Strongest World Championships team ever?
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Uncle Rotter
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Peter25
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Peter25
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Soviet team from 1981 tournament is a good candidate. They had that one freakish game against Sweden (and it was a Gold medal game) which ended 13-1 (after first period the game was 0-0). Sweden won the Silver medal in that tournament. We will never again see a Gold medal winner defeating the Silver medalist by 12 goals in a decisive game.
Soviets also won Czechoslovakia 8-3 and Canada 8-2, but on the other hand they also tied them both (1-1 tie against Czechs and 4-4 tie against Canada).
The 1981 World Championships team was also basically the same team that won the Canada Cup a few months later. Only Yuri Lebedev, Vladimir Petrov and Nikolai Makarov were left off the Canada Cup team and replaced with Igor Larionov, Irek Gimayev and Vladimir Zubkov. Other than those players these teams were the same.
But the 1981 team is still not my selection for the best WC's team ever.
Jussi
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Peter25
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OK, here is my list.
1. Soviet Union 1979
- Most dominant performance ever in any a modern era international tournament. Won all its games and usually with at least 6-10 goals, even against Czechs, Sweden and Canada. 11-1 against Czechoslovakia!
2. Soviet Union 1973
Almost as dominant as in 1979. This was trojka Petrova's show. Again the Soviets won all of their games.
3. Soviet Union 1981
Just a great team. On paper this may be the best team ever, but those two ties against Canada and Czechs put a minor dent in their performance.
4. Soviet Union 1983
The true incoming of the KLM line. This tournament was all about KLM line and Fetisov and Kasatonov on defense.
5. Soviet Union 1970
Another great team on paper: Kharlamov, Maltsev, Firsov, Petrov, Mikhailov, Starshinov, Ragulin etc. Was not as dominant in the rink as those late 1970's/early 1980's teams though.
6. Soviet Union 1982
One of those great Soviet teams of that era. Won all of their games except last meaningless game against the Czechs which was a 0-0 tie.
7. Soviet Union 1986
Soviets again won all of their games. The dominance of early 1980's was gone though. But a convincing victory.
8. Soviet Union 1978
Soviet comeback after two consecutive losses to Czechs in 1976 and 1977. This was Fetisov's breakthrough tournament. He was the best defenseman of the tournament by a wide margin, as a 20-year old.
9. Czechoslovakia 1976
The best Czech team ever.
10. Soviet Union 1990
Mainly the way they played in the medal round. The KLM line was gone but this team played convincingly the whole tournament and was unbeaten in the medal round.
1. Soviet Union 1979
- Most dominant performance ever in any a modern era international tournament. Won all its games and usually with at least 6-10 goals, even against Czechs, Sweden and Canada. 11-1 against Czechoslovakia!
2. Soviet Union 1973
Almost as dominant as in 1979. This was trojka Petrova's show. Again the Soviets won all of their games.
3. Soviet Union 1981
Just a great team. On paper this may be the best team ever, but those two ties against Canada and Czechs put a minor dent in their performance.
4. Soviet Union 1983
The true incoming of the KLM line. This tournament was all about KLM line and Fetisov and Kasatonov on defense.
5. Soviet Union 1970
Another great team on paper: Kharlamov, Maltsev, Firsov, Petrov, Mikhailov, Starshinov, Ragulin etc. Was not as dominant in the rink as those late 1970's/early 1980's teams though.
6. Soviet Union 1982
One of those great Soviet teams of that era. Won all of their games except last meaningless game against the Czechs which was a 0-0 tie.
7. Soviet Union 1986
Soviets again won all of their games. The dominance of early 1980's was gone though. But a convincing victory.
8. Soviet Union 1978
Soviet comeback after two consecutive losses to Czechs in 1976 and 1977. This was Fetisov's breakthrough tournament. He was the best defenseman of the tournament by a wide margin, as a 20-year old.
9. Czechoslovakia 1976
The best Czech team ever.
10. Soviet Union 1990
Mainly the way they played in the medal round. The KLM line was gone but this team played convincingly the whole tournament and was unbeaten in the medal round.
JackSlater
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Unless the WC becomes a true best on best tournament (not like 2005 where many players still refused to go and some played after a year off) we won't see any better teams than the best Soviet teams of the 1970s and 1980s. There was a fair amount of consistency on those Soviet teams, so I have no idea which was the best.
Peter25
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The best overall team has to be from that peak period of Soviet hockey from 1978 to 1985. I picked the 1979 team because it was ridiculously dominant on the ice. It won Czechoslovakia 11-1 and 6-1, Sweden 9-3 and 11-3 and Canada 9-2 and 5-2. It was basically a no-contest tournament with one team being so much better than all the rest of the teams.
The 1979 tournament was played in Moscow and that gave the Soviets an extra gear.
The 1981 tournament was not as one-sidedly dominated by one team even with that Soviet-Sweden (13-1) final game. Soviets won Canada and Czechoslovakia with scores of 8-3 and 8-2, but also tied the same teams (although that last 1-1 tie against Czechoslovakia came when the Soviets had already won the Gold medal).
