in. But first, an abbreviated history. 

  The oldest active pro hockey team in the world, the Canadiens were founded in 1909, eight years before the NHL. As part of the National Hockey Association (NHA) it was set up as the league's French-speaking team for francophone fans and players. They started out as badly as most expansion teams do but by 1913-14 they were qualifying for the post-season, capturing their first Stanley Cup in 1916 against the Portland Rosebuds. But the NHA met its end the following year and this led to the founding of the NHL, made up of the Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, and the Toronto Blueshirts (who would later become the Toronto Maple Leafs). After relocating home arenas – upon the Montreal Arena's burning down in 1918 – the Canadiens, now Montreal's only NHL team, won the 1918-19 NHL championship. However this was before the NHL owned the Stanley Cup and the Habs' campaign against the Seattle Metropolitans was cut short due to the Spanish Flu pandemic, resulting in no Cup winner that year. 

  Montreal didn't qualify for the playoffs for the next three seasons but soon found themselves back in post-season action in 1923 – and would only miss the playoffs six times in the following 76 years! 1923-24 saw the debut of the NHL's first true superstar, the high-scoring Howie Morenz who led the Habs to their 1924 Stanley Cup victory. That same year saw the Canadiens play their first game against the Boston Bruins starting one of hockey's longest rivalries. The 1925-26 season did not start well as Montreal's longtime goaltender Georges Vezina collapsed during the first game and was sent to hospital. He died from tuberculosis four months later and the league created the Vezina Trophy in his honour. The Canadiens did not make the playoffs that season. Apart from that, the late 1920's/early 1930's were good times for Montreal: they found a new home in the Montreal Forum (where they would stay for the next 70 years), Morenz became the first ever 50-point scorer (in 43 games), and the team beat out the heavily favoured Bruins to win the Stanley Cup in 1930 which they would recapture the following year. 

  However the Great Depression hit Montreal's franchise quite hard, with declining attendance and revenue compounded by the team's sagging performance. Management was forced to trade away Morenz to reduce costs and the team narrowly avoided being moved to Cleveland when it was put up for sale in 1935. The new owners were able to get Morenz back in 1936 but he tragically died later that same year as a result of an on-ice injury. Things didn't improve for the Canadiens in the next few seasons, with the club finishing low in the standings, barely making the playoffs. The franchise was sold again and the new owners decided in 1940 to bring in a new head coach, Dick Irvin, who had previously coached the Toronto Maple Leafs to great success. 

  The impact of the Second World War proved serendipitous for the Montreal Canadiens; they were one the few teams whose rosters weren't heavily affected by enlistment/conscription. Under the guidance of Irvin, and the goal production of the Punch Line – which included the league's top three scorers Toe Blake, Elmer Lach, and Maurice Richard – the Habs' performance swiftly improved with regular season dominance and two Stanley Cup victories in 1944 and 1946. Superstar Maurice Richard famously became the first player to ever score 50 goals in 50 games, a feat that's only been (officially) repeated by four other NHL players since. Richard had become a hero in Quebec, so much so that his suspension in 1955 caused a riot. The Canadiens remained competitive throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s as they slowly assembled the pieces of a dynasty team, introducing goaltender Jacques Plante in 1953, acquiring Jean Beliveau for good that same year, and assigning Toe Blake as head coach in 1955. The results were immediate; with one of the best lineups in NHL history the Habs made the Stanley Cup finals an astounding ten years in a row (1951-60) and won five consecutive Cups from 1956 to 1960, a record that still stands to this day. 

  This period also marked the highpoint of the classic Canadiens-Maple Leafs rivalry. The two teams faced off in the postseason six times between 1960 and 1967 with three series wins apiece – including one win apiece in the Cup finals. As the only two Canada-based NHL teams at the time it was seen as a stand-in for the tensions between French-speaking and English-speaking Canada, as well as a competition between the country's two largest cities. 

