charliolemieux
rsTmf
- Apr 1, 2010
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PLayoffs: 80's Habs v. Nords or 90's Wings v. Avs?
- Thread starter charliolemieux
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Blades of Glory
Troll Captain
Wings-Avs. Everything was at stake when those two teams met. We knew the winner was, in all likelihood, going to win the Stanley Cup, because the Eastern Conference, outside of New Jersey, stood no chance against them. They usually met in the Conference Finals, too, and combined for 5 Stanley Cups between 1996-2002.
Nordiques-Habs was an intense rivalry, no doubt, but the implications on an NHL-wide scale rarely were present as often as they were when Colorado and Detroit played in the playoffs.
Nordiques-Habs was an intense rivalry, no doubt, but the implications on an NHL-wide scale rarely were present as often as they were when Colorado and Detroit played in the playoffs.
Epsilon
#basta
The Wings and Avs played 3 conference finals, in the 96, 97, and 02 playoffs, where it really felt like they were playing for the Stanley Cup, not just a spot in the finals. In not one of those years did I feel like the final would have been in doubt (unlike many, I was not impressed with the Flyers in 97 and was pretty sure they would go down easily in the finals to the Western champ).
TheDevilMadeMe
Registered User
'80s Oilers vs. Flames
Much more comparable to Wings/Avs I would think, especially in terms of league-wide implications.
Buck Aki Berg
Done with this place
Habs-Nords.
The Wings-Avs rivalry was great, but it was born out of a single play between two people, and fizzled when those people moved on.
The Habs-Nords rivalry was escalated because of the political climate in Quebec (the Nords were seen as the team of choice for the seperatists, while the Habs were the federalists' choice). Add these off-ice overtones to the on-ice brawls, and it blows Detroit/Colorado out of the water
The Wings-Avs rivalry was great, but it was born out of a single play between two people, and fizzled when those people moved on.
The Habs-Nords rivalry was escalated because of the political climate in Quebec (the Nords were seen as the team of choice for the seperatists, while the Habs were the federalists' choice). Add these off-ice overtones to the on-ice brawls, and it blows Detroit/Colorado out of the water
jkrx
Registered User
- Feb 4, 2010
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Habs-Nords.
The Wings-Avs rivalry was great, but it was born out of a single play between two people, and fizzled when those people moved on.
The Habs-Nords rivalry was escalated because of the political climate in Quebec (the Nords were seen as the team of choice for the seperatists, while the Habs were the federalists' choice). Add these off-ice overtones to the on-ice brawls, and it blows Detroit/Colorado out of the water
What? It was born out of two dynasties reaching their peak and having faced one another in conference finals in 96. The Draper incident just escalated the whole thing. Detroit - Colorado rivalies werent just physical they were the battle for best team in the conference.
Im not taking sides here though as it would be biased for me to say which were the greatest.
Blades of Glory
Troll Captain
Yeah, I have to agree on this one. I wasn't saying either one was better than the other, because that's completely subjective, but there really is no argument that Quebec-Montreal was a more significant rivalry, in relation to the league, than Colorado-Detroit. QUE-MTL held a great level of significance to the province of Quebec, obviously, and that is important to note. However, it held very minimal significance outside of the cultural impact it had on that single province.
In terms of impact on the league as a whole, Colorado-Detroit simply blows the other rivalry away. Montreal was always a strong team in that decade, and they did win a Stanley Cup in 1986, but their rivalry with Quebec was really nothing more than a cultural one. Yes, they met multiple times in the playoffs, but it's not like Quebec had any real chance of beating the Flyers in the Wales Final, let alone the Oilers in the cup Finals. Montreal's rivalry with Quebec was purely a political and cultural thing; in reality, Montreal's actual rivals for conference supremacy where Philadelphia and Boston, and Quebec, unfortunately, was an after-thought.
I don't need to explain what Colorado-Detroit meant to the league. The winner of that series was almost always going to win the Stanley Cup, and the rivalry was so intense because we all knew that in many cases, that series was the bona fide Cup Finals.
Big Phil
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- Nov 2, 2003
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Patrick Roy went through both of them. He was asked by Michael Lansberg (hack that he may be) on Off the Record as to which rivalry was more intense. He paused, and then chose Habs/Nords. I agree with him on that one, and here's another thing, he wasn't even there for the Good Friday Massascre in 1984. I agree that from a neutral observation that the Avs/Wings was bigger. The teams were better, they were more elite, there were back to back years of goalie fights. The whole NHL knew that in the 1990s and early 2000s that this was the best rivalry in hockey.
