Now that two teams have won three Stanley Cups in the Salary Cap era, there are bound to be comparisons. Let's end that conversation before it starts. Here's why the Pittsburgh Penguins have won the Cap Era.
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Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) reacts to fans during the Stanley Cup championship parade and rally in downtown Pittsburgh. (Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)
Some things to know, as we get started.
One, the Penguins' dynasty started before the Blackhawks because the Penguins won (weirdly) the Sidney Crosby sweepstakes.
The Blackhawks had a chance at winning that, and if the season had played out, who knows?
Maybe the Hawks dynasty is Crosby/Jonathan Toews. Warning: that sentence should be scary for the rest of the league.
Two: this is actually a really close race. It comes down to just a few points in most categories.
Three: I'm a Blackhawks fan. I'm trying to be unbiased, and I admitted the Penguins are in the lead in the title(s). But I want the Blackhawks to be closer than they are.
Now, this is going to be three categories: 1. Playoffs, 2. Regular Season, and 3. Core Retention. That's how you determine a dynasty, that's how I'll determine a dynasty.
Oh, and it's more teams than just Hawks/Pens. The other teams considered: Detroit Red Wings, San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Philadelphia Flyers.
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Mar 24, 2017; Dallas, TX, USA; San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns (88) and goalie Aaron Dell (30) in action during the game against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeat the Sharks 6-1. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Regular Season
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In the salary cap era, here are the regular season standings:
Weird, right? How do the San Jose Sharks have the best salary cap era, at least in the regular season?
I mean, the Red Wings are to be expected – twenty-five years of going to the playoffs. They've won two President's Trophies since the first lockout. They've been generally really great in the regular season.
But the Sharks? San Jose has just one President's Trophy, all the way back in the 2008-09 season. That was when they had 117 points.
Here's how the Sharks have more points than the Red Wings: in 2013-14, the Sharks had an 18-point better performance than the Red Wings. And then this year, twenty. Recent events suck for Detroit.
Pens and Hawks
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Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) and center Evgeni Malkin (71) celebrate with the Stanley Cup after defeating the Nashville Predators in game six of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final at Bridgestone Arena. (Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports)
The Penguins at three shouldn't be that surprising either.
They've been really good in the regular season, playing competitively within their division, now the Metropolitan, also now the best in the NHL.
The Blackhawks have had regular season struggles – a few times coming in third in the division, a few times, before the completion of their core, losing it.
What is surprising about the salary cap era Penguins: they've not won a President's Trophy.
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have never won the Penguins a regular season.
But when you have three Cups, do you really need it?
Still, the Penguins emerge from the regular season category at third. Not a bad position to be in. Down the list, the Blackhawks barely scrape by at seventh.
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Jun 8, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Chris Kunitz (14) and and defenseman Olli Maatta (3) and right wing Bryan Rust (17) react after Rust scored a goal against the Nashville Predators during the first period in game five of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final at PPG PAINTS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Playoffs
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Standings in the playoffs throughout the salary cap era:
Now that Tampa Bay has been at the bottom of these two categories, you must be asking: why are they here?
Well, one, they've been to a Cup Final, something Washington hasn't. And also Tampa is the East's best hope of beating the Pittsburgh Penguins. Gotta boost that morale.
Side note, please, Steven Stamkos, if you're somehow reading this (how?) please, stay healthy.
Also, you would think with 70 playoff wins in 13 years, the Ducks would have more than one Cup. But nope, they're just a constant Western Conference Final threat.
Pens and Hawks
And there it is. The Penguins and the Blackhawks establish that dominance that they are known for. Except, well, the Penguins have a tremendous lead on the Blackhawks.
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Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang (58) holds the Stanley Cup during the Stanley Cup championship parade and rally in downtown Pittsburgh. (Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)
And that's because they've been to two pairs of back-to-back finals. Two were before the Blackhawks got going.
Also, interesting fact: for both teams, 05-06 was a bad year. Then 08-09 launched two ships.
The Penguins won the Cup, the Blackhawks made the conference final.
Then both teams had identical bad years in 2010-11 and 11-12. Both teams were first round exits, both years.
In 2010-11, both teams only won three games. In 11-12, both teams only won 2.
These teams are a lot closer than we think of them. That's because they've never faced off in a Cup Final. But then the Hawks would only gain two games back on that lead.
Still, that 25 win lead is a massive thing to overcome. If you're asking how that happened, look at the last two years. Blackhawks won three games combined. Penguins won 32.
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Jun 11, 2017; Nashville, TN, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) skates with the puck against the Nashville Predators during the third period in game six of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Core Retention
Let's eliminate the field. The Blackhawks and the Penguins are both staying. Joining them are the top 5 in both categories: San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks, and Detroit Red Wings.
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Chicago Blackhawks right wing Marian Hossa (left) is congratulated for scoring a goal by center Jonathan Toews (center) and right wing Patrick Kane (right) during the third period against the Washington Capitals at the United Center. (Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports)
The Blackhawks have six players who won all three Cups with Chicago and five were drafted by the team.
Those six: Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson, and Marian Hossa (not drafted).
The Penguins have five players who were part of all three Cups: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Chris Kunitz, and Marc-Andre Fleury.
The Red Wings have five players left from their Cup. Henrik Zetterberg, Niklas Kronwall, Justin Abdelkader, Jimmy Howard, and Darren Helm.
San Jose has most of their players left over from last year's Final run. But going back to their President's Trophy, they have four players left. Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, Patrick Marleau.
And Anaheim? Well, from their Cup, they have two players (Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry), but from a more recent event, they have nine players left over from when they won the West (in the regular season) in 2013-14.
Results:
Obviously, this is a recency bias, especially the Ducks. From the 13-14 roster on these other teams, the totals are 7 for the Penguins, 8 Sharks, 11 Detroit Red Wings (13 if you count the ones traded at the deadline), and 10 Hawks.
Still, the effect is still recognizable: the Blackhawks are the best at retaining their players, even at high costs.
The Penguins, especially with Marc-Andre Fleury leaving, are able to surround their core with patchwork and win. If the Pens have Malkin, Crosby, and Letang, they'll be fine.
The Red Wings' loyalty needs to be called into doubt. To have 5 aging players left over from their Cup runs in 07-08/08-09? That's loyalty to a fault.
The Penguins doing it makes sense. They have Malkin, Crosby, Letang. But the Red Wings, again, are Zetterberg (nearly 37), Darren Helm (a defensive center), and Niklas Kronwall (now 36).
Core retention is about straddling that line between over-loyalty and under loyalty. The Penguins are doing it perfectly, but the Blackhawks, with those six being huge in each of their Cup runs, win.
Fleury didn't do anything in last year's Cup run, people. Letang was the same way this year. They only have three players who have won three Cups with the team. One of them was a fourth-liner this year.
What This Means
It means that the Penguins have three Cups and four Stanley Cup Finals in the salary cap era. No matter how separated they are, those two pairs of back-to-back Finals are something no other team has achieved since the 80's.
It also means that Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are two of the best players of all-time. And Kris Letang likely needs recognition as well.
Cause when Fleury's played a backup role the last two years and Kunitz has faded, it's just Crosby, Malkin, and Letang as the Penguins core.
And the Penguins have won the playoffs in the salary cap era. 91 wins in 12 years. They've come in third, and first in the Eastern Conference, in the regular season.
Pittsburgh has retained their core well. Even when that core for some reason includes Chris Kunitz. I mean seriously guys. Chris Kunitz is the active leader in Cup wins.
That's like Andrew Shaw winning four Cups.