  In 1964 Sam Pollock took over as Montreal's general manager. His strategy of trading away aging players to expansion teams for draft picks paid off enormously; within a few years his team had managed to pick up legendary players such as Ken Dryden, Guy Lafleur, and Larry Robinson. It was during this transitional phase that the Canadiens won six Stanley Cups in a nine year period between 1965 and 1973, but the best was yet to come. With coach Scotty Bowman at the helm, impenetrable defence, and with no less than nine Hall of Fame players on their roster, the Montreal Canadiens of the late 1970's proved to be the greatest team in NHL history. Not only did they win four straight Stanley Cups (1976-79) but they set new records for most wins (60), most points (132), and fewest losses (8) in an 80-game season in 1976-77. Guy Lafleur led the league in scoring three consecutive years and goaltender Ken Dryden allowed the fewest goals for four consecutive years. So overwhelming was Montreal's dominance that Dryden remarked to The Hockey News that he was starting to get bored at the lack of competition! 

  By the 1980's many of the late-70s Habs players had retired or been traded and new NHL dynasties – the New York Islanders and the Edmonton Oilers – had taken the spotlight, but Montreal was still a powerhouse team thanks to its shut-down defensive corps and respectable offence. The team made the playoffs every year that decade and won the Stanley Cup in 1986 thanks to some top-notch play from rookie goaltender Patrick Roy who would go on to become a franchise player. The 80's also saw the emergence of a bitter, often violent, rivalry with the only other French-speaking NHL team, the Quebec Nordiques who entered the NHL in 1979 as part of the WHA merger. The two teams met in five playoffs series between 1982 and 1993. 

  The early 1990's promised more of the same for Montreal fans with robust playing and consistent playoff appearances. The Canadiens were eliminated from the first or second round by the Boston Bruins four times from 1990 to 1994, but they managed to win the Stanley Cup against the favoured Los Angeles Kings in 1993 (which remains to this day the most recent Cup victory by a Canada-based team). Unfortunately a series of bad trades in the early-to-mid 1990s had gutted the team's core, dealing away such players as Chris Chelios, Eric Desjardins, John LeClair, Kirk Muller, Patrick Roy, and Pierre Turgeon. Consequently, the Habs began to sink in the standings. From 1994 to 1998 they won only one playoff series and failed to even qualify for post-season play from 1999 to 2001. For the first time in 60 years the Montreal Canadiens... weren't very good. 

  By 2001-02 the club had a new arena, new owners, a new head coach, and a new starting goaltender, Jose Theodore, who helped lead the team back to the playoffs that year. The next few years would see sporadic playoff appearances until the team finally hit its stride in 2007-08, missing the post-season only once between 2008 and 2015 with some deep playoff runs in 2010 and 2014. After a brief rebuilding phase in 2017-19, the Habs have qualified for postseason play in the most recent two years, but just barely so. Time will tell if this is the franchise that can bring Lord Stanley's Cup back to the great white north. 

  So with that out of the way let's take a look at what the best possible team assembled from Canadiens players might look like. And with a franchise whose history is as extensive as this, there was quite a lot of research I had to do here but it was pretty fun. This roster we're about to look at – even the honourable mentions! – is made up of some of the greatest hockey players of all time: all 20 guys I've selected here are Hall of Famers. So here we have what I think are the best Canadiens players by position who have played at least 240 games with Montreal. Allons-y! 

Forwards

L-R: M. Richard, Lafleur, Geoffrion

Left Wing	Centre	Right Wing
Toe Blake (1935-48)	Jean Beliveau (1950-71)	Maurice Richard (1942-60)
Steve Shutt (1972-84)	Howie Morenz (1923-34, 1936-37)	Guy Lafleur (1971-85)
Dickie Moore (1951-63)	Elmer Lach (1940-54)	Bernie Geoffrion (1951-64)
Bob Gainey (1973-89)	Jacques Lemaire (1967-79)	Yvan Cournoyer (1963-79)

