Worst Stanley Cup Finals ever??

[Shootmaster_44]

McSorley changed the series' complexion with the illegal stick but outside of Gretzky, he was the best King on the ice IMO, in Game 7 of the Conference Finals and got the Kings there...

That may be, but I always figure that if Marty hadn't had an illegal stick, Montreal would've taken a delay of game penalty. The Habs never would've scored the tying goal to send it to OT and the Kings would've been heading back to LA up 2-0. So its all Marty's fault the Kings still haven't won the Cup.

 

[nyranger61494]

That may be, but I always figure that if Marty hadn't had an illegal stick, Montreal would've taken a delay of game penalty. The Habs never would've scored the tying goal to send it to OT and the Kings would've been heading back to LA up 2-0. So its all Marty's fault the Kings still haven't won the Cup.

Can't disagree with anything you've said there.

 

[Raoul Duke*]

Detroit/Carolina

The only Stanley Cup Finals I can remember that I didn't even care to watch. It was obvious from the jump Detroit was taking it. My only memory of that finals is sitting at a pub and glancing up at the screen at Igor Larionov.

No mystery to it, no intrigue. Detroit was winning the Cup - and that was it.

 

[Raoul Duke*]

1998 Detroit over Washington 4-0.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ...

Oh yeah. I completely forgot about this one. Which shows how uninteresting it actually was.

1. Detroit/Washington
2. Detroit/Carolina
3. NJ/Detroit
4. NJ/Anaheim
5. Colorado/Florida

 

[kmad]

Rangers-Canucks

I'm kidding, I was too young to know how great the series was. I was just mad at the time cause New York won.

That series was actually voted by The Hockey News writers almost unanimously as the BEST Cup finals of all time.

 

[Raoul Duke*]

I have that series on tape, and still watch it basically every summer. Vancouver/NY was probably the best Finals I've ever seen - except for the outcome.

Edmonton/Carolina and Montreal/LA rank up there too.

 

[someguy44]

It's got to be NJ and Ana. Watching two teams trap each other to death is not my idea of entertainment. Watching paint dry would be more entertaining. After watching a couple of the first games on and off, I couldn't take it anymore. This series went to 7... 7 of the most boring NHL finals games ever.

 

[Ted Hoffman]

I would suspect that 1968, 69 and 70 would have been among the worst. NHL teams vs AHL teams. Has any league ever stacked the deck for a final like the expansion era NHL did?

I'm curious how many of these three (if any) you know much about.

1970 - OK, can't argue. Boston outscored St. Louis 20-7 and only the final game that saw Bobby Orr flying through the air was close.
1969 - Yeah, Montreal outscored St. Louis 12-3 and I know John Flyers Fan mentioned it as well .... the Blues had swept both series to get to the Finals though and had held their own vs. the Original Six during the season. Only Game 3 wasn't close, the Habs simply shut down the Blues and scored timely goals. Meh, for the sake of it I'll give it.

1968 - Really? Sure, it was the first year of the expansion teams. Yeah, Montreal swept the Blues in 4 straight. However, the Canadiens didn't steamroll through this series by any means. All four games were decided by a single goal, and 2 of the 4 games went to OT. It wasn't nearly as bad as it looks, and it certainly wasn't as bad as the 1998 Finals.

 

[ered7]

Pittsburgh-Chicago was a very boring one, in 1992...
But I totally agree, Detroit-Washingon was utterly boring..

I'm biased but Pittsburgh-Chicago was a thrilling if short-lived series. I actually thought the Hawks would put up a better fight. Going into the series the Hawks had set a NHL record with 11 straight playoff wins (sweeps of Detroit and Edmonton followed winning the last 3 games of their first round series with St. Louis). The Penguins would match the Hawk record of 11 straight by sweeping the Hawks.

That game 1 was perhaps the most heart-breaking game I've ever seen. For the Hawks to be leading by 3 goals and blow that lead and lose in the last minute of the game...heartbreaking. 5-4 Pens

Then, there was the emergence of Dominik Hasek. He clearly stunned the Penguin stars with his acrobatic saves. It was then that the Hawk brass (i.e. Keenan, Pulford, Wirtz) should have chosen Hasek instead of Belfour and Waite as the goalie to keep.