The 1981 tournament will be remembered as the swan song of Alexander Maltsev. Maltsev actually won his last international Gold medal in 1983, but in 1983 he was nothing more than a fringe player in the national team. In 1981 Maltsev was the leading scorer of the tournament and the leader of that team. I think Maltsev also scored something like 3+3 points in that 13-1 game against Sweden.
The 1981 tournament was also the last one for Vladimir Petrov. He played in the line of young Vladimir Krutov and Sergei Makarov. Petrov was replaced by Igor Larionov in this line in the Canada Cup later that year.
It should also be mentioned that between 1979-1981 Soviets got their biggest victories against the NHL competition beating the NHL All Stars 6-0 in the 1979 Challenge Cup in New York and Team Canada 8-1 in the Canada Cup final in Montreal in 1981.
This is the best hockey team ever on the planet.
JackSlater
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That's all pretty reasonable. Those Soviet teams had talent, chemistry and experience in abundance.
Seems pretty legit, I guess, based on your opinion.
The moment you take off your rose tinted glasses, you'll realize a lot of other hockey teams came after 1987 that could be considered better for many, many reasons based on semantics, stats, roster and increased competition with the sport.
VMBM
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Agreed. At least they were never more dominant vis-Ã -vis their closest rivals like Sweden and Czechoslovakia. This was probably the first time they had 4 truly strong forward lines; when you have A. Golikov-V. Golikov-Makarov as your 3rd line, you know that your team is very strong!
I also like the fact that Troika Petrova was still playing very well during this season, especially Boris Mikhailov. Even though he was already 34 years old, this might have been his best season ever: MVP in the Challenge Cup, IIHF directorate best forward (with Wilf Paiement and Sergei Makarov) at the 1979 WHC and the Soviet player of the year.
Yeah, the goal difference (100-18) is very impressive, but the games against Sweden and Czechoslovakia were generally much tighter than they were in 1979, for example. On the other hand, both CZE and SWE had clearly stronger teams in 1973 than in 1979.
1973-75, the Soviets have a brilliant WHC record (only 1 loss in 30 games), but I don't think their defensive play was as good as it would be in the late 1970s and in the 1980s.
(I think the 1980 Olympic team might have been their best ever on paper - though obviously not on the ice.)
My only problem with the 1981 WHC team is that they looked pretty bad in the 4-4 tie against Canada; it was not a fluke or anything. But maybe a couple of weaker games per tournament should be allowed.
I've seen some games from that tournament, and IMO Fetisov was still pretty far from a 'finished article'; especially his passing wasn't nearly on the same level as in the 1980s. But of course he was already very good & a new kind of Soviet defenseman (if not counting Sologubov, Lyapkin & maybe some others).
All in all, it was a huge triumph for the Soviets, even more so because the tournament was held in Prague and because they were plagued by injuries/sickness throughout the tournament (e.g. Petrov, Tsygankov, Vasiliev, Kapustin and finally Maltsev in the deciding game). As I've said many times before, a loss would've been a disaster for them.
Some other good teams (1970-90):
1975 Soviet Union (another perfect record, though outside Czechoslovakia, there wasn't much to beat)
1972 Czechoslovakia (their first championship during the Soviet dominance)
1985 Czechoslovakia (strong - if a bit rough - defense and excellent goaltending were the keys)
1987 Sweden (though I'm not sure that they were even the best team in the tournament!)
Never forget Lake Placid
I guess losing the Olympic Gold Medal after winning four consecutively (not quite sure, 1960 was the last time they didn't win, wasn't it?) was quite a big bummer
Never forget Lake Placid
The intensity with which haters continue to thump on this one loss only confirms the strength of that team.
It is impossible to say which version but it is certainly one of those Soviet Union teams.
I do not think that can be disputed with a straight face.
I do not think that can be disputed with a straight face.
King Karl
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Peter25
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We cannot directly compare teams from 1981 and 2008 for example. Different eras, different players.
My criteria for the best team ever is how good that team was against its competitors at the time. By that criteria the Soviets blow everyone away and it is a no contest. The Soviet style dominance in international hockey will likely not be replicated in our lifetimes.
Peter25
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I would say that in 1990 and 1989 Canada had better teams. The 1994 team was good as well.
Canada 1994. At that time- NHL pros were not allowed in the Olympics, and the Canada Cup/World Cup was still not finalized for the future. Canadian NHL'ers were much more willing to play in the WHC, even after getting eliminated in the first round.
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The same mentality does not exist. Look at Ovechkin and now Malkin going to the WHC the second their teams get eliminated. Looking at this team Canada Roster- it is a D team at best. It is a shame that some of Canada's great players do not bother representing their country even when it is a not a best on best tournament. I guess guys like Giroux had to work on their Golf Game, when he flat out refused to play for Canada.
JackSlater
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I don't like that method alone. Early Canadian teams made up of random amateurs that beat up on other countries are not remotely close to being the strongest teams ever at this tournament.
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doug88
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