Rank The Red Wings Stanley Cups

[dantroit 0]

Okay, let's see em. I know it's hard, but let's see your rankings for how good the past 4 Stanley Cups have been. Here's mine, based on my experiences and opinions:

1997: The first for me is definitely the best. After a couple of disappointing seasons, the Wings time had finally arrived. I think we will always remember Stevie Y hoist the cup or Gary Thorne's call "The Detroit Red Wings are the Stanley Cup Champions!"

2008: This was a very close second. After hearing for years that the Wings were too old, and that they couldn't win in the new salary capped NHL. They faced a ton of adversity, 3 out of the 4 series were competitive and even the Stanley Cup finals, all the way down to the last second was tight. Last year left a sour taste in everyone's mouth, and then all of the disappointing first round exits before that had some wondering if the Wings would get back here anytime soon. All of the adversity, the injuries, the goalie change, twice hearing the media hype-up that the Wings could be on the losing end of some of the greatest comebacks ever (Dallas and Pittsburgh), it all just made this one that much sweeter.

2002: Being four years removed from their last cup victory, this one felt really good. Having all of those hall of famers on the team made them one of the most favored teams to win the cup in recent memory, and one of the most exciting to watch. It was awesome seeing a bunch of those HOF players raise the cup for the first time. But being so favored against an opponent like the Hurricanes took a little bit away from the drama that say this year's had.

1998: The second in back to back cups was still pretty sweet, but I think as a fan I was spoiled from the previous year. 98's path to the cup didn't seem as hard as 97's, so I don't think I appreciated it as much as I should have.

How about for you guys?

[Doggy 130]

This was the second biggest behind '97. This year's emotional investment was massive after last year' heartbreak but not as much as 97's.

[DETMURDS 7]

I agree with you all the way, but,....don't forget the importance of 98, and the "BELIEVE" motivation.

[StevieY9802 6]

Okay, let's see em. I know it's hard, but let's see your rankings for how good the past 4 Stanley Cups have been. Here's mine, based on my experiences and opinions:

1997: The first for me is definitely the best. After a couple of disappointing seasons, the Wings time had finally arrived. I think we will always remember Stevie Y hoist the cup or Gary Thorne's call "The Detroit Red Wings are the Stanley Cup Champions!"

2008: This was a very close second. After hearing for years that the Wings were too old, and that they couldn't win in the new salary capped NHL. They faced a ton of adversity, 3 out of the 4 series were competitive and even the Stanley Cup finals, all the way down to the last second was tight. Last year left a sour taste in everyone's mouth, and then all of the disappointing first round exits before that had some wondering if the Wings would get back here anytime soon. All of the adversity, the injuries, the goalie change, twice hearing the media hype-up that the Wings could be on the losing end of some of the greatest comebacks ever (Dallas and Pittsburgh), it all just made this one that much sweeter.

2002: Being four years removed from their last cup victory, this one felt really good. Having all of those hall of famers on the team made them one of the most favored teams to win the cup in recent memory, and one of the most exciting to watch. It was awesome seeing a bunch of those HOF players raise the cup for the first time. But being so favored against an opponent like the Hurricanes took a little bit away from the drama that say this year's had.

1998: The second in back to back cups was still pretty sweet, but I think as a fan I was spoiled from the previous year. 98's path to the cup didn't seem as hard as 97's, so I don't think I appreciated it as much as I should have.

How about for you guys?

you basically just took the thoughts from my head. Thats probably my order, maybe 02 & 98 being tied. But I agree 98 I knew they were going to win, and outside of the first round really the Wings didn't have many scares. I was so cocky I have every win on video from 98. But winning that one for Vladdy was amazing.

2002 was fun because we hadn't won it in a few years and all of those HOF's were fun to watch.

This year I didn't always know if they were gonna win. They really had to fight for it in the last two rounds, this one for sure, so that made it so much more sweet in the end. And to have Ozzie win it and Dally and Lidstrom as captain was great.

But nothing will beat 97. It almost took me a month or so to have it really sink in that they won it. Too bad it was spoiled so soon after with the accident.

Looking forward to a great summer. GO WINGS!!!!

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

I'm really not sure how to feel about this Cup, simply because of how heart-broken I was leaving Detroit Tuesday morning. For some horrible reason it has put somewhat of a damper on me for this Cup. That being said, with each passing minute since the end of the game last night, I've felt better and better, and I'm starting to just enjoy the Cup victory.

The stink of it is if I had not been to the game on Monday night, I probably wouldn't have let it drag me down as much as I did. No worries though, as I said, it continues to get easier each minute and I'm starting to really enjoy it.

Congrats 2008 Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings!

