How does Canada's 2014 men's hockey team compare with previous years?

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by 19Yzerman19

Hindsight is 20-20... I agree that Draper was ridiculous (as does everyone) and Crosby should have had his spot, but Bertuzzi was a big physical PPG winger at the time...

No, he wasn't. Bertuzzi was 3 years removed from his last ppg season at the time of the Olympic team selection.

Originally Posted by 19Yzerman19

OTOH, I can't really justify Chris Kunitz either.

Well, the team is playing in the gold medal game, so it is not exactly assured that having another player in Kunitz's place would have made much, or even any positive difference. In the end, this team is still better than the 2006 team by a VAST margin.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

No, he wasn't. Bertuzzi was 3 years removed from his last ppg season at the time of the Olympic team selection.

Well in fairness, in between there was a lockout and that major suspension. Prior to that suspension though, Bertuzzi and Iginla and almost neck to neck in terms as the top winger in the league.

[Oil Stain]

The problem with 2006 was that Hockey Canada placed too much emphasis on veterans and those who played well at the 2004 World Cup.

They ignored the rule changes which contributed in making Bertuzzi a pretty crappy player 05-06 onward.

Should have brought more youth, and guys who were playing well at the time rather then just picking based on seniority.

[OILFAN #81]

Olympic wise the 2002 team as other have mentioned was the best. The 2010 and 2014 teams are special in their own ways though. For instance, this 2014 team has been absolutely stifling on defense and in goal. 3 goals let in during 5 games in the Olympics is remarkable.

I think the World Junior team that had Crosby, Getzlaf, Perry, Bergeron, Phaneuf, Carter, etc etc would be high up there as well for Team Canada's. They absolutely dominated that tournament.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

The problem with 2006 was that Hockey Canada placed too much emphasis on veterans and those who played well at the 2004 World Cup.

They ignored the rule changes which contributed in making Bertuzzi a pretty crappy player 05-06 onward.

Should have brought more youth, and guys who were playing well at the time rather then just picking based on seniority.

Was a tough one though because a lot of those guys had only played good for 3-months due to the lockout, and the old guys had just come off the year off.

They pretty much had to base their team on who was still good in 03/04 because of the lockout and it ended up killing them.

[HelloHockeyFans]

This year's team seems pretty unique in how there aren't any really seasoned veterans playing fairly prominent roles.

[Red John]

Not a single comment about the 2004 World Cup team?

That team still had guys like Lemieux and Sakic on it but also had St. Louis, Thornton, Heatley, Iginla, Lecavalier and Richards all in their prime.

To say nothing about the defense which was pretty similar to 2002 except it had Robyn Regehr in his prime, in a clutch and grab era where he was probably one of the top shut down guys in the game.

The 2002 team struggled through the round robin and was gift-wrapped a very easy road to the final.

The 2004 team absolutely steamrolled everyone in that tournament including stacked American, Russian, Czech, Slovak and Finnish teams. No minnows there.

[Northendzone]

Eric d was commenting on the fan this afternoon that this team canada is the best he has ever seen......

[craigwd]

Originally Posted by kevman

Magical like losing to Sweden, barely beating Germany and tying the Czech's?

I won a #####load of money betting on a tie with the Czechs that day. Big parlay:

Canada ties Czech Republic
Finland upsets Russia
Sweden beats Germany

[The Yen Man]

If we're just comparing Olympic teams, I think talent wise, 2002 is the deepest. But I agree with another poster earlier in that this is the best coached team out of the 5. No superstar above anyone else. They put on a clinic today, that's for sure.

[V]

It's a little early to have this conversation, no? This 2014 team is completely out of contention if they don't win gold.

[flamesfan1297]

A little off topic but the 2006 u.s. team was worse than ours, 2002 was probably the deepest team

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by HelloHockeyFans

This year's team seems pretty unique in how there aren't any really seasoned veterans playing fairly prominent roles.

What is a "really seasoned veteran"? Getzlaf, Perry, Toews, Crosby, Weber, Keith, Bouwmeester, Bergeron are all in their later-twenties and have played hundreds of NHL games in the regular season and the playoffs, over the course of the last decade. I guess you mean that there are no really prominent senior players—that is, players well into their thirties—like Iginla from 2010, or Sakic from 2006, or Lemieux and Yzerman from 2002, but I would consider all of Canada's starring players as seasoned veterans. Marleau has been good, but not anything like how the above players listed performed in the past.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by flamesfan1297

A little off topic but the 2006 u.s. team was worse than ours, 2002 was probably the deepest team

Every iteration of Team USA has been worse than Canada's since NHL participation in the Olympics began in 1998. That has got to frustrate the hell out of them, since even in those year when Canada didn't win, they were still better than the USA.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by V

It's a little early to have this conversation, no? This 2014 team is completely out of contention if they don't win gold.

The topic of conversation is not whether the 2014 is the best all time, it is how they stack up to other rosters. Of course, there is ongoing discussion about which team was the best all time, and you are right, it is too early for this team to enter that discussion before tomorrow's game, but "this conversation" is about more than just the 2014 team.

[GGG]

This is definately the best defensive pairings ever assembled on any team ever.

Also the best defensive forward lines we have ever had.

Scoring we arent as good as some of the other teams but we are generating scoring chances at a good clip so it may just be being unlucky.

Goaltending which was the only area other teams were better has turned into a strength.

I think this is the best team we have ever assembled. It doesnt have multiple generational players on it but its defenses and 4-12 forwards are our bet ever. To show how deep this team is you only have to look at who didnt go.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by GGG

This is definately the best defensive pairings ever assembled on any team ever.

Also the best defensive forward lines we have ever had.

Scoring we arent as good as some of the other teams but we are generating scoring chances at a good clip so it may just be being unlucky.

Goaltending which was the only area other teams were better has turned into a strength.

I think this is the best team we have ever assembled. It doesnt have multiple generational players on it but its defenses and 4-12 forwards are our bet ever. To show how deep this team is you only have to look at who didnt go.

1972:

Orr Park
Savard Lapointe
Stapleton White Tallon Glennie (take your pick)

unfortunately, Orr didn't get to play in the tournament, but that top 4 has to be the strongest group ever, IMO. Orr, Park and Savard would all be on many peoples' list of all time best defensemen

[undercoverbrother]

Are we discussing the best team on paper or the best team based on results?

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

1972:

Orr Park
Savard Lapointe
Stapleton White Tallon Glennie (take your pick)

unfortunately, Orr didn't get to play in the tournament, but that top 4 has to be the strongest group ever, IMO. Orr, Park and Savard would all be on many peoples' list of all time best defensemen

You lose Orr though because he was injured the same way you cant put Stamkos on the 2014 team. I would agree that if Orr played that is the best group but without Orr it falls behind this current group.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

87

Gretzky, Lemieux, Messier, Coffey and Bourque was the power play.

and they had grit guys, Tocchett, Sutter, Claude Lemieux.

I agree that 87 was the best team ever. Simply having Gretzky and Lemieux, both in their primes, pretty much ends it on that fact alone.

However, if the 72 team had had Orr and Hull (the best defenseman ever and the best forward at that time), they would have been a deeper and better team IMO.