Comparing to other sports: the NHL team that most resembles the Pittsburgh Steelers
The other day I had a concept. I wanted to start a series that compares the Pittsburgh Steelers to a team (or teams) in other sports. What teams would most resemble the Steelers and why?
In order to do so, I’m going to look at all of the major professional sports leagues and give my opinions on why my selection is comparable to our black and gold.
In my first entry, I’m going to look at the National Hockey League (NHL) to find our first specimen. The NHL is a bit different than many of the other leagues due to its long history and relation to other countries. It took a long time for the NHL to become an American league with Canadian cities mixed in. It wasn’t until the early 1900’s that the NHL started to transform into the league we know today.
So what NHL team most resembles the Pittsburgh Steelers?
First, we need to start with a historic franchise. It would be hard to compare the Steelers to any other organization if they weren’t a storied franchise. Let’s cut away any teams that have won three or fewer Stanley Cup Championships. Doing so leaves us with ten teams: the Montreal Canadiens (23), Toronto Maple Leafs (13), Detroit Red Wings (11), Boston Bruins (6), Chicago Blackhawks (6), Edmonton Oilers (5), Pittsburgh Penguins (5), New York Rangers (4), New York Islanders (4), and the Ottawa Senators (4).
The Pittsburgh Steelers have also had relatively recent success in winning the Super Bowl, so we can cut down on teams that haven’t won the Stanley Cup in a long time. The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t won since 1967, the Edmonton Oilers haven’t won since 1990, the New York Rangers in 1994, the New York Islanders in 1983, and the Ottawa Senators in 1927.
After thinning the herd, let’s recap who’s still in the running: the Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
You may be thinking: why are the Montreal Canadiens still in the running if their last championship was in 1993? Well, they have the most Stanley Cup victories: just like the Steelers and their six Super Bowl wins. However, the statistic that makes me cut Montreal out of the comparison running is that they won most of their championships before the Steelers were even relevant. Steelers fans sometimes forget that it took Pittsburgh a very long time to win their first championship, so that plays a factor in my decision.
That gets us down to the Final Four. (It’s March, why not follow the madness?) All of these teams are storied franchises who are consistently in the running to win a Stanley Cup Final every single year… just like the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Detroit Red Wings vs. The Chicago Blackhawks
Except for last year, the Red Wings have been in the playoffs every single season since they missed the playoffs in the 1989-1990 season. During that span, they won four Stanley Cup victories over the course of 10 years.
The Blackhawks have only recently had success, winning three since 2009-2010 season. The Steelers won their last one the season prior to that, and if we are comparing success, the Steelers haven’t won three in the last eight years like the Blackhawks. Plus the Blackhawks only made the playoffs once from 1997-2008 and had a winning record in only one other season.
They did have a span from the late 1950’s-1990’s where they made the playoffs 38/39 years, but they only won the whole thing once. The Steelers didn’t make the playoffs that many times in a row, but when they did, they won the whole thing a lot more than that.
The Boston Bruins vs. The Pittsburgh Penguins
I think this comparison comes down mostly to who has won versus lost in the Stanley Cup Final. Now the Pittsburgh Penguins have not been around nearly as long as the Boston Bruins, but you will get my point. The Bruins have won the Stanley Cup six times but lost 13 times in the title game. When the Steelers get to the Super Bowl, they usually win (6-2). The Penguins, on the other hand, have won five times and lost only once in the big game.
That’s more like the Steelers.
Conclusion
So which NHL team compares the most to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Detroit Red Wings or the Pittsburgh Penguins?
I think the answer is quite simple: the Pittsburgh Penguins. To start, it took the Penguins a long time to start winning games, just like the Steelers. Again, the Penguins had their first season in 1968 so the timetable is a little different, but the concepts are all the same. You might be thinking, the Penguins got into the playoffs 9 out of their first 15 seasons, but that has to be taken lightly. The NHL was much smaller back then, and most of those seasons they got in with a losing record. That was also in the midst of the WHA trying to steal NHL players, so the competition was much lighter in the 1970’s where you could actually get into the playoffs with a losing record multiple times. They never really advanced past the first game. But once the Penguins started winning, they became a powerhouse team that is in contention for the Stanley Cup every single year.
The Penguins have and have had storied players such as Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and more. Again, they have not been around as long as the Steelers, but the list compares to the Steelers in a vacuum. Both teams right now have players that are some of the best in the league: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Jake Guentzel vs. Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell, Antonio Brown, Ryan Shazier, Cameron Heyward, and more.
Both franchises have a consistent winning mentality that is matched only by a few teams year in and year out. They both have two of the better coaches in the league, as well as owners of the team. They both know how to draft. Most recently Matt Murray and Jake Guentzel vs. T.J. Watt and JuJu Smith-Schuster.
There has been a lot of success between both teams and they compare nicely to each other. It just so happens that both teams reside in Pittsburgh, where they should be.
