It is often disputed who the best National Hockey League teams of all time are. It’s hard to compare the 1930 Boston Bruins to the 1977 Montreal Canadiens when the rules, conditions, equipment, training, and number of teams change at a constant rate.
What we see here in this article is the best NHL team of each decade since the 1920s based solely on winning percentage in a single season. The number of games played in a season has gone from 24 to 82 in just 80 years, and winning percentage is the only true measure of a team’s success during the regular season.
1920
The Ottawa Senators of 1919-20 played in a young NHL with only 3 other teams and with only a 24-game schedule. The team won 19 of the 24 games and did not tie for a winning percentage of 792. The Senators won the Stanley Cup that season, which is, from what we’ll discover, a rarity among teams that excel at extreme levels of success during the season. regular season.
1930
The 1929-30 Boston Bruins had the highest single-season winning percentage of all time. In the 44 game schedule, the Bruins had 38 wins and 1 draw along with their 5 losses for a winning percentage of 875. This was the era before the ‘original 6’ and the NHL consisted of two 5-team divisions. The Bruins were easily the best team in the American Division. However, the Montreal Canadiens of the Canadian Division would be the eventual winners of the Stanley Cup that season.
1940
The 1943-44 Montreal Canadiens would achieve a .830 winning percentage with 38 wins, 5 losses and 7 draws in a 50-game season. The league consisted of 6 teams and the Canadiens were crowned Stanley Cup Champions.
1950
The Detroit Red Wings had a .721 winning percentage in 1950-51 with 44 wins, 13 losses and 13 draws in 70 games. The league was still made up of the original 6 teams. Despite Detroit’s success, the Toronto Maple Leafs would steal the Stanley Cup.
1960
The Montreal Canadiens of 1961-62 had a .700 winning percentage in 42 wins, 14 losses and 14 draws in 70 games. The league was in its final decade of just 6 teams and expansion came in 1967-68. Once again, the Toronto Maple Leafs snatched the Stanley Cup from the league leader of the regular season.
1970
The team that many consider the best of all time had a winning percentage of 825 in 1976-77. The Montreal Canadiens lost just 8 games while winning 60 and drawing 12 of 80 games in the 18-team league. The Canadiens would rush to win the Stanley Cup that season.
From the eighties
Wayne Gretzky and his Edmonton Oilers controlled the 1983-84 season with a .744 winning percentage in 57 wins, 18 losses and 5 draws in 80 games. The Oilers would not only lead the 21-team league during the regular season, but they would also win the Stanley Cup.
The nineties
In 1995-96, the Detroit Red Wings set the record for the most wins in a single season with 62, a record that stands today. The Wings posted a 799 winning percentage over the 82-game schedule, losing 13 and drawing 7. The league had expanded to 26 teams by this time. Despite the record number of victories, Detroit would fall to the onslaught of Colorado in the Stanley Cup final.
2000s
Ten years after their record performance, the Detroit Red Wings posted the best record of the decade with a 756 winning percentage. The feat was accomplished with a record 58 wins, 16 losses and 8 draws. At this point, the league was up to 30 teams and remains at that number today. Once again, the Wings would not take home the Stanley Cup as the Carolina Hurricanes would win the first.