This was a difficult one. There's been so many great Canadiens forwards that I could probably make up an entire second all-time team out of all the ones that didn't make this list. Anyways here's the ones who did make the cut. On the first line we've got two-thirds of the Punch Line: Toe Blake – who upon retirement was the second highest scoring player in NHL history – and the legendary Maurice Richard who remains Montreal's goal scoring leader with 544 (including four seasons of 40 or more goals). Centring this line is Jean Beliveau, two-time MVP and the most respected player of his generation. On the second line we have Steve Shutt, a vigilant sniper who was lethal on the powerplay; Howie Morenz, speedy scorer and three-time MVP; and Montreal's all-time leading scorer Guy Lafleur (6x50 goals, 6x100 points). For the third line we have the third piece of the Punch Line, two-time leading scorer Elmer Lach. On his left is sniper and two-time leading scorer Dickie Moore; on his right is “Boom Boom” Geoffrion, a 50-goal scorer and innovator of the slapshot. And on the fourth line there's the speedy Yvan Cournoyer (4x40 goals, 6x70 points) with Bob Gainey, a defensive specialist (4-time Selke Trophy winner for best defensive forward), and Jacques Lemaire, a clean-playing two-way forward, backing him up. 

Honourable mentions: Vincent Damphousse, Aurel Joliat, Frank Mahovlich, Pete Mahovlich, Newsy Lalonde, Mats Naslund, Henri Richard, Bert Olmstead 

Defencemen

L-R: Robinson, Harvey

Larry Robinson (1972-89)	Doug Harvey (1947-61)
Serge Savard (1967-81)	Emile Bouchard (1941-56)
Guy Lapointe (1969-82)	Jacques Laperriere (1962-74)

You may have noticed that half of these D-men are all from the same era: the late 1970's dynasty. That team's defensive corps was a key ingredient to the Habs' success during that period so why not recreate it, right? This group of three includes the jack of all trades, Serge Savard; playmaker (6x50 points) and bodychecker Guy Lapointe; and one of the all-time greats Larry Robinson, who had only one full season with a +/- rating lower than +23. The other three are from earlier decades. First is Doug Harvey, whose fast skating and playmaking ability (6x30 assists) redefined the role of defenceman. Next is the tough, stay-at-home blueliner Emile Bouchard. And lastly is Jacques Laperriere whose shot-blocking and poke-checking skills helped Montreal win the Cup six times in his twelve years on the team.

Honourable mentions: Chris Chelios, Eric Desjardins, Sylvio Mantha, Andrei Markov 

Goaltenders

Roy

Patrick Roy (1985-95)

Jacques Plante (1952-63)

As usual this was a difficult call to make; the Habs have had a plethora of excellent goaltenders over the past century. I thought long and hard about this and I've decided to go with St. Patrick as the starter because I believe he made the most difference to the teams that he played on. Simply put, Montreal would not have won the Stanley Cup in 1986 and 1993 without him. Easily the NHL's best goalie from the late-80's to the early-90's, Roy won two Conn Smythe Trophies (playoff MVP), four Jennings trophies (least goals allowed), and three Vezina Trophies (best goaltender). And for backup we've got another player whose name often comes up when debating who's the greatest netminder of all time: Jacques Plante. Montreal's backstop for nine full seasons, Plante's innovative stickhandling and pitch-perfect standup play made him a vital component of the late-50's Canadiens dynasty. His seven 30-win seasons and six Vezina Trophies say it all. 

Honourable mentions: Ken Dryden, Bill Durnan, Carey Price

All-Time Team: Tampa Bay Lightning (1992-present)

 

  Well what do you know? It looks like I was wrong: there is a Stanley Cup champion this year after all and in spite of the winners being a team that I care very little for – and in spite of having some politics shoved in my face – I'm still grateful that we got to see some playoff hockey this year. Yes, Lord Stanley's Cup has gone to the Tampa Bay Lightning and as per tradition I'm going to give my take on what a best-of roster would look like for this franchise. But first, a brief history.

  Thanks to the efforts of Hall of Famers Tony and Phil Esposito , the Lightning were founded in 1992, along with the Ottawa Senators. Despite an impressive inaugural season start – by the end of month 1 they were first in their division – Tampa Bay ended up finishing last in the league with 53 points. At the time however this was one of the best first season performances for an expansion franchise, especially one that had to contend with road trips as long as Tampa Bay's. This team's first few years were mediocre, as is often the case with new teams, but it was held together by some talented players like the high-scoring centre Brian Bradley and solid goaltender Darren Puppa. In their first ten seasons, the Lightning made the playoffs only once, losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in the opening round of 1996.

