Wouldn't include the team last year as 2012 and 1998 were better than it on paper.
1998 i do not see at all. They had Forsberg, sundin and maybe dahlen yes, but beside that not so much. d-men overall medicore.
2012 i see as the third best, but very young.
2012vs2017
Goalies 2017 win on paper, they had lundqvist, our best goalie ever.
D-men: 2017 had OEL, Klingberg, Hedman in their prime, plus Brodin, Edler, Strålman (Strålman probably in his prime), while 2012 had some of these names as well, like Brodin and Hedman, but they where young and far from as good. 2012 had Karlsson also, but overall, hands down 2017 win the d-men battle.
Forwards: Overall i give a small edge to 2012 here, but not with any huge margin.
Overall: In my mind 2017 had a better team on paper.
either way, these 2 last year have been a trend shift when it comes to players accepting the invitation to whc.