Tier Listing Every Franchise's History

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Yo, what is going on, guys? Welcome back to another video. And with the Stanley Cup playoffs underway, in about 2 months, a team will be adding a Stanley Cup to their franchise's history. For some teams, like the Minnesota Wild, it would be their first Stanley Cup. For other teams, like the Montreal Canadiens, it would be their 24th or 25th, depending on who you ask because I know it's like a contentious thing with the history of the league. But still, a team is going to be adding a Stanley Cup. So, I thought it'd be a fun idea.

[00:00:25]If you want my thoughts on like the game ones, go listen to my podcast I did yesterday. big goals in my podcast tomorrow that I'm doing at noon. But today, I thought it'd be fun for tier list Tuesday to do a t tier list uh based on teams' franchises history, franchise successes. We got amazing.

[00:00:42]This is top tier for a lot of their history. They've been winning Stanley Cups. They've been highly competitive, very good. Definitely have multiple Stanley Cups in a solid history. Good, okay, bad, and then straight up poverty.

[00:00:55]So, yeah, we got our six different tier lists. Again, with this, the way I assess this, a Stanley Cup that was won in 1955 when there was like six teams in the league is not the same as a Stanley Cup won in the 2020s when you have 32 different teams. I think that that's fair, but not saying those cups are worthless, but it was easier to win in a six team league compared to a 32 team league. Pretty self-explanatory.

[00:01:18]And uh yeah, let's get into it. The Calgary Flames obviously have that one Stanley Cup. Beyond that, I I think you could They've made Stanley Cup finals as well. They're somewhere between okay and bad. I think right now I I'm gonna throw them in bad. It's not like they had a lot of success when they were the Atlanta Flames either. We might move them back. We we might come back to them. For the Boston Bruins only not a ton of Stanley Cups and not a ton of Stanley Cups in the modern era, especially only three post expansion, but they have been so good consistently.

[00:01:48]You're going to see this. I do value if someone consistently makes the playoffs, they go to a lot of conference finals, go to a Stanley Cup finals. This is not just going to be in order of Stanley Cups. Like I think that that's just lame. And yeah, when you look at the Boston Bruins, yeah, not the most success in the modern era, but just consistently good for the most part going from the Bobby or and um why am I blanking? Phyis Bazto era into Ray Bourc into Char Berseron. They've just been consistently good throughout their entire tenure. So I think that they belong in very good. definitely can't be an amazing just because of their Stanley Cup uh count when it matters the most.

[00:02:22]The Anaheim Ducks, okay, they had a very good run with Teimu Salane and then into Ryan Gets and Cory Perry. Uh not the most success before that, not the most success after that, but I still think considering they have that one Stanley Cup, considering they have a Stanley Cup final in 2003, you got to give them some thumbs up in that regard. I think that they land in about okay, about smack dab in the middle for a franchise. is I think that's where you got to have the ducks. Columbus easily poverty. They've made the playoffs like six or seven times in their 25 year history. They have one playoff round win in 2019, right? No conference finals to their name. They're dead last in terms of NHL teams. Obviously, not counting like Seattle who's only been around for four seasons, but yeah, it's bad. Uh Dallas, I I think okay as well. Minnesota Northstars was okay. Then of course they moved to Dallas, win the Stanley Cup in 1999. They did have some down years like the mid to late 2000s, but then they get Sean, then they get Ben, then they're competitive again. So, they have a Stanley Cup, they have a couple cup finals, I think much like Anaheim, pretty solid. Definitely closer to good, I'd say. Especially if they got a Stanley Cup this year, then you definitely move them up to good. But, yeah, I would have them ahead of Anaheim. I'm I'm not doing this in order, but I would have them ahead of Anaheim considering they've had that new run, three straight Western Conference Finals. We might move them up. We'll see. Uh Detroit.