  The late 1990's were a dark time for hockey in Tampa, whose team finished dead last in the NHL two years in a row thanks to some lousy trades and crippling injuries. Things weren't much better off-ice either in what I can only describe as one of the most bizarre NHL owner stories I've ever heard. The Lightning were originally owned by a Japanese group called Kokusai Green who were rumoured to be involved in the yakuza and using the struggling hockey club as a money laundering channel (the club was losing tons of money throughout the 1990's). Ownership was not very involved, to say the least, neglecting to support the team's operations, pay taxes, or even publicly reveal themselves as the Lightning's owners – Kokusai Green's owner Takashi Okubo never once met with NHL officials until 1998 nor did he ever attend an NHL game. The franchise was also heavily in debt too, moreso than any other major North American sports club at the time. The Lightning were sold to a new owner in 1998 who didn't know much about hockey, lost a bunch of money on this struggling team, and then promptly sold it in 1999. The third owner, William Davidson, had experience with sports teams and brought in a new GM who in turn brought in a new coach and some talented minor leaguers. But even this wasn't enough to revitalize the Lightning, who in 2001 became the first team to ever lose 50 games four years in a row.

  But slowly Tampa Bay had managed to assemble some real talent. 1998 saw the drafting of future stars Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards. Martin St. Louis was signed in 2000, all-star goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin was acquired in 2001, and in that same year John Tortorella became head coach. The team's performance showed steady improvement in the early 2000's. In 2002-03 Tampa Bay finished 24 points better than the previous season, returned to the playoffs for the first time in seven years, and even won their opening round against the Washington Capitals only to be eliminated by the eventual Cup champions New Jersey Devils. Undaunted, the Lightning struck again the following year with their first ever 100-point season as well as their first ever Stanley Cup victory against the Calgary Flames. It was the perfect capstone to a season that saw Martin St. Louis leading the league in scoring and Tortorella winning the Jack Adams Award for best coach.

  For the next couple years the Lightning were a competitive club but by 2007-08 much of the core that made up the 2004 team was either gone or in decline and thus a rebuild was needed. A new GM and new coaches were brought in but things didn't improve until 2010 when former Red Wings legend Steve Yzerman was made GM. After a flurry of acquisitions the Lightning hit the ground running in 2010-11, setting a new team record for wins and returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2007, losing to the Boston Bruins in the third round.

  The following two seasons saw mediocre performance from the team who failed to make the playoffs. But the they returned to postseason contention in 2014 and since then Tampa Bay has been one of the dominant teams in the NHL, missing the playoffs only once and reaching the Eastern Conference finals (or better) four times.

  Over twenty-eight seasons the Tampa Bay Lightning have made the playoffs twelve times, winning two Stanley Cups from three finals appearances. They've also won one President's Trophy and four division championships. Today I'm putting together what I think are the best players that have ever called Tampa Bay home. As always, only these players' achievements in Tampa Bay will be considered and I've only included players – apart from goaltenders – who played 240 games or more. Let's get into this.

Forwards

L-R: Stamkos, Lecavalier, Modin

Left Wing	Centre	Right Wing
Vaclav Prospal (2001-03, 2005-08, 2008-09)	Steven Stamkos (2008-present)	Martin St. Louis (2000-14)
Ondrej Palat (2013-present)	Vincent Lecavalier (1998-2013)	Nikita Kucherov (2013-present)
Alex Killorn (2013-present)	Brad Richards (2000-08)	Ryan Malone (2008-14)
Fredrik Modin (1999-2006)	Brayden Point (2016-present)	John Tucker (1992-96)

The top line is always reserved for a team's highest scorers so for left wing we've got Vaclav Prospal who had five seasons of at least 50 points, including two of at least 70. On the right wing there's the franchise's leading point scorer Martin St. Louis, a six-time 30 goals scorer and eleven-time 60 point scorer. And for centre I chose Steven Stamkos – yes, think he's better than Vincent Lecavalier – who twice led the NHL in goals. On the second line Ondrej Palat provides some solid passing as well as good defensive awareness (never a negative +/- season). Next to him is Lecavalier (5x30 goals and 8x60 points) and the high-scoring playmaker Nikita Kucherov who now has two 100 point seasons under his belt. The third line has some special teams ability from Alex Killorn, deft passing from Brad Richards (4x70 points), and a bit of toughness from Ryan Malone. And rounding out the fourth line is Fredrik Modin's defensive play, Brayden Point's goal-scoring ability, and John Tucker's capable passing. (Note: I had a hard time coming up with four worthy right wingers so I cheated: Ryan Malone is really a left winger.)