[Nightfall 871]

1997 - Without a doubt was the #1 moment for me. I really didn't pay attention to hockey until 1995 when the Devils swept them. Going through that heartbreak and then the Colorado heartbreak was tough. In 1997, it was their first cup win in 54 years. This has to be number one.

2002 - Seeing this team come together that was probably one of the best and highest paid in history was a fun run.

2008 - An amazing run with great stories at the end such as Drake winning his first cup. Gotta love it when the vets come back and win like this.

1998 - Believe was a great slogan, and while this ranks #4 for me, it was a great championship as well.

I am sure we all agree they were all great championships.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

97 - nothing can match finally winning that first one, seeing Stevie raise the Cup. It felt like that day would never come.

08 - the new generation under a new salary structure. The "soft" euros. Lids raising the Cup as captain. Hank with the Conn Smythe. This win is probably influenced by it being a day old. Maybe later I wouldn't rank it second. Not sure.

98 - the win for Vladdy. Osgood winning as starter. Repeating.

02 - the all-star lineup. Honestly this is last for me because they were so expected to win. Anything less than the Cup would've been disappointment, and thankfully they didn't disappoint.

[Superman54 91]

I'm really not sure how to feel about this Cup, simply because of how heart-broken I was leaving Detroit Tuesday morning. For some horrible reason it has put somewhat of a damper on me for this Cup. That being said, with each passing minute since the end of the game last night, I've felt better and better, and I'm starting to just enjoy the Cup victory.

The stink of it is if I had not been to the game on Monday night, I probably wouldn't have let it drag me down as much as I did. No worries though, as I said, it continues to get easier each minute and I'm starting to really enjoy it.

Congrats 2008 Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings!

I know exactly how you feel! My first game ever in the Joe Louis Arena, and it was a great but depressing experiance. We had to leave to the airport 3 hours after the game, and I remeber while sitting in the airport all the newspaper articles headlines were about the game, and how s***ty I felt. Flying home felt like an eternity, and I couldn't pump myself up as much as id have liked too last night. But now its all starting to really kick in, and it feels awesome!

[DyingAlive 27]

2008 - This is my favorite Stanley Cup Victory by far. I know '97 was a great victory for the Wings. However, being that I was 7 years old at the time of this victory I wasn't in to it all that much I was a Wings fan, and I remember being happy and cutting out the newspaper article. But like I said 7 years old, wasn't watching every minute like I am now.

2002 - Kind of the same reasoning as above, watched every minute of the finals and really enjoyed the victory.

'97 & '98 - Putting these together, because at the time. Not something that was monumental at my age. I was still a Wings fan, but at 7 and 8..things are just different.

[livediehockey80 0]

In order:

1997...The first Stanley Cup win in like 42 years. When Mike Vernon raised his arms after the final seconds, I screamed with tears of joy. Seeing Stevie Y hoist the Cup was an unforgettable moment. Guys like McCarty, Vladdy, Malts, and Draper came up big in that series. I was living in euphoria for a like week after the Cup victory. I felt like a "curse" was lifted from the franchise.

2008...The Wings proved that they can win in the salary cap era. They also proved that you can win with European hockey players. Lidstrom lifting the Cup was a huge deal for international hockey players. I have never seen the Wings play so well as a TEAM than this 2008 bunch. This is a tribute to the leadership of guys like Lidstrom but also great coaching by Mike Babcock.

2002...The uber-All Star team was expected to win the Stanley Cup and they delivered. It was great to see guys like Cheli, Hasek, and Robitaille get the Prize. Oh yeah and that horses ass named Brett Hull too.

1998...The Wings repeat with great contributions from Yzerman, Ozzy and Shanny. Seeing Vladdy on the ice in Washington was a special memory. By the way, the Red Wings are the last NHL team to have repeat Stanley Cup victories. The record is 10 years and counting.

[timothy1997 0]

got a poll similar in the poll booth thread

http://www.letsgowings.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry1394850

97-2008-2002-1998

[OsGOD 3]

97

08

98

02

[Viperar 16]

97

08

98

02

[Reds4Life 51]

1997

2008

1998

2002

[hockeytown9 1]

97: No surprise here. After 42 years of waiting and frustrations from previous playoff losses, this one has to be tops for me. Seeing Stevie lift the cup was just unbelieveable.

98 & 08: I have a hard time putting the 98 cup anywhere but second, largley due to all of the emotions involved with the accident and winning it for those guys. That said, 08 feels really good too. I think of Osgood taking over for Hasek and prooving he is still a winner, McCarty's comeback, the first cup for many of our guys, the close battle to win the cup right up to the final seconds. I think having a chance to go to game 2 against the Avs makes this run special to me personally.