[00:03:42]Detroit. I think you got to have them been amazing considering their original six history in the modern era it really was just the right like they in the 80s they weren't very good recently they haven't been very good but from 199 what like four up until like 2014 they were the gold standard in the NHL so when you add on top of of course Gordy how back in the day Ted Lindsay so many legends they're easily an amazing they're a top five franchise of all time the Tampa Bay Lightning very good I think you got to go with very good Marty St. Louie, Vinnie Lavier won in 2003. Then they had some rocky years. They get Stam Coach, they get Headman, and they've been like the gold standard in the NHL, at least the last decade, making four Stanley Cups, winning two of them. So, yeah, three Stanley Cups and what they've only been around for 30-ish years. You could argue on like a crunched timeline that they maybe even have a case for amazing, but they they did have some down years mixed in there where I can't quite go there. Canadians. A lot of it is predicated on like the pre-1980 history.

[00:04:37]But they do have that Stanley Cup, two Stanley Cups, post 1980. So, I think you got to go with the amazing considering they have like 23 or 24. What's the official number? Like I looked it up before this and some people say 23, some people say 24, but uh yeah, they're they're definitely amazing. And now they're back up on the swing in terms of maybe winning some Stanley Cups and uh reementing themselves as the top NHL franchise. The Colorado Avalanche, kind of similarly to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

[00:05:02]You look at them, they had the sack, they had the Forsber era. Even with the Quebec Nordiks, they were pretty solid in the 80s. Then they have some some rough years. Get McKinnon, get Macar, win a Stanley Cup, three Stanley Cups up until this point. Have been around since 1980 with the Quebecs, they're definitely in that very good tier. And if they had a Stanley Cup, if they had another two Stanley Cups with this current core, I think you could argue for them being an amazing right now with only one cup with that core, I think haven't been very good. This probably going to piss some people off. I think you got to put Florida in. Okay.

[00:05:34]Obviously, the last three seasons have been amazing. Making three Stanley Cup finals, winning two Stanley Cups. Before that, they had a 25-y year playoff series drought. Like, we got to They did make the Stanley Cup in 1996, but like they were peak poverty before 2020.

[00:05:49]Like, they were as bad as the Columbus Blue Jackets. So, from that perspective, they've moved up a lot. But we cannot just ignore the 30-year history based on the last five years. That is more than fair. So, I'm going to put them in.

[00:06:01]Okay, Vegas again, it's not a long time, but when you look at what they've done, one Stanley Cup in what, eight or nine seasons, another Stanley Cup final, a couple other conference finals, they've been good throughout their entire history. They missed the playoffs once, and it was that one weird year where Eel Stone and Pat Ready missed like uh 50 games each. So, I think they got to be in very good. Again, you got to go based on how long they've been around for, condense it. And for uh Vegas, it's been nothing but good. Toronto, I think you got to go in bad. Yes, they have that original six history, but they haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1967, since the league expanded, and it's not like players just went to Toronto because all the players were from Toronto, from Canada where they had that advantage.

[00:06:42]They haven't been good. They haven't made it to the Stanley Cup final in the last 50 55 years. So, from that perspective, I think that they're in bad. That's going to piss off some people. I understand that their original six, all their historic simply on ice produ uh production, especially once other teams came into the league. bad, bad, bad, horrible. They're poverty in like the modern era. So we So with that original six history, they move up to just bad. I don't think I'm being a Let me know in the comments. I don't think I'm being a biased Islanders fan in saying that. The San Jose Sharks, no Stanley Cup, but they were so good for 20 years. They made a Stanley Cup final.

[00:07:16]They came close. I think I'm going to put them People are getting mad at this.

[00:07:21]No Stanley Cup is tough. No Stanley Cup is tough. I think I'm going to put them in bad. Even though again they've had some really rough years of late. Early on they sucked. So I think I'm going to put them in bad. LA Kings I'm going to put them in good. They had a lot of stars throughout the years. They of course had Marcel Dion, Luke Robbitai, Wayne Gretzky. Unfortunately didn't win a cup with Robbitai and Gretzky but then win two Stanley Cups with Dowy and Copitar. The problem is like besides those two two years those are Stanley Cup years. You look at the Kings the last like two decades, three decades for the most part. Not a ton of playoff success. So, I'm I'm going to throw them in good with their two Stanley Cups.