How about that game 4 where Dirk Graham (the Hawk Captain) got a hat trick has he tried to will the team to stay alive in the series, only to fall short. 6-5 Pens

Keenan probably shouldn't have benched his best players for large periods of time during the finals, but that's hindsight. He probably could have started Hasek instead of Belfour after that devastating loss in game 1, but that's hindsight too. 3 of the games were decided by 1 goal and the other by 2. It was a close series despite the sweep. Pittsburgh was stacked: Mario Lemiuex, Ron Francis, Bryan Trottier, Jaromir Jagr, Kevin Stevens, Rick Tocchet, Larry Murphy, Barraso in net, etc...while the Hawks were as gritty as they come: Jeremy Roenick, Steve Larmer, Chris Chelios, Steve Smith, Dirk Graham, Brent Sutter, Jocelyn Lemiuex, Michel Goulet, Greg Gilbert (a fourth line with Stu Grimson and Mike Peluso on either side of Mike Hudson), etc...Belfour and Hasek between the pipes.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

I'm biased but Pittsburgh-Chicago was a thrilling if short-lived series. I actually thought the Hawks would put up a better fight. Going into the series the Hawks had set a NHL record with 11 straight playoff wins (sweeps of Detroit and Edmonton followed winning the last 3 games of their first round series with St. Louis). The Penguins would match the Hawk record of 11 straight by sweeping the Hawks.

That game 1 was perhaps the most heart-breaking game I've ever seen. For the Hawks to be leading by 3 goals and blow that lead and lose in the last minute of the game...heartbreaking. 5-4 Pens

Then, there was the emergence of Dominik Hasek. He clearly stunned the Penguin stars with his acrobatic saves. It was then that the Hawk bass (i.e. Keenan, Pulford, Wirtz) should have chosen Hasek instead of Belfour and Waite as the goalie to keep.

How about that game 4 where Dirk Graham (the Hawk Captain) got a hat trick has he tried to will the team to stay alive in the series, only to fall short. 6-5 Pens

Keenan probably shouldn't have benched his best players for large periods of time during the finals, but that's hindsight. He probably could have started Hasek instead of Belfour after that devastating loss in game 1, but that's hindsight too. 3 of the games were decided by 1 goal and the other by 2. It was a close series despite the sweep. Pittsburgh was stacked: Mario Lemiuex, Ron Francis, Bryan Trottier, Jaromir Jagr, Kevin Stevens, Rick Tocchet, Larry Murphy, Barraso in net, etc...while the Hawks were as gritty as they come: Jeremy Roenick, Steve Larmer, Chris Chelios, Steve Smith, Dirk Graham, Brent Sutter, Jocelyn Lemiuex, Michel Goulet, Greg Gilbert (a fourth line with Stu Grimson and Mike Peluso on either side of Mike Hudson), etc...Belfour and Hasek between the pipes.

i agree. although i didn't see it live(started watching in 93), ive seen every game on tape, and that might be the most closely fought sweep i've seen.

for me, i thought every finals between 1995-2003 other than 2001 was pretty boring. the circumstances made the drama, the quality of play itself was poor; total clutchfests. i thought last year's carolina-edmonton was one of the best ive ever seen. tons of hitting, scoring, and excellent flow. it was a war until the last second.

 

[Pksoze]

I'm not convinced. One hit and a 5-3 game (or whatever it was) don't make a series.

It had fluke goals, big hits, and one amazing scorefest.

It may not be the greatest ever... but it still tops the sweeps of the 90's.

 

[savemypoorbrain]

Watching paint dry would be more entertaining.

It's amazing how original of a joke that was.

 

[mytor4*]

flames-lightning finals . went 7 games with the lightning winning the cup. had the refs not put there whistle in ther pockets that series, the lightning would have took the series in 5 if not 4 straight. i have never seen as much clutching, hooking and interference in one series by one team . and i'm talking the last 40 yrs +.

 

[Matty Sundin]

flames-lightning finals . went 7 games with the lightning winning the cup. had the refs not put there whistle in ther pockets that series, the lightning would have took the series in 5 if not 4 straight. i have never seen as much clutching, hooking and interference in one series by one team . and i'm talking the last 40 yrs +.

That finals was actually entertaining and I personally thought Calgary was the better team in the series. If the series happen now, yes Tampa would of won in 4-5 games with the ***** rules they have now.

 

[Drewr15]

Here is a bio from the Legends site:

http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080...e=Player&page=bio&list=ByCountry&co=SCO#photo

Unfortunately, Gardiner passed away on June 13, 1934, as a result of a brain hemorrhage. His death, just a few weeks after winning the Stanley Cup, was one of the most poignant stories of the NHL's early days. The Wee Scot was considered by his peers to be among the elite netminders of his time. Many in fact referred to him as the finest ever at his craft. A member of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, Gardiner was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a charter member in 1945.

I've never understood why nobody ever made a movie out of this story. It's amazing and tragic.

 

[Drewr15]

You're not serious, are you? Really, come on now. Anyone who remembers that game, and remembers that horrible rule (that the NHL did away with after that year, by the way) knows that the goal shouldn't have counted. The rule was a simple one; if a player was in the crease before the puck, no goal. If you really want I'm sure I could dig up a picture of Hull's skate in the crease before the puck got there if you really want. No way should it have counted, and this is coming from someone who doesn't like the Sabres!