02: Of course there's nothing wrong with the 02 cup, but as someone else pointed out, we were expected to win it that year. Having that ridiculous amount of talent was fun to watch for sure.

Edited June 5, 2008 by hockeytown9

[GAWing 1]

'97 still ranks as the best for me with it being a first experience. The others:

'08 a close second

'98

'02

I think this year's was the most hard-earned. Looking back, the Flyers and Capitals offered little resistance, the Hurricanes were tough for a game or two, but the Penguins were very tough throughout the series. And this is a very different team and a different NHL after the lockout a few years ago, which makes it all the more remarkable.

[Yzermania 156]

2008: For me this one's the best because while I've been a wings fan since I was seven(21 currently) and stevy y is my favorite all time player, he was already detroit's own for 10 years or so before I became a wings fan, but with this current team, I've seen everyone come to the team from the beginning with the exception of a couple(whom i only missed by about 2 years). But I remember seeing Datsyuk playing in 01/02 and knowing he'd be a superstar, I even got the 2002 cup jersey with his name on it, so to see him finally be at the top along with hank who I loved from the get go, it's just amazing. I guess what it comes down to, is I just feel as though this is "my" team, more so than any of the other teams I've ever watched lift the cup.

97/98 - 97 was the first and absolutely amazing, but having won the second for vladdy made it equally as sweet because I was crushed when that happened to him because I had met him in 96 and he was the NICEST guy ever and was always one of my favorite players and on top of that I loved seein Stevy lift the Conn Smythe.

2002 - well...we bought it, it was still a blat to watch though but it just doesn't mean as much when you look back on it.

[Offsides 21]

I'm different then everyone I think...

1998 was #1...1997 would be #1 but then right after all the awesomeness bad things happened and it just really put a huge black cloud over 1997...plus 1997 was such a mindblowing experience almost..and 1998 I could enjoy what was going on more it seemed.

1997 would be #2 for me because it really was the greatest...that first Cup I've ever seen...I loved it, but then with the accident and everything like I said, that will always hang over 1997 for me.

2008 this year was really great, and had I not seen the other 2 Cups I'd probably be the greatest thing ever because I love the team and the emotion was there...but just having experienced the other Cups I feel they had the edge...still this team and effort has been great

2002 I didn't like that year at all...we bought our team...I felt it was a sellout year

[Wings_Dynasty 267]

97- What a wait!

08- Not much of a wait, but a LOT of disappointment before GLORY!!!

98- Go Oz! Go Vladdy!

02- Just try and stop us!

[djohns74 3]

1997 - Has to go at the top for me, I was a relatively new hockey fan at the time and remembered clearly the disappointments of the previous two seasons. I was developing into a big Steve Yzerman fan too and seeing him lift the cup and listening to that crowd go completely berserk was just awesome, a great feeling. I made a comment to some coworkers early in the season when we acquired Shanahan that I really felt he would be the guy to get us over the hump to a championship, so seeing my instincts proven right was a neat feeling, from a completely selfish perspective.

2008 - Watching the team dominate basically the entire season, save for one month, in a time when they were supposed to be "rebuilding" and then go on to play extraordinarily well throughout the playoffs while finding new star players that no one outside Detroit even realized we had has been very sweet. Seeing Hasek, one of my least favorite players ever, get yanked permanently and have to watch the team go on to win without him was also fantastic. That, along with his excellent play, has finally made an Osgood fan out of me. Were I already a big Osgood fan going into this season, this championship may well top '97 in my mind.

2002 - This is tough for me thanks to my hatred for Hasek, but I really had fun watching this future wing of the Hall of Fame coast to the title that everyone was willing to hand them before the season even started. Making this one extra sweet was the end of the Colorado series, with the blunder by Roy in game 6 followed by the Wings' utter dismantling of him in game 7. I'll never forget watching game 7 of the Western Finals and knowing without a doubt, less than 10 minutes into it, that the Cup was ours again. That, more than anything else, overcomes the presence of Hasek for me.

1998 - This one is last for me for the simple reason that sitting here now, I just don't find it as memorable. Winning back-to-back titles was great, and the Believe theme carried a lot of emotional weight, but I just don't recall that many great moments in this one, particularly in the finals. Yzerman getting the Smythe was a great bonus in my mind.

[legion25 0]

97

08

98

02

All for most of the same reasons.

Though for me the 08 was very sweet despite game 5, We were not s'posed to win from round 1, game 1. Then there was no way we were to keep up with the mega depth, speed and youth of of the pens. (and thats not including cindy and malk), then... when we showed that not only was that not the case, it "seemed" like someone or some people did there best to lean it. I don't care what anyone says. Gray area rules my ass! That crap was blantent, If people who know nothing about hockey from areas where there is no market noticed the tilt of calls and non-calls, well then... We still won! why? To quote HHH (lol) Because we are that damn good!