[00:07:57]Buffalo I'm not going to have in poverty. Again, you look at the teams that they had in the 70s with Perau. You look at Hashik in the late 90s with those teams. You look at even in the 2000s, they were making conference finals. They've had a lot of good players. I don't think that they're a they're a level poverty. They've made Stanley Cup finals. Uh the Philadelphia Flyers somewhere between good and okay. Got their two Stanley Cups in the mid70s when there weren't a ton of teams, but I they've been consistently good recently.

[00:08:22]The last decade's been bad, but throughout the 80s, throughout the 90s, they were a pretty good team. Made some Stanley Cup finals. So, I think I'm going to put them in good. Ottawa's tough just because they were an expansion team in the 90s. Had some good years with uh Alfredson, Spettza, Carlson, and like the mid2010s. Then had some really bad years. No Stanley Cup.

[00:08:43]One trip to the C cup final. You could maybe argue for okay, but again, they're not ahead of any of these teams. So, I think I'm going to keep them in bad. uh the Utah Mammoth. I am factoring in the Arizona Coyotes. I know some people like that's not officially how it's done.

[00:08:56]They are treated as an expansion team even though they took all the players, coaches, and management from the Arizona Coyotes. I'm using them as Arizona and they are poverty by default. Even not if you just factor in the two years they've been in the that they've been in the league. It's poverty. Seattle also poverty. It's only been uh five seasons, but it has been pretty poverty. Only one playoff appearance. They do have a playoff round win, but yeah, it's bad.

[00:09:19]Uh, New Jersey good. Yeah, bro era, three Stanley Cups. Outside of that, not a ton of success. But again, in the late 90s, in the early 2000s to win in the league when there was like what 26 to 30 teams, I think that they're definitely deserving of good, but they don't have the multiple runs that a Tampa Bay that a Colorado has to to elevate them. Even though they have the same amount of cups, considering there was two different runs, sustained success two different times, I think you gota have them in just good. Uh the Chicago Blackhawks the first dynasty of like what the late 20 of the 21st century right now. Yeah. The first first true dynasty of the 21st century when looking at if because the Detroit Red Wings won started in the 1990s uh in the 2010s got three Stanley Cups. Not a ton of success before that but they were relevant. They had Ed Belffor they had Jeremy Ronic.

[00:10:09]They had Chris Chelios and then of course Stan Makita Hole back in like the 60s. So I think you got to have them been very good. They do have modern success as well as some original six success. Uh the St. Louis Blues I'm going to go with. Okay. They you look at their page. I looked at it before on hockey reference like they made the playoffs just consistently throughout their entire tenure. Obviously had birdie Fedurko uh guys like Chris Pronger heart win and then finally won the Stanley Cup in 2019 and got over the hump. They've just been a very consistently good team throughout their entire tenure. So I think you got to definitely have them and okay. They're more consistent than a onetime cup winner in the Calgary Flames. Next up, we got the Edmonton Oilers. This is maybe one of the tougher ones because obviously like 80s9s amazing amazing one run with Gretzky, Messier, Coffee, Curry. Outside of that, Decade of Darkness was horrible. Then they get McDavid. They haven't won with McDavid, but they've been good the last five years. I think I'm going to put them in very good, but I can definitely see an argument for good. They're definitely closer to good than amazing, if that makes sense. Uh the New York Rangers, I'm going to go with okay. They've been consistently good, but only one Stanley Cup. Again, going back to the Torado Maple Leafs. Yeah, they won some cups during the original six, but the Rangers honestly didn't win that many cups during the original six days. So, considering they've have one cup since what, World War II? That's not acceptable. I could argue them in bad, but again, they have had good runs with their cores. They have made Stanley Cup finals. Besides that, compared to a Toronto Maple Leafs, so I'm going to put them in okay. Uh, the National Predators, I'm gonna It had It's been solid. Like again, they they had some really good runs in the 2010s. You can't put them in okay with these other teams that have cups, but again, it's like upper upper level. They're in a similar boat to San Jose where it's like not embarrassing, but when you don't have that cup, when you only have one cup final appearance and not like a ton of conference finals appearances, I can't quite put you there. Pittsburgh Penguins, I think, are amazing. They've had the two runs with two amazing players and surrounded Crosby with enough talent to win unlike McDavid right now in Edmonton. So when you look at them, yeah, they had Mario 15-year run him, Yagger amazing two Stanley Cups. And then in the modern era, you win three Stanley Cups. In the salary cap era, you win three Stanley Cups with uh Crosby, Latang, and Malin.

