Should Gretzky's Kings Have Won a Stanley Cup?

[Elvis P]

They were a talented team and I'm just curious what your opinions are.

Click to read more...

 

[Nalyd Psycho]

The only teams that SHOULD win are teams that DO win.

I am surprised they didn't make more noise though.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

The only teams that SHOULD win are teams that DO win.

I am surprised they didn't make more noise though.

Never really were a top tier team! The only year things clicked was 93. They only won there division 1 year. Plus there goaltending was average compared to division rivals. Oilers had Fuhr and Ranford, Flames had Vernon and Canucks had Mclean.

 

[Elvis P]

The only teams that SHOULD win are teams that DO win. I am surprised they didn't make more noise though.

I agree in general. In 93 though I think Roy's personal brilliance in 10 OT playoff victories allowed the Habs to win the Stanley Cup even though they were not the best team.

 

[Trottier]

The only teams that SHOULD win are teams that DO win.

Truer words never spoken.

There are no fluke Stanely Cup winners (contrary to HF "logic") And, you are what your record (or lack thereof) says you are. Nothing more or less.

To that end, those Kings teams of the late 80s/early 90s were good and pretty exciting. But never quite there.

 

[Nalyd Psycho]

I agree in general. In 93 though I think Roy's personal brilliance in 10 OT playoff victories allowed the Habs to win the Stanley Cup even though they were not the best team.

But when the other team has arguably the greatest player of all time, crying about the other teams star player out playing him seems like weak sauce to me.

Never really were a top tier team! The only year things clicked was 93. They only won there division 1 year. Plus there goaltending was average compared to division rivals. Oilers had Fuhr and Ranford, Flames had Vernon and Canucks had Mclean.

While true, they had a nice forward corps, but it is true that defence and goal was just never there.

 

[Elvis P]

But when the other team has arguably the greatest player of all time, crying about the other teams star player out playing him seems like weak sauce to me.

I agree. The guy you're referring to though is the one who took him 2nd in ATD #8. You're the Gretzky fan, not me.

 

[Nalyd Psycho]

I agree. The guy you're referring to though is the one who took him 2nd in ATD #8. You're the Gretzky fan, not me.

I'm not a fan, that was just a no brainer pick. I actually try to avoid picking players I'm a fan of because I can't evaluate them objectively.

 

[Roxo]

such a bummer... of course I would of liked for them to win... but.. the team that won is the better team...

 

[David Puddy]

I agree in general. In 93 though I think Roy's personal brilliance in 10 OT playoff victories allowed the Habs to win the Stanley Cup even though they were not the best team.

The Islanders upsetting the President's Trophy winning Pittsburgh Penguins (56-21-7) in the Patrick Division Finals and the Buffalo Sabres upsetting the Adams Division Regular Season Champion Boston Bruins (51-26-7) in the opening round as Montreal defeated Quebec, who had the 2nd Seed in Adams by two points over the Canadiens, helped out a great deal.

Quebec was the only team that Montreal faced that either had a better record than the Canadiens or won at least half of their regular season games, and the Nordiques accomplished both things.


Montreal Canadiens (48-30-6 102)

Quebec Nordiques (47-27-10 104)
Buffalo Sabres (38-36-10 88) - Adams Division Finals
New York Islanders (40-37-7 87) - Wales Conference Finals
Los Angeles Kings (39-35-10 88) - Stanley Cup Finals

 

[KINGS17]

Want to know the only thing that kept the Kings from winning the cup in 1993?

Patrick Roy

 

[Bring Back Bucky]

Talented? Yeah, but far from elite. Not surprising they didn't win one.

 

[Malice430]

Plus there goaltending was average compared to division rivals. Oilers had Fuhr and Ranford, Flames had Vernon and Canucks had Mclean.

well in 93 we lit up vernon, mclean and potvin, just couldnt get past roy

 

[R4lph B4ckstrom]

Want to know the only thing that kept the Kings from winning the cup in 1993?

McSorley's stick

Fixed.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

Kelly Hrudey's an underrated goaltender, although he didn't develop as much in his post-Islander days as I would have liked to have seen.

 

[Al Bundy*]

The 1991 Kings were a superior team to the 1993 team.

 

[Malice430]

The 1991 Kings were a superior team to the 1993 team.

they never should have gotten rid of Coffey

 

[Wet Sprocket]

Except Mitch Webster was a joke of a coach...still never understood why Ftorek wasn't retained.

 

[Gulol]

Things may have turned out differently if McSorley would have stepped on his stick and broke it to avoid the penalty. That would have put the Kings up 2-0 going back to LA with a ton of momentum on their side. Two words sum up though why I won't so boldly state that the Kings would have won if that illegal stick did not happen ... Patrick Roy. He was, without a doubt, unbelievable that series.

Other than that, I don't know that I could say that the Kings should have won a cup with Gretzky. I don't think that anyone would have tabbed them the best team in the league for any of the seasons Gretz was there. You could say it is disappointing that they didn't win a cup with him, but I don't think you could say that those teams were ever the clear on favorite to win the Cup.

 

[Malice430]

Except Mitch Webster was a joke of a coach...still never understood why Ftorek wasn't retained.

you mean TOM Webster

 

[Wet Sprocket]

you mean TOM Webster

haha...opps! Got my Kings and Dodgers mixed up!

 

[Malice430]

haha...opps! Got my Kings and Dodgers mixed up!

 

[John Belushi]

Truer words never spoken.

There are no fluke Stanely Cup winners (contrary to HF "logic") And, you are what your record (or lack thereof) says you are. Nothing more or less.

To that end, those Kings teams of the late 80s/early 90s were good and pretty exciting. But never quite there.

Considering how many different battles and conflicts there are in a game, I'd say its fairly assinine to think that there hasn't been any flukes. People go on hot streaks, strings of good luck, sometimes rediculously so. Or say the refs decide the game, like when Hull kicked the puck in versus Buffalo. S**t happens.

 

[TheBannermen]

The 91 Kings were the best team we've probably iced in 40 years. They won the division and I remember people talking about a Gretzky Vs. Lemieux Cup final. The Oilers however always had our number and they handed us our ass in the playoffs. 1993... as much as it pains me to say... the final SHOULDVE been Toronto Vs. Pittsburgh. The year of the upset allowed us to make it to the final against a team that really wasn't much better... they just had the greatest clutch goalie of all time.

 

[Big Phil]

Kelly Hrudey was good. But that's about it. Let's face it, in the history of the NHL the Cup winners have always had a stellar goalie unless the team was just flat out superior in front of him (Osgood) or the goalie played possessed for a short time frame (Ward). The Kings just never had that clutch goalie or supreme defensman since Blake wasnt in his prime yet.

Gretzky made the difference every year. Without him they arent a playoff team. But the Kings ran into some years that they lost a lot of overtime games. '91 or '93 for example. If Hrudey comes out on top in those games its a different story. But in the last 40 years there isnt a team other than the two mentioned above that won a Cup with a mediocre goalie.