I think the Habs/Nords was just as physical though if not more. The only thing was there wasn't the same recognition for it league wide. I think at the same time most people might have picked Edmonton/Calgary.
But you don't realize how often the Habs/Nords met in the playoffs. It was often and with a classic result:
1982 winner: Nords, on Dale Hunter's overtime winner at the Forum
1984 winner: Habs, the Good Friday Massacre
1985 winner: Nords, Stastny's overtime winner from a scramble in Game 7
1987 winner: Habs, overtime goal in Game 4 from blueline
1993 winner: Habs, overtime filled series which started Roy's miracle playoff
I think the Habs/Nords was just as physical though if not more. The only thing was there wasn't the same recognition for it league wide. I think at the same time most people might have picked Edmonton/Calgary.
But you don't realize how often the Habs/Nords met in the playoffs. It was often and with a classic result:
1982 winner: Nords, on Dale Hunter's overtime winner at the Forum
1984 winner: Habs, the Good Friday Massacre
1985 winner: Nords, Stastny's overtime winner from a scramble in Game 7
1987 winner: Habs, overtime goal in Game 4 from blueline
1993 winner: Habs, overtime filled series which started Roy's miracle playoff
^ This.
(Disclaimer: bias)
Those are really two different things. As often as Nords/Habs have faced in the playoffs, they were also facing each other 8 times/yr in the regular season, and that's what created the rivalry, not the playoff atmosphere or the higher stakes. Avs/Wings rivalry was essentially created because those were (arguably) the best two teams in the league, with huge tension mounting up in a Western Conference final. Habs and Nords were never the best two teams of the league at the same time. They played each other so often in the playoffs in part because 16 teams out of 21 made the playoffs and they were in the same division. That was a huge rivalry in the regular season that carried over into the playoffs. Avs/Wings meant much more to the league because it was "a SC final before the final", while only one of the Nords/Habs playoff meetings (1993) ended up with either team reaching the cup finals. (I guess one can make the case for the 1982 Habs going all the way but this was the 1st round.)
BigDucky
Registered User
That's the point though. Habs/Nords was about being the best team in Quebec, while Wings/Avs was about being the best team in the league.
The Wings/Avs was intense while the puck was being dropped, but pretty superficial otherwise. The depth of the Habs-Nords rivalry is what sets it apart. For those unfamiliar with the cities and only interested in the hockey aspects, then perhaps the Avs-Wings was better television viewing. For the people living it, I don't think there's much of a comparison.
Canadiens1958
Registered User
Canadiens vs Nordiques
Major difference was that every game, regular season or playoff had incredible significance.
Traveling throughout the province at the time and in the small cities and towns outside metropolitan Montreal, the main streets were virtually empty while the games were being televised.
Pretty sure this was not happening throughout Colorado or Michigan.
Major difference was that every game, regular season or playoff had incredible significance.
Traveling throughout the province at the time and in the small cities and towns outside metropolitan Montreal, the main streets were virtually empty while the games were being televised.
Pretty sure this was not happening throughout Colorado or Michigan.
Big Phil
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Well and that's the thing, there hasn't been a meaningful playoff series between the two of them since 2002 (2008 was much different, no contest in terms of talent and the Avs were not the same anymore). It might have been more of a product of its time rather than a long term thing.
Shawa666
Registered User
May I remind some people that the Habs and the Nordiques couldn't meet for the Prince of Wales finals from 1981-82 to 1992-93 as they were both in the Adams Division. And As you know the playoffs system at the time pitted the best two teams of a division sending the winner to the conference finals.
And yes my vote goes to the Habs/Nords rivality
And yes my vote goes to the Habs/Nords rivality
jkrx
Registered User
- Feb 4, 2010
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Irrelevant really. When either team won it still wasnt about that they would win the cup like it were with avs and red wings.
For sheer visceral intensity, I'd say the Habs - Nordiques rivalry. Those series, as well as the 'battles of Alberta', were about as good as it gets in sports.
tony d
Registered User
RabbinsDuck
Registered User
Outside of the Habs/Nords fans, I'm sure the Avs/Wings rivalry was much more exciting to fans of the rest of the league... just because of the elite talent both teams had, as well as the hatred.
I just hope I get to see something like it again, and what with the hard cap I have doubts I ever will.
I just hope I get to see something like it again, and what with the hard cap I have doubts I ever will.
Shawa666
Registered User
TheMoreYouKnow
Registered User
I think it's two different things, two different kinds of rivalries. The social and political implications of rivalries like Habs vs. Nords are always going to make it more intense for the fans than a rivalry based on pursuit of athletic excellence like the Avs vs. Wings one. But the second kind is probably always going to be seen as "bigger" in terms of the history of the sport.
