Looking back, what are some examples of two teams who had the potential to be big time rivals with each other, but certain circumstances prevented the rivalry from occurring? I'll give two examples, and as you'll see in both examples, the teams still did play each other in the playoffs, but missed each other in years a playoff matchup would've been even more significant, where both teams would've been close to their peaks.
The first example is the Canadiens and Islanders in the late 70's. The Islanders dynasty had the perfect handoff to their successor dynasty Oilers. Beating them in 1983 kept the Isles dynasty going one extra season while holding off the Oilers one for one more year. Then the following season, it was fitting that the Oilers had to end the Isles dynasty at the same time as starting their own. As I said, perfect handoff from one dynasty to the next. But while the Isles had that with their successor dynasty, they didn't with their predecessor dynasty in the Habs. They lost to them in 1976 and 1977, though worth pointing out that their combined 3 wins against them in both series were the only 3 Habs playoff losses in each postseason. Then when the Isles drafted Bossy and he had his great rookie season in 1978, that's when the Isles were at least close to their dynasty peak. 2nd best record behind the Habs in 1978, and overtook them for the best record in 1979. But a QF upset against the Leafs in 1978 and Rangers in 1979 prevented the Isles from reaching the SCF and challenging the Habs after they had drafted Bossy. 1979 would've been the best matchup between the two dynasties. But then the Habs lost significant pieces after 1979, so a series against the Isles in the early 80's wouldn't have been as noteworthy. The 1976 and 1977 series were like the Isles/Oilers series in 1981, where the successor dynasty wasn't ready yet to challenge the current dynasty at the time.
Another example is Detroit vs Dallas between 1995-2002. Dallas was the 3rd wheel of the Colorado/Detroit rivalry, and together the 3 dominated in this span. In addition to the heated Avs/Wings rivalry, there was also the 1999 and 2000 WCF where the Stars beat the Avs in 7 in both, which each at least close to their peaks. But the Stars and WIngs never had that. They only met in 1998 (Dallas wasn't elite in 1995, so I won't count that for the sake of this thread). For the Stars, Nieuwendyk (who won the Smythe the next season) was injured in the first game of the playoffs, and it was the season before they signed Hull, so they struggled to score that postseason, which was a big motivating factor in signing Hull. Without those two, this wasn't as good a Stars team as the one who beat the Avs the next 2 seasons and won the 1999 cup. Meanwhile, had the Wings not blown their 2-0 series lead to the Avs the following season, I think they lose to the Stars in the 1999 WCF. Not only because the Stars were better, but because the Wings were worn down from their B2B cup wins. If looking for a season where both were close to peak form aside from if Nieuwendyk was healthy in 1998, the next best postseason would probably be 2003, when they were the top 2 seeds in the West but both fell victim to Giguere's legendary postseason.
What other examples can you guys think of similar to this?
The first example is the Canadiens and Islanders in the late 70's. The Islanders dynasty had the perfect handoff to their successor dynasty Oilers. Beating them in 1983 kept the Isles dynasty going one extra season while holding off the Oilers one for one more year. Then the following season, it was fitting that the Oilers had to end the Isles dynasty at the same time as starting their own. As I said, perfect handoff from one dynasty to the next. But while the Isles had that with their successor dynasty, they didn't with their predecessor dynasty in the Habs. They lost to them in 1976 and 1977, though worth pointing out that their combined 3 wins against them in both series were the only 3 Habs playoff losses in each postseason. Then when the Isles drafted Bossy and he had his great rookie season in 1978, that's when the Isles were at least close to their dynasty peak. 2nd best record behind the Habs in 1978, and overtook them for the best record in 1979. But a QF upset against the Leafs in 1978 and Rangers in 1979 prevented the Isles from reaching the SCF and challenging the Habs after they had drafted Bossy. 1979 would've been the best matchup between the two dynasties. But then the Habs lost significant pieces after 1979, so a series against the Isles in the early 80's wouldn't have been as noteworthy. The 1976 and 1977 series were like the Isles/Oilers series in 1981, where the successor dynasty wasn't ready yet to challenge the current dynasty at the time.
Another example is Detroit vs Dallas between 1995-2002. Dallas was the 3rd wheel of the Colorado/Detroit rivalry, and together the 3 dominated in this span. In addition to the heated Avs/Wings rivalry, there was also the 1999 and 2000 WCF where the Stars beat the Avs in 7 in both, which each at least close to their peaks. But the Stars and WIngs never had that. They only met in 1998 (Dallas wasn't elite in 1995, so I won't count that for the sake of this thread). For the Stars, Nieuwendyk (who won the Smythe the next season) was injured in the first game of the playoffs, and it was the season before they signed Hull, so they struggled to score that postseason, which was a big motivating factor in signing Hull. Without those two, this wasn't as good a Stars team as the one who beat the Avs the next 2 seasons and won the 1999 cup. Meanwhile, had the Wings not blown their 2-0 series lead to the Avs the following season, I think they lose to the Stars in the 1999 WCF. Not only because the Stars were better, but because the Wings were worn down from their B2B cup wins. If looking for a season where both were close to peak form aside from if Nieuwendyk was healthy in 1998, the next best postseason would probably be 2003, when they were the top 2 seeds in the West but both fell victim to Giguere's legendary postseason.
What other examples can you guys think of similar to this?
Last edited:
