Alternate Stanley Cup Champions

I've decided to re-launch this game, but make it a little different. The same rules go as before of course; one Stanley Cup final a turn, all going in a row. However, instead of it just being information on the series and the teams, this will involve information about the teams themselves.When we reach the end at 2015, the next person can start a new list with a POD going back to whenever they want, though I prefer it if you use a real POD.

So, I'll start us off...


Gretzky Leads the Kings to Victory in '93

1993- Los Angeles Kings 4-3 Montreal Canadiens
Captains: Wayne Gretzky - Guy Carbonneau
Goalies: Kelly Hrudey - Patrick Roy
Coaches: Barry Melrose - Jacques Demers
Conn Smythe Award for MVP: Wayne Gretzky (LAK)

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Gretzky Leads the Kings to Victory in '93

1993- Los Angeles Kings 4-3 Montreal Canadiens
Captains: Wayne Gretzky - Guy Carbonneau
Goalies: Kelly Hrudey - Patrick Roy
Coaches: Barry Melrose - Jacques Demers
Conn Smythe Award for MVP: Wayne Gretzky (LAK)

Revenge of the Maple Leafs

1994- Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 New York Rangers
Captains: Wendel Clark - Mark Messier
Goalies: Felix Potvin/Martin Brodeur - Mike Richter
Coaches: Pat Burns - Mike Keenan
Conn Smythe Award (Playoff MVP): Doug Gilmour (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Art Ross Trophy (Season MVP): Mark Messier (New York Rangers)
Calder Memorial Trophy (Best Rookie): Markus Naslund (Vancouver Canucks)

After missing the 1993 Stanley Cup finals due to eventual MVP Gretzky, Toronto came into 1994 looking for revenge - and they got it. Trading for Hartford Whalers standout Chris Pronger and the arrival of Alexander Mogilny from Buffalo led to one of the highest-powered teams in modern NHL history and the beginning of a dynasty, reinforced through the 1994-95 pickups of future stars Mats Sundin, Sergei Gonchar and Paul Kariya. Better still, the Maple Leafs also traded several prospects for the rights to Martin Brodeur, another player would make history as a Maple Leaf. The Maple Leafs finished first in the league with 105 points, second in the NHL and easily on top of their conference. After easily blasting through San Jose and Dallas in the playoffs, Vancouver forced the conference finals to seven games - which was also the case for New York, having to beat New Jersey in seven as well.

New York scored first blood in the finals, but Wendel Clark and his "Hound Line" won the second for Toronto, despite a puck in the neck ending Potvin's season. Mark Messier almost-singlehandedly gave New York their second win in a wild-shooting 2-1 Game 3 win which saw Martin Brodeur and Richter between them stop an unbelievable 77 shots on net. But Toronto's dominant 5-2 win in Game four in Toronto, with a hat trick for Gilmour and a Gordie Howe hat trick for Pronger, finished the Rangers, and Toronto ripped off two more dominant wins to win their first Stanley Cup in a generation.

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1995

1995: Detroit Red Wings 4, Philadelphia Flyers 2
Captains: Steve Yzerman, Eric Lindros
Goalies: Chris Osgood, Ron Hextall
Coaches: Scotty Bowman, Terry Murray
Conn Smythe Trophy: Steve Yzerman, Detroit

The Red Wings charged through the Western Conference, only losing two playoff games along the way. They beat Dallas in five games, they swept San Jose, and they beat the Blackhawks in five in the West Finals. They had been knocking on the door off and on since 1987, and they finally got over the hump.

The Flyers defeated Dominik Hasek and Buffalo in Round 1, they bounced the Rangers in a sweep in round 2, and they defeated the Penguins in six games in the East Finals(In this alternate world, the Pens beat New Jersey in OT in Game 3, and go on to defeat them in seven games in round 2) to advance to their first Stanley Cup final in eight years.

The Red Wings and Flyers split the first two games at the Joe, with Detroit winning Game one 5-2, and the Flyers winning game 2 4-1 behind Lindros' hat trick.

In Philly, though, the Red Wings took control, as they ripped Hextall for goals in a 7-1 game three win, and they hung 5 on him in a game four win.

The Flyers staved off elimination in the Joe with a 3-2 win in front of a crazy crowd that sensed a title. John LeClair scored the game winner with 2:00 to play, and sent the series back to Philly.

Game 6 was just as exciting. The score was 3-3 with 4 minutes left to play when Steve Yzerman took a pass from Nicklas Lidstrom and put it five hole on Hextall. The Red Wings held off the Legion of Doom the rest of the way, and the Wings had their first title in 40 years.
 