Honourable mentions: Brian Bradley, Tyler Johnson

Defencemen

L-R: Hedman, Boyle

Victor Hedman (2009-present)	Dan Boyle (2002-08)
Pavel Kubina (1997-2006, 2010-12)	Roman Hamrlik (1992-97)
Jassen Cullimore (1998-2004)	Cory Sarich (1999-2007)

For the first defensive pairing I've chosen two Lightning defencemen who have the most notable offensive output. They are Victor Hedman (5x40 assists, 4x +20) and Dan Boyle (3x50 points). The second pair is made up of Tampa's old school blueliners. The first is the dependable rearguard Pavel Kubina who was able to occasionally chip in with some offence, while the second is the team's first ever draft pick Roman Hamrlik who used his grit and powerplay prowess to great effect in the 1990's. Jassen Cullimore and Cory Sarich make up the third pair with their solid stay-at-home defensive play that helped win the 2004 Stanley Cup.

Honourable mention: Anton Stralman

Goaltenders

Khabibulin

Nikolai Khabibulin (2001-04)

Andrei Vasilevsky (2014-present)

This pick might upset some for sure but I believe that Nikolai Khabibulin is still the greatest goalie Tampa Bay has ever had (I also selected him as the backup for my all-time Winnipeg Jets team). Sure, Vasilevsky is an excellent stickhandler and has more shutouts and wins. Sure, the two have a similar save percentages and have both won a Stanley Cup. But I'm giving the edge to the “Bulin Wall” because his performance made the difference to a team that wasn't quite as dominant as today's Lightning. There's also the fact that he totally ruled the playoffs and spent more games and minutes (on average) per season between the pipes. Vasilevsky may have what it takes to be the best Tampa's ever seen but as of now Nikolai Khabibulin is still number one in my opinion.

Honourable mentions: Ben Bishop, Darren Puppa

All-Time Team: the Atlanta teams (1972-80, 1999-2011)

Howdy, fellas. Here's another all-time fantasy roster of some defunct National Hockey League teams for you. This time we'll be looking at the two Atlanta, Georgia, based franchises, the Flames and the Thrashers. Both these teams were but curious blips in NHL history and they didn't last too long, making Atlanta the only city to have lost more than one hockey franchise (in the modern era of hockey). Before we look at the best players these clubs had to offer let's take a brief look at Atlanta's sad history with hockey.

Atlanta Flames (1972-80)

The NHL originally had no immediate plans to add more franchises after 1970 but the formation of the rival World Hockey Association (WHA) in 1971 was a catalyst for further growth. As the two leagues battled for new markets – such as the American South – the NHL announced it would grant a team to Atlanta. While unsurprisingly the Flames missed the playoffs in their inaugural season, they did qualify in their second thanks to the efforts of top-scoring rookie Tom Lysiak. After missing the postseason in 1975 the Flames got a new coach, Fred Creighton, whose technical style produced a team that consistently finished at or above .500 for the following five seasons. However, the team's exploits weren't exactly headline-grabbing for a city like Atlanta, a place that barely gets snow. Attendance gradually subsided and the Omni Coliseum's lack of luxury boxes certainly didn't help the club's financial woes. The Flames, which had earned a net loss of $12 million during its history, were sold to the Seaman brothers and moved to Calgary in 1980. In their eight seasons in the NHL the Atlanta Flames made six playoff appearances, winning only two playoff games in the process. Kent Nilsson was the last remaining Atlanta Flames player in the NHL and he played his last game in 1995.