Actually if I remeber correctly the rule was technically that it was like offsides, if the player brought the puck out of the crease after he was already in there it was ok. The problem was they did not call it that way all season to suddenly follow the rule at the end of the year was bogus but it is the rule. So is a goaltender covering a puck out of the crease yet that only gets called once in a blue moon so your pissed as hell when they do.

 

[Drewr15]

I'm biased but Pittsburgh-Chicago was a thrilling if short-lived series. I actually thought the Hawks would put up a better fight. Going into the series the Hawks had set a NHL record with 11 straight playoff wins (sweeps of Detroit and Edmonton followed winning the last 3 games of their first round series with St. Louis). The Penguins would match the Hawk record of 11 straight by sweeping the Hawks.

That game 1 was perhaps the most heart-breaking game I've ever seen. For the Hawks to be leading by 3 goals and blow that lead and lose in the last minute of the game...heartbreaking. 5-4 Pens

Then, there was the emergence of Dominik Hasek. He clearly stunned the Penguin stars with his acrobatic saves. It was then that the Hawk brass (i.e. Keenan, Pulford, Wirtz) should have chosen Hasek instead of Belfour and Waite as the goalie to keep.

How about that game 4 where Dirk Graham (the Hawk Captain) got a hat trick has he tried to will the team to stay alive in the series, only to fall short. 6-5 Pens

Keenan probably shouldn't have benched his best players for large periods of time during the finals, but that's hindsight. He probably could have started Hasek instead of Belfour after that devastating loss in game 1, but that's hindsight too. 3 of the games were decided by 1 goal and the other by 2. It was a close series despite the sweep. Pittsburgh was stacked: Mario Lemiuex, Ron Francis, Bryan Trottier, Jaromir Jagr, Kevin Stevens, Rick Tocchet, Larry Murphy, Barraso in net, etc...while the Hawks were as gritty as they come: Jeremy Roenick, Steve Larmer, Chris Chelios, Steve Smith, Dirk Graham, Brent Sutter, Jocelyn Lemiuex, Michel Goulet, Greg Gilbert (a fourth line with Stu Grimson and Mike Peluso on either side of Mike Hudson), etc...Belfour and Hasek between the pipes.

I have to agree, that was one of the most entertaining sweeps ever. I still have games 1 and 4 on tape I loved it so much. And I sure wasn't rooting for the Pens as a Devils fan so no bias here believe me.

As a Devils fan I didnt find any of 2003 boring but that's because my heart was involved on every play.

Personally I have rarely found a finals boring, while the Detroit Washington one is one of the few that I admit I didn't watch every game to conclusion, its still the Finals and I find every moment enjoyable.

 

[Matty Sundin]

Finals right now is not the worst but just can't get into it.

 

[Barrasso35]

Finals right now is not the worst but just can't get into it.

I know what you mean... but last night's game was pretty exciting to watch and it was the first NHL game I've watched since the Penguins lost to the Senators in game 5 of the first round.

I'm going to say that the 1996 Finals, Colorado sweeping Florida, was the worst I've ever watched. I was furious that Florida beat my beloved Penguins in the 7th game. The only reason Florida stood a chance was Vanbiesbrouck and then, when he got to the finals it was as if he had used all he had against the Penguins and the Panthers got swept.

I never thought the Panthers had a chance after game two... they were done and that ruined it for me. I just kept thinking, "What if the Penguins were here and not the Panthers?" The Penguins still may have lost but I figure it probably would have been a helluva lot more interesting series.

I thought the Senators were done but after last night, I think this series is going to seven games. I hope it will more like last night and less like the first two games for the rest of the series.

 

[Matty Sundin]

Anaheim is about to win the cup. Worst final since Caps/Wings imo.

 

[Hartford HockeyFan]

Anaheim is about to win the cup. Worst final since Caps/Wings imo.

I also have to throw in the Lightning-Flames series and any cup finals involving New Jersey.

 

[Whiplash27]

Any final that went 4 games is terrible. That's like when you watch the Super Bowl and one team just dominates the other.

This one also didn't live up to expectations and is one of the worst in recent years. I know Anaheim was picked by many to win it all this year from the beginning, but Ottawa was deadly all the way to the finals and then just disappeared.

Cup finals should go 6 to 7 games and a 4 or 5 game series is a nightmare. Not only is the league losing out on revenue, but a lopsided final is saying that one conference is far superior to the other. You have the supposed two best teams in the league and for the series to end so quick is not good.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

any cup finals involving New Jersey.

Amen...talk about sucking the joy out of hockey with that style of play...eeesh.

 

[The Muffin Stud]

1998 - Snore!

 

[OLYMPIA STADIUM]

I would suspect that 1968, 69 and 70 would have been among the worst. NHL teams vs AHL teams. Has any league ever stacked the deck for a final like the expansion era NHL did?

The STL BLUES were not a bad team and they did have great goaltending with Plante and Hall.they just played a awesome team in the boston bruins.