1996- St. Louis over Florida 4-0

After struggling in the opening round against eighth seeded Winnipeg, the record setting Detroit Red Wings were stunned in overtime in game seven of their second round series against St. Louis when Wayne Gretzky scored a goal against Chris Osgood* to send St. Louis to the Western conference finals against Colorado. Another nail biter in the series as Gretzky again scored in overtime in game seven to send the Blues to the Stanley Cup finals. Once there, St. Louis swept Florida, giving Wayne Gretzky a Stanley cup with his third team (after Edmonton and LA) and cementing his legacy as not only the greatest hockey player ever, but as one of the greatest clutch-playoff performer in sports history.

*POD
 

Ming777

Monthly Donor
Gretzky Leads the Kings to Victory in '93

1993- Los Angeles Kings 4-3 Montreal Canadiens
Captains: Wayne Gretzky - Guy Carbonneau
Goalies: Kelly Hrudey - Patrick Roy
Coaches: Barry Melrose - Jacques Demers
Conn Smythe Award for MVP: Wayne Gretzky (LAK)

Revenge of the Maple Leafs

1994- Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 New York Rangers
Captains: Wendel Clark - Mark Messier
Goalies: Felix Potvin/Martin Brodeur - Mike Richter
Coaches: Pat Burns - Mike Keenan
Conn Smythe Award (Playoff MVP): Doug Gilmour (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Art Ross Trophy (Season MVP): Mark Messier (New York Rangers)
Calder Memorial Trophy (Best Rookie): Markus Naslund (Vancouver Canucks)



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ummmm...why are there two Eastern Conference teams in the final?
 
1997: No Fate But What is Made by Yourselves

Toronto Maple Leafs
4 - 3 Detroit Red Wings
Captains: Doug Gilmour - Steve Yzerman
Goalies: Martin Brodeur / Dwayne Roloson - Chris Osgood
Coaches: Pat Burns - Scotty Bowman
Conn Smythe Award (Playoff MVP): Jari Kurri (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Art Ross Trophy (Season MVP): Steve Yzerman (Detroit Red Wings)
Calder Memorial Trophy (Best Rookie): Bryan Berard (New York Islanders)

After being beaten in the Western Final in 1995 by Detroit, Toronto had an abysmal 1996 and suffered a number of injuries in 1997 which forced the team down to finishing just fifth in the Conference, despite no less than 103 points scored by Mats Sundin, 85 by Doug Gilmour and 78 by Wendel Clark. Thus, Toronto came into the Cup with a battered team, made worse when goaltender Martin Brodeur suffered a concussion when he was accidentally bashed into the boards by Chris Chelios. Despite this, Toronto battled back to beat Detroit in seven in the first round, thanks in large part due to the "Iron Curtain" defense from the Maple Leafs, made up of Jari Kurri, Dave Andreychuk, Sergei Gonchar and Chris Pronger. A five-game beating of Colorado set up a match with the 1996 Cup Champ St. Louis Blues, and the first meeting of former teammates Jari Kurri and Wayne Gretzky. The replacement for the injured Brodeur, rookie Dwayne Roloson, showed that he could ably follow in the paths of Bordeur and Felix Potvin in being an excellent starter. A vicious seven-game series resulted, but the standout of it was Kurri, who in the twilight of his career proved that he was as dangerous a player as they got. An overtime goal in game six in St. Louis by Wendel Clark sent the series to a game seven, and despite a spectacular hat trick by Gretzky, it was answered back by Gonchar, Kurri, Clark, Andreychuk and Kariya in a spectacular 7-5 win by Toronto, setting up a final between Toronto against Detroit final.

It went to seven games, to nobody's surprise, and the highest-scoring playoff game in history was the first game of the Cup final, an 8-6 win by Toronto. By this point, the injuries to Gilmour and Brodeur had healed, and while three of the best goalies in the game - Brodeur, Roloson and Osgood - were between the pipes for the teams, it was nearly impossible to stop the scoring - seven Maple Leafs (Jari Kurri, Sergei Gonchar, Wendel Clark, Dave Andreychuk, Mats Sundin, Sergei Berezin and Paul Kariya) and five Red Wings (Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan, Nicklas Lidstrom, Cam Neely and Vyacheslav Kozlov) put up over ten points in the playoffs. It turned into a battle for the ages. Toronto looked almost finished in game five after a 5-2 beating in Detroit, but Toronto battled back to a 6-4 win at Maple Leaf Gardens, with a Gordie How hat trick to Shanahan after he and Darren McCarty got into a massive brawl with Sergei Gonchar that wound up emptying the benches. Fittingly, the game seven winner went to Kurri, putting in the fourth goal in a 5-3 win in Detroit to allow Toronto to claim its second cup in five years. Jari Kurri announced his retirement at the end of the season, retiring after his seventh Stanley Cup with the third team.

What set the Toronto team apart in 1997 was the fact that no less than 21 players, including both Brodeur and Roloson, scored points in the playoffs alone. The Maple Leafs' depth was such that even when injuries felled their stars, they had little difficulty hanging on to much of their form, with that especially showing in the playoffs.
 
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