[00:12:23]I think they're amazing. They definitely had a brutal stretch, like a five-year stretch where they got Mark Andre Flurry, they got Mulan, they got Crosby as a result, but yeah, they continue to hum along. My Islanders, if I have the Oilers in very good, I'm actually going to have the Islanders in good considering they don't have that post dynasty run. Like, they were pretty for a while. They had like a 20-year playoff series drought. They did have those conference finals runs uh during COVID, but that's not enough to put them in in very good in my opinion. And again, one of the greatest four-year stretch that we'll ever see in the expansion era, but the rest has been pretty bad for my New York Islanders, if I'm just being a non-biased fan. The Vancouver Conucks, they've made some cup finals, but again, when you were one of the first expansion teams who haven't won a Stanley Cup in the last 21st century outside of the Sedines run has been pretty brutal. I think you got to have them in poverty. the Minnesota Wild, they're kind they've consistently made the playoffs, but again, they've made one they've made one conference finals and it was like their third season in the league. So although like they make the playoffs, they might go on a run this year, you look at the overall body of work, one conference finals, zero Stanley Cup finals appearances in 25 years. It's not Columbus level of poverty, but it's still poverty nonetheless. Uh Carolina, I got Carolina. Okay, they had Ron Francis, they had Rob Brymore, they won a Stanley Cup the last seven years they've been very good, but I'm not sure you can elevate them to a Los Angeles Kings, the Philadelphia Flyers, considering they haven't made another Stanley Cup final with this core. They made the cup final with Ron Francis in 20 uh 2002 was it when they was like one of their first years of the Carolina Hurricanes, but still they they've had it's been solid. It's been solid for Carolina. Washington, I can make an argument for good. They were pretty good in the 1980s, 1990s. Bondra, those teams, as well as of course getting Ovuchetkin and being one of the most relevant teams of the last 20 years, it's tough because they only have one Stanley Cup, but I think just like consistently being good, consistently being in the mix. I know that they didn't make a lot of conference finals with Ovuchkin, but you look like the President's Trophy is all that. I think I can make an argument. I think I'm going to put him in good. That might piss off some people, but again, I think that they are clear when you look at the body of work than the rest of these teams. And then Winnipeg, you unfortunately have to count count the Atlanta Thrashers and thus they are in poverty considering the Thrashers made the playoffs once in 13 years. Winnipeg has been okay, but they've made the playoffs about like 50 60% of the seasons and they've only made one conference final. Haven't made a Stanley Cup final. So, you got to have him in poverty as well. Let me know in the comments. I think this is pretty fair. I think that top three is pretty set in stone. I don't know how you can make an argument for one of the other teams, the very good tier. Pretty confident in that as well. good. Maybe you move down the Washington Capitals. Maybe you move up my Islanders if you're an Islanders fan.

[00:15:06]I wouldn't hate that, but I'm unbiased.

[00:15:09]And then, yeah, it ended up like kind of being like Stanley Cups, like biased.

[00:15:13]But again, I I think I did a good job of judging this because the Islanders in the 1980s winning those cups verse Tampa Bay's cups are definitely different. Let me know in the comments what do you think about this tier list. What tier list do you want to see next week? And and yeah, I'll be doing the live show tomorrow where we actually break down the games of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

[00:15:33]Join us at noon for that. I've really been enjoying that, talking to you guys in the chat, chopping it up. Follow our Friday where you guys submit your questions. Uh yeah, thanks for watching.

[00:15:42]I'll be seeing you in the next one.

[00:15:43]base.