Worst team in NHL history?

[SealsFan]

[/B]
7) 43/44 Rangers 6-39-5

I bring up this team every time a thread like this is posted. They allowed 310 goals in 50 games! You really need to go to hockeydb.com and check their game-by-game results. A week after the 15-0 loss to Detroit mentioned elsewhere in this thread, they lost again to the Wings by a 12-2 score!!

Seven times they allowed double-figures in goals. The most they scored in one game was 9 goals... and lost to Boston 10-9!!!

Their 6 wins consisted of three 2-game winning streaks. They finished the season 0-17-4.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

I bring up this team every time a thread like this is posted. They allowed 310 goals in 50 games! You really need to go to hockeydb.com and check their game-by-game results. A week after the 15-0 loss to Detroit mentioned elsewhere in this thread, they lost again to the Wings by a 12-2 score!!

Seven times they allowed double-figures in goals. The most they scored in one game was 9 goals... and lost to Boston 10-9!!!

Their 6 wins consisted of three 2-game winning streaks. They finished the season 0-17-4.

Combined with so many good players leaving the NHL to join the military, and I think this team could be the "winner" here, even over the Capitals.

Didn't the Rangers ask the NHL if they could suspend operations during WW2, and the NHL refused? Edit:

Prior to the 1938–39 season, the Montreal Maroons folded due to financial difficulties,[44] while the New York Americans suffered a similar fate prior to the 1942–43 season.[45] With the league reduced to six teams, the "Original Six" era began. The league was nearly reduced to five teams before the following season, as World War II had ravaged the rosters of many teams to such an extent that teams battled each other for players.[46] With only five returning players from the previous season, New York Rangers general manager Lester Patrick suggested suspending his team's play for the duration of the war but was persuaded otherwise.[46]

 

[Killion]

^^^ Incredible really. How on earth did Frank Boucher manage to keep his job? Went on for years.

 

[MXD]

^^^ Incredible really. How on earth did Frank Boucher manage to keep his job? Went on for years.

Well, he did make a comeback that season at 42 years old...

 

[Killion]

Didn't the Rangers ask the NHL if they could suspend operations during WW2, and the NHL refused? Edit:

Yes, I believe Lester Patrick did suggest that the Rangers suspend play for 43/44 as they were decimated by enlistments, Canadian players who had to return to Canada ineligible & so on. Apparently Goaltending, as in finding solid netminders was also a problem, not only in NY but so too in Boston.

 

[EDDIE20*]

1992-93 Sens
2009-10 Sens

The Sens had Leclaire in net and Clouston manning the ship that year. Weren't you guys supposed to win the Cup?

 

[Luongos Knob]

1974–75 Washington Capitals

Record: 8–67–5

Why is this thread still going on? in both ponts % and SRS they are easily the worst team in nhl history. not close.

 

[Bongo]

I think special mention would have to go to the Atlanta Thrashers. Expansion team seasons for 10 years.

 

[Terry Yake]

how about the sharks first season?

didn't they go lose over 70 games?

 

[Big Phil]

Why is this thread still going on? in both ponts % and SRS they are easily the worst team in nhl history. not close.

I think when you compare the 1975 Caps with the 1993 Sharks and Sens it is almost like choosing between liver or onions. They were all horrible, horrible teams.

 

[Sanf]

Yes, I believe Lester Patrick did suggest that the Rangers suspend play for 43/44 as they were decimated by enlistments, Canadian players who had to return to Canada ineligible & so on. Apparently Goaltending, as in finding solid netminders was also a problem, not only in NY but so too in Boston.

Yes Rangers was hit badly. In three year span before 43-44 season Rangers had lost 28 players from their system to army.

Goalie trivia from that 43-44 season. Al Rollins did fight from the goalie spot in that years training camp. He was only 17 and was signed by Rangers but they went with Mccaulley. Rollins played the season in their farm club Rovers.

I guess I would go with Sharks or Senators of 92-93 just because I did see those teams. Allthough bit tempted to say Nordiques because they didn´t have any excuses (war,expansion etc.) for their lousy season (atleast I don´t know any).

 

[VanIslander]

The worst NHL team I have seen in my lifetime was the Rockies.

 

[doug hamilton]

Including expansion teams on lists like this strikes me as unfair. Expansion teams are by definition going to be bad. You could assemble a collection of the greatest hockey minds around but if there's no real NHL calibre talent available then the results will still be crummy.

I'd prefer to see the first three or four seasons of a team's existence be declared off limits and then chose the candidates. By the fifth season the quality of the team's hockey management would show through.