Atlanta Thrashers (1999-2011)

The Thrashers entered the NHL as part of the league's 4-team American expansion scheme in the late 1990's (the other new teams were Columbus, Minnesota, and Nashville). Their first year was pretty bad – as is usually the case for expansion teams – and their top two draft picks in 1999 turned out to be great big flops. Fortunately, the Thrashers' top draft picks in 2000 and 2001 were far better: playmaker Dany Heatley in 2000, followed by franchise player Ilya Kovalchuk the following year. These two guys made their debuts in 2001-02 and they finished first and second in the league in rookie scoring. While the team wasn't any good, the games were still entertaining and attendance held steady. After the NHL lockout in 2004-05, the Thrashers made a series of trades that saw the team's output improve from 78 points in 2003-04 to 90 in 2005-06. A playoff berth still eluded them but the following season Atlanta finally saw playoff action in 2007... only to be swept by the New York Rangers in the opening round. It turns out that this would be the Thrashers only foray into postseason play. Key players (Kovalchuk, Marc Savard, and Marian Hossa) would be traded away, coaches were shuffled round, the team's ownership group was at eachother's throats, and ticket sales were dropping. The franchise – which had allegedly lost $130 million in its last six years – was sold to True North Sports & Entertainment and relocated in 2011 to become the new Winnipeg Jets. (Winnipeg previously had an NHL team called the Jets from 1979 to 1996, but they were moved to Arizona for some confounded reason.) In their eleven seasons, the Atlanta Thrashers won one division championship.

So let's take a trip down memory lane and have a look at what both these clubs might offer to a hypothetical fantasy team. As usual only these players' achievements as an Atlanta-based player will factor into consideration. Also, only players who participated in at least 200 of Atlanta's games qualified. And in case you're wondering, no player has ever played for both the Flames and Thrashers. Let's begin.

Forwards

L-R: Kovalchuk, MacMillan, Hossa

Ilya Kovalchuk (2001-10)	Tom Lysiak (1973-79)	Marian Hossa (2005-08)
Vyacheslav Kozlov (2002-10)	Guy Chouinard (1974-80)	Bob MacMillan (1977-80)
Keith McCreary (1972-75)	Bill Clement (1976-80)	Willi Plett (1975-80)
Eric Boulton (2005-11)	Chris Thorburn (2007-11)	Jeff Odgers (2000-03)

Let's load up the first line with some top-notch scorers, shall we? For Atlanta fans there’s no one better than the Thrashers all-time leading point scorer Kovalchuk (5x40 goals), the Flames all-time leading point scorer Lysiak (5x60 points), and Marian Hossa, the only Thrasher to score 100 points. Right behind them is some deft passing from Kozlov (3x70 points), Chouinard's goal-scoring ability (50 goals in 1978-79), and playmaking ability from the squeaky-clean MacMillan (1.06 PPG). On the third line Keith McCreary and Bill Clement bring some defensive stability, while Willi Plett (also my pick for the Minnesota North Stars' all-time team) contributes his trademark aggression combined with a not-insubstantial amount of scoring (3x30 goals, 3x171+ PIM). The fourth line adds some hard-nosed tough guys, chief among them Jeff Odgers.

Honourable mentions: Dany Heatley, Marc Savard

Defensemen

L-R: Quinn, Enstrom

Randy Manery (1972-77)	Tobias Enstrom (2007-11)
Pat Quinn (1972-77)	David Shand (1976-80)
Andy Sutton (2001-07)	Garnet Exelby (2002-09)

For our first defensive pairing we have the versatile Randy Manery, who can kill penalties, defend consistently, and adeptly move the puck up to his teammates (never less than 29 points). At his side is the durable Tobias Enstrom (played all 82 games in 3 seasons) who never scored less than 32 points. The second pair has solid stay-at-home defence from the tough Pat Quinn and the consistent David Shand (+21 or higher three times). The rugged Sutton and hard-hitting Exelby hold down the fort on the third pairing.