And I say "We" because with out a doubt, all our goallie VooDoo dolls and playoff bracelets did help. So we should get the cup for a day too. ha!

[shadow47 1]

2002 was the best b/c of the team of HOFers, defeating the nemesis Avs in the best series I've ever watched in my life, coming back against Vancouver, 3 OTs against Carolina, and the first Cups for several top players.

1998 second for getting Vladdy down on the ice and putting the Cup on his chair and skating with him holding it, that's one of the great moments in sports right there, I don't know why it's not shown more with the NHL's promotions celebrating the tradition and heart of the game, as touching a moment as I've seen in hockey.

1997 was exciting purely for the fact that it was the first in 40 some years although I admit to rooting for the Flyers that year. ha

This year is probably the least exciting to be honest...like many supporters I felt pretty deflated after the OT loss and to win on the road just feels flat, the players are skating the Cup and lifting it to the crowd, but they're Penguins fans, I just was confused by it all...them too probably... also NBC's absolute s*** coverage and cheesy analysts didn't help things. Still a good win, the only team I'd have preferred win it is the Sabres...

[Barrie 900]

For me it's:

1) 2002

With the Hall of Fame team and Yzerman on one leg won't be topped as my favorite Championship. Plus 2002 we had to win, there was no way around it. The pressure to win was at it's highest. All in all, it was really a fun year to be a fan with all that firepower and Hasek in net.

2) 1997

The first one that put to rest a lot of disappointments. Beating the Avs was a great accomplishment on it's own.

3) 2008

I don't think this one has sunk in yet, it's unreal, we're Champs again! I think once I see the Championship DVD and all the gear in the stores it'll sink in. After seeing Yzerman and Shanahan leave, and seeing how tough it was for us to get out of the first couple rounds after 2002, I was wondering if we'd win again anytime soon. For me the best part of this Cup is seeing Lidstrom, Holmstrom, Maltby, Draper, and McCarty win their 4th, and to have Ozzie back as #1 goalie and DMac home. Storybook/Movie script ending.

4) 1998

When talking about Championships, it's hard to rank one last. 1998 was awesome as well. Winning back-to-back and seeing Vladdy on the ice is an exerience like no other. However, I ranked it forth because I think 1998 was the least stressful, because we were the defending champs, and despite being down 2-1 in the first round, there was really no doubt we'd win again.

[HoweHatTrick 0]

97 - There will never be anything like seeing Stevie raise the Cup for the first time. I'm 29 now, and I still shed tears every time I watch the DVD. That was just an amazing time to be in the city of Detroit, and to be a Red Wings fan. It was also the first Cup for my Pops, who has also been a Wings fan his whole life. Well, he was alive in the fifties, but doesn't remember them. So sharing that moment with him was something really special. He raised me this way. Every time my wife yells at me for screaming during games, I tell her it's not my fault, it's genetic.

08 - This was a special year. I don't know about all of you. But watching this team all year, there was something about them. And to win one without Stevie and Scotty is special, just to show that this team really can continue on in a new era.

98 - After what happened in the summer of 97, and when Vladdy came on to the ice, that was a really special moment in Red Wings history.

02 - It was expected. I interviewed Ken Kal at the beginning of the playoffs. And asked him, "Do you think any team in the league can beat these guys in a best of seven series?" His response was basically, "no chance". They were such a dominant club, even being the Stanley Cup playoffs, the question wasn't really "if", but "when". Of course, that Game 7 against Colorado was one of the greatest games (from a total homer perspective) that I've ever watched. Going up so big in the first period, just coming out of the gate determined to put that team away, was so much fun to watch.

[Yzerman191 37]

My favorite was probably the 2002 cup; Hasek and Hull were both two of my favorite players in the league at the time, and it was a dream come true seeing our line up that year. There were so many memorable moments: Patrick Roy's statue of liberty, the game 7 blowout, Larionov's 3OT winner, Stevie leading the team on a blown out leg, etc. I'll never forget Yzerman and Shanahan jumping together when they scored that final goal in game 5 against the 'Canes. This was really the first cup I was old enough to appreciate, being only 7 years old for our first one.

This one is definitely a close second as we weren't the clear cut favorite. At the beginning of the season, people were picking the 'Ducks, the Senators, etc. but hardly anyone picked the Red Wings. We certainly can't be accused of buying our team this year, as most of the key components of this cup run were from within the organization. They played extremely hard for it, and even after our Presidents' trophy, nobody was taking us seriously. IMO, this is without a doubt the most underrated cup winning Red Wings team we've seen yet. Maybe they'll take us seriously for our repeat next year!