That would give you post 1967 teams like the Seals in 1970-71 and 73-74, the 76-77 Red Wings, the 77-78 North Stars, 78-79 Rockies, 82-83 Penguins and Whalers, the 83-84 Penguins and Devils, 85-86 Red Wings, 89-90 Nordiques plus some Tampa Bay seasons in the late 90's.

Prior to the great expansion you'd still have the 30-31 Quakers, 43-44 Rangers, 50-51 Black Hawks, 53-54 Black Hawks, 61-62 Bruins.

All these teams were bad on merit more than circumstance, though I'd give the 43-44 Rangers a bit of wartime mulligan.

 

[KHenry14]

I saw those 73-74 Golden Seals, and they were TERRIBLE. Completely bereft of talent, save poor Reggie Leach and Gilles Meloche, they dealt with the team being abandoned by Charlie Finley and the league taking them over. They went 0-11-1 to end the season in front of a couple of hundred fans.

At least when the League took over the team the players could go back to wearing black skates again!

 

[Sadekuuro]

And of course there's the "Dead Wings" era teams.

They weren't historically bad for the most part, excepting 1985-86. Now that was a train wreck

 

[Evincar]

I think special mention would have to go to the Atlanta Thrashers. Expansion team seasons for 10 years.

They were especially brutal in their first season.

 

[thom]

True story the 74-75 team was so brutel that Scotty Bowman benched Guy Lafleur for entire 3rd period and crowd in Washington booed for 10 minutes straight

 

[Tecumseh]

This thread is depressing.

 

[SealsFan]

Including expansion teams on lists like this strikes me as unfair. Expansion teams are by definition going to be bad.

That would give you post 1967 teams like the Seals in 1970-71 and 73-74, the 76-77 Red Wings, the 77-78 North Stars, 78-79 Rockies, 82-83 Penguins and Whalers, the 83-84 Penguins and Devils, 85-86 Red Wings, 89-90 Nordiques plus some Tampa Bay seasons in the late 90's.

Prior to the great expansion you'd still have the 30-31 Quakers, 43-44 Rangers, 50-51 Black Hawks, 53-54 Black Hawks, 61-62 Bruins.

All these teams were bad on merit more than circumstance, though I'd give the 43-44 Rangers a bit of wartime mulligan.

Using this criteria then, don't forget the 80-81 Winnipeg Jets (9-57-14, 400 GA)

 

[DaveG]

Using this criteria then, don't forget the 80-81 Winnipeg Jets (9-57-14, 400 GA)

Should teams in their first couple seasons after the move from the WHA be considered all that much different then an expansion team though? I mean the NHL basically gutted the teams in the merger.

 

[SealsFan]

Should teams in their first couple seasons after the move from the WHA be considered all that much different then an expansion team though? I mean the NHL basically gutted the teams in the merger.

Good point.

 

[Hawksfan2828]

how about the sharks first season?

didn't they go lose over 70 games?

What if Modano ended up on the Sharks roster after the Baldwin/Grund tradeoff???

As I recall the Stars drafted the missing Link in the 2nd round to allegedly protect Modano, yet Link ended up on the Sharks..

That whole fiasco was extremely weird...

 

[jigglysquishy]

Should teams in their first couple seasons after the move from the WHA be considered all that much different then an expansion team though? I mean the NHL basically gutted the teams in the merger.

Yup. Jets lost their 1st and 4th best scorers (Kent Nilsson and Terry Ruskowski), a ton of their depth, and basically their entire blue line.

Plus, Bobby Hull and Anders Hedberg (basically their two best players in 77-78) either left or became ineffective.

The 77-78 Jets and the 79-80 Jets are basically different teams.

 

[frontsfan2005]

How about the 1975-76 Kansas City Scouts? After the defeated the California Golden Seals on December 28, 1975 to improve to a dreadful 11-21-4 record, the club would win 1 out of their last 44 games (1-35-8).

As for the 89-90 Nordiques, what were expectations that season? The club was coming off a rough 88-89 season, but they signed an old Guy Lafleur to a two year deal, still had Goulet and Stastny, plus a young Joe Sakic. The defense was brutal, they did have some decent guys back there (Fogarty, Jeff Brown, Petit, Wolanin, Leschyshyn, Finn). As for goaltending, were they counting on Mylnikov to step up? He was the Soviet starter in the 1987 Canada Cup, but he faltered pretty badly in Quebec.

 

[start winnin]

Are the Buffalo Sabres the worst team in NHL history? (2ND EDITION!!!)

Last year's thread was tongue in cheek but this year I think we have a real shot at it.

Discuss.