Goaltenders

Lehtonen

Kari Lehtonen (2003-10)

Dan Bouchard (1972-80)

This one was a close call. At first glance Lehtonen and Bouchard (whom I previously chose to be the Quebec Nordiques' all-time starting goalie) don't seem all that different. They posted similar per-year stats for games played, minutes, and shutouts. But Lehtonen's performance seems just a bit more admirable when you consider that he did this while playing with squads that weren't as good as the ones Bouchard played with. Bouchard always had a fine defensive corps in front of him, so of course he ended up never having a losing season. In contrast, Lehtonen was one of the few things holding his team together. And he did it while maintaining a more consistent GAA and save percentage.

All-Time Team: St. Louis Blues (1967-present)

  Happy Labour Day, everyone. It's that time of year again. The Coolest Game on Earth^TM is about to begin anew and as per tradition I'm taking a look at the history and greatest all-time players of last season's Stanley Cup Champion team, this time the St. Louis Blues. Here's a brief history.

  The Blues are one of the six expansion teams that doubled the NHL's size in 1967. They were easily the best of the new franchises and led by their sterling defence and the past-their-prime-but-still-dream-team goaltending duo of Jacques Plante and Glenn Hall they made the Stanley Cup finals in each of their first three seasons only to be swept every time by an Original Six team. The 1970's were a shakier period for St. Louis. The playoffs format was shuffled, the defensive corps was broken up, and the NHL was given a divisional realignment which didn't favour the Blues (at first). From 1973 to 1980 St. Louis made the playoffs five times but couldn't win a single series. At around this time several deferred contracts came up due. Additionally there was the rival league, the World Hockey Association, splitting up the hockey market. In short, the team was in financial distress.

  At least their game was making a recovery. A year after posting a franchise worst 18-50-12 record (1978-79), the Blues returned to the playoffs for what would be the first in a 25-year playoff streak (1980-2004). New talent was emerging within the team, including franchise player Bernie Federko, captain Brian Sutter, and star goaltender Mike Liut. Off ice, things were a mess by 1983. To make a long story short, the team was losing money year-on-year, new owners came in, they tried moving the team to Saskatoon, the NHL blocked the move, the owners tried suing the league, the league countersued, new owners couldn't be found, the Blues were set to dissolve but a new owner was found just in time so the team stayed in St. Louis.

  The Blues remained a competitive, though not spectacular, team throughout the 1980's. They didn't score as much as most other teams, but their defence was pretty good (a common strength throughout Blues history). They seemed unable to hold on to their young stars. Some – including Doug Gilmour, Rob Ramage, and Joe Mullen – would go on to become key figures in the Calgary Flames' 1989 Stanley Cup championship. But in the late 1980's and early 1990's St. Louis made some solid trades thanks to GM Ron Caron. New faces included Curtis Joseph, Brendan Shanahan, Adam Oates, and – as fate would have it, from Calgary – Al MacInnis and of course Brett Hull, one of the greatest goal-scorers of all time.

  Despite this new and exciting talent, St. Louis still couldn't make it past the second round of the playoffs. Mike Keenan was brought in as head coach and GM in 1994 and he immediately got to work swapping out Shanahan and Joseph for big names like Grant Fuhr, Pierre Turgeon, Chris Pronger, and even Wayne Gretzky (who didn't stay long). Keenan's schemes didn't quite work out and he was canned in 1996.

  The late 1990's Blues saw the departure of star players Hull and Fuhr, but also saw the emergence of new stars like Keith Tkachuk, Pavol Demitra, and goaltender Roman Turek. These acquisitions combined with solid defensive play from blueliners MacInnis and Pronger made St. Louis a strong contender. I'm going to go on record and say that the early 2000's Blues were one of the best NHL teams to have not won the Stanley Cup. Despite a league-topping season in 1999-2000 (51-19-11-1, 114 points) the deepest playoff run the team could manage was a semi-finals loss to the Colorado Avalanche in 2001.

  The 2005-06 season saw the Blues' playoff streak come to an end as they finished with the worst record in the league. Given that another ownership tossup was underway and game attendance was fading away, a serious rebuild was in need. New management was brought in, new players were brought in. The team's game improved but a return to the postseason wouldn't happen until 2009. After an opening-round four-game sweep at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks that same year the Blues would have to wait another three years for playoff action thanks to an overwhelmingly competitive Western Conference.

