Of the last ten Cup winners, only two teams were not returning or future returning champions. There’s no simple, or single formula to winning big. Sure, some people will argue with slogans like “defense wins championships” but defense doesn’t win championships. Great teams do. And every great team is a collection of their own unique peculiarities. Even Michael Jordan’s iconic Bulls team wasn’t defensive so much as a team that could shift identities from the regular season to the playoffs. Good teams have an identity. Great teams can adjust their identity
If there’s a common ingredient in hockey, it’s consistency.