Summit Series still No. 1 all-time, but Salt Lake City not far behind
The Hockey News has released its archive to all THN subscribers: 76 years of history, stories, and features.
Also, go to thn.com/free to subscribe.
Rating Hockey History - March. 15, 2002 - Alan Adams
The question is whether the NHL’s dream final in Salt Lake City was the climax to hockey’s best-ever international competition. There’s an argument to be made on both sides of the puck, depending on how short your memory is.
The 2002 Games now represent a benchmark for a generation, that much is beyond doubt, but does the largest television audience in hockey history necessarily make it the most significant hockey event? Nope. The 1972 Canada-Soviet Union Summit Series still takes that prize.
As for where the others get slotted, let this list serve as a starting point for discussion. As it is for patriotic figure skating judges, the correct answer may depend on what country you’re from.
1. 1972 SUMMIT SERIES
Canada withdrew from international competition in 1970 in protest of the Soviets retaining their status as amateurs. Still, Canadian fans were longing to see a series that would pit their best pros against the best Soviets. In September 1972, they got their wish.
The series was an eye-opener for Canada, which hadn’t really considered the possibility that it had any real competition in hockey. The Russian “amateurs” proved more than a match, winning two of the first four games in Canada before heading to Moscow and the home-ice advantage for the final four games. The Canadians swept the last three games, yet the Soviets had made it painfully clear they could compete with Canada’s best.
The highlight of the series was Paul Henderson scoring three straight game-winning goals in Moscow, including the series clincher in Game 8 with the game in its dying seconds.
2. 1980 WINTER OLYMPICS, LAKE PLACID, N.Y.
When no other country made a bid for the 13th Winter Games, Lake Placid, N.Y., was awarded the competition by default. The hockey competition there wound up being a monumental event in hockey history and American sports history.
The Soviets had won four straight Olympic titles and were favored to make it five when a bunch of college kids coached by Herb Brooks beat them 4-3 in a semifinal game that later became known as the Miracle On Ice.
Remarkably, American television never aired the game live. Arguably the greatest game an American team had ever played to date was instead shown on tape-delay, which shows the place of hockey at the time in U.S. sporting landscape. But 1980 gave hockey in the U.S. a significant boost, particularly when the Americans followed up the Soviet Union game by defeating Finland in the final to capture the gold.
3. 2002 WINTER OLYMPICS, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
The final game between Canada and the U.S. set records for television audiences and was a fitting display of hockey as its best. Indeed, most of the tournament games were well worth watching. The upset of Sweden by Belarus shocked the hockey world and it showed how cruel a one-game showdown can be. Other games were equally exciting, even if the outcome was not. The final round match-up between the U.S. and Russia was a thrill ride and the Czech-Sweden game was also outstanding.
4. 1987 CANADA CUP
The Mario Lemieux-to-Wayne Gretzky-to-Lemieux give-and-go in the third game of the final series against the Russians ranks a close second to Paul Henderson’s series-clinching goal in 1972 as Canada’s finest international moment.
The Soviets won the first game of the best-of-3 final 6-5 and Canada lost the lead twice in Game 2 before winning 6-5 in double overtime. In the third game, Canada trailed 3-0 and 4-1 before the foot soldiers rallied to tie it and set the stage for the Gretzky/Lemieux’s heroics. Lemieux later credited Gretzky with teaching him what it takes to win and Lemieux went on to dominate the NHL.
The 1987 Canada Cup was also one of the most memorable performances by a talent rich Soviet national team. Just over a year later, stars such as Slava Fetisov and Igor Larionov were in the NHL, and the Big Red Machine was dead.
5. 1998 WINTER OLYMPICS, NAGANO, JAPAN
It took almost two decades to happen, but the best NHL players finally made their appearance in the Winter Olympics.
They didn’t disappoint. Canada was still smarting over its loss to the U.S. in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and they were on a mission to right what Canadians felt was a wrong. With Wayne Gretzky leading the way, the Canadians were a formidable team, but so were the Czechs. The sudden-death medal round will long be remembered for how a Czech team, with a dozen non-NHLers in the line-up, rode a hot goalie named Dominik Hasek to a shootout win over Canada. The Czechs completed their unlikely triumph with a 1-0 win over Russia in the gold medal game.
6. 1996 WORLD CUP OF HOCKEY
Nobody really took the United States seriously as a hockey power until the Americans walked off with the loot at the 1996 World Cup.
Mario Lemieux was sidelined with a back injury and Ray Bourque refused pleas by Gretzky and Mark Messier to play for his country, which left the Canadians vulnerable. Canada and the U.S. advanced to the best-of-three final and the Americans won the deciding game in Montreal thanks to a spectacular performance by goalie Mike Richter.