  2011 saw a new set of owners and a new coach, but this time things went according to plan thanks to new free agents like Jason Arnott, Jamie Langenbrunner, and Brian Elliott as well as some decent draft picks later on including David Backes and Alex Pietrangelo. Since then St. Louis has been its normal competitive self and despite being last place at the start of 2019 they somehow rallied back that same year to earn a playoff berth and then win Lord Stanley's Cup, becoming the last of the remaining 1967 expansion teams to do so.

  In their 52 seasons the St. Louis Blues have won nine division championships and one President's Trophy (1999-2000). They've made it to the postseason an astounding 42 times, advancing to the finals four times with one Stanley Cup championship in 2019.

  The Blues have had some excellent players in those 52 years and today I'm going to put forth my idea of what an all-time fantasy team might look like. For this I've considered only the achievements of players as they wore a St. Louis uniform (so don't expect Wayne Gretzky to show up) and I've restricted this roster to players who were in St. Louis for at least 225 games. Let's begin!

Forwards

L-R: Hull, Berenson, Meagher

Left Wing	Centre	Right Wing
Brian Sutter (1976-88)	Bernie Federko (1976-89)	Brett Hull (1988-98)
Keith Tkachuk (2001-07, 2007-10)	Gary Unger (1971-79)	Pavol Demitra (1996-2004)
Red Berenson (1967-71, 1974-78)	Doug Gilmour (1983-88)	Jamal Mayers (1996-2008)
Tony Twist (1994-99)	Rick Meagher (1985-91)	Reed Low (2000-04)

As per typical fare, the first line consists of the most talented scorers. This includes aggressive playmaker Brian Sutter (7 campaigns north of 140 penalty minutes), four-time 100 point-scorer and all-time points leader Bernie Federko, and Brett Hull who had five straight 50-goal seasons (including three straight 70 goal seasons!). Next up, with 3x30 goal outings and 5x70 point showings, is the clean playmaker Pavol Demitra. Backing him up are two tenacious scorers, Gary Unger (8x30 goals, 5x60 points) and Keith Tkachuk (3x30 goals). On the third line we've got the durable special teams man Red Berenson, versatile agitator Doug Gilmour, and reliable defensive specialist Jamal Mayers. And our fourth line provides some enforcement from Low and Twist as well as some forechecking and defensive play Rick Meagher.

Honourable mentions: Joe Mullen, Jorgen Petterson, Brendan Shanahan, Vladimir Tarasenko, Pierre Turgeon

Defencemen

L-R: Pronger, Jackman

Al MacInnis (1994-2004)	Chris Pronger (1995-2005)
Rob Ramage (1982-88)	Barrett Jackman (2002-2015)
Bob Plager (1967-78)	Barclay Plager (1967-76)

As you might be able to tell from the lengthy honourable mentions list here picking the Blues's six best defencemen was not an easy task. St. Louis has had a multitude of amazing blueliners over the years, but I believe that I've found the cream of the crop. Let's start with the back-to-back Norris Trophy-winning duo of Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis. Not only did they shut down the opposition but they also contributed a fair bit to their team's offence. Rob Ramage's style of play was similar but with a bit more physicality (which previously earned him a spot on my all-time loser franchises lineup [for the Rockies]). At his side is the rugged stay-at-home D-man Barrett Jackman. And our third pairing is anchored by the rough-and-tumble Plager brothers.

Honourable mentions: Tim Bothwell, Jay Bouwmeester, Jeff Brown, Jack Brownschidle, Paul Cavallini, Alex Pietrangelo

Goaltenders

Liut

Mike Liut (1979-85)

Curtis Joseph (1989-95)

There were several netminders I considered putting on this team,but in my opinion Mike Liut barely beats out Curtis Joseph as the best Blues goaltender ever. Arguably the NHL’s best goalie of the 1980’s, Liut – whom I also selected as the Whalers’ best goalie back in May 2017 – posted two consecutive 30-win seasons and was voted league MVP by his fellow players in 1980-81.

Honourable mentions: Brian Elliott, Grant Fuhr

That does it for this year's defending Stanley Cup champions. Check in later this month for my top picks from one of the NHL's past clubs.