The Florida Panthers have won the last two Stanley Cup championships and starting Oct. 7, they will try for a three-peat that hasn’t been done since the 1980s.
So where do those two teams rank among the 25 that have lifted the Stanley Cup in the first 25 years of this century?
Ranking is difficult because of the wide variety of circumstances of the seasons.
The Hall of Famer-laden 2001-02 Detroit Red Wings would be an obvious pick, but that was before the NHL instituted a salary cap and the only payroll limit was the size of a team owner’s bank account.
The 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks had a spectacular season, but it was shortened by a lockout. The Tampa Bay Lightning won back-to-back titles in 2020 and 2021, but those seasons were shortened by the COVID pandemic.
With that in mind, here is a ranking of the last 25 championship teams:
25. 2019 St. Louis Blues
Regular season 45-28-9, 99 points. Playoffs: 16-10
Based on storylines, this team would be near the top of the list. They were inspired by a coaching change to Craig Berube, goalie Jordan Binnington’s call-up, superfan Laila Anderson and the song ‘Gloria.’ They were last in the league in January and rallied to win it all. But the team hasn’t come close to duplicating that run. They have been to the second round only once since.
24. 2012 Los Angeles Kings
Regular season: 40-27-15, 95. Playoffs: 16-4
The regular season was a disaster, and they went through two coaches before Darryl Sutter was hired and nailed down the final berth. Then the Kings were nearly unbeatable. They took a 3-0 lead in every series despite starting each one on the road.
23. 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins
Regular season: 45-28-9, 99. Playoffs: 16-8
The Penguins lost in the final the year before. But they were only a little better than .500 when coach Michel Therrien was fired 57 games into the season. Dan Bylsma went 18-3-4 down the stretch and led Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Marc-Andre Fleury to their first championship.
22. 2004 Tampa Bay Lightning
Regular season: 46-22-8-6, 106. Playoffs: 16-7
Did they really win it? The Calgary Flames thought Martin Gelinas scored a go-ahead goal in the third period of potential clinching Game 6. Replays showed the puck went in but play continued and the Lightning stayed alive with a double overtime win before winning Game 7. This team featured future Hall of Famers Martin St. Louis (that season’s Hart Trophy winner) and Dave Andreychuk. Brad Richards had seven game-winning goals to be named playoff MVP.
21. 2018 Washington Capitals
Regular season: 49-26-7 105: Playoffs: 16-8
Alex Ovechkin won his first and only Stanley Cup. The run didn’t start smoothly. The Capitals lost the first two games with Philipp Grubauer in net and went back to Braden Holtby. He helped the Capitals rally in that series and get past the rival Penguins. Washington overcame a 3-2 series deficit against the Lightning and then beat the Golden Knights in five games, sparked by a big Holtby save. Evgeny Kuznetsov was impressive, and Ovechkin won playoff MVP with 15 goals. Coach Barry Trotz left in the offseason and the Capitals didn’t get out of the first round again until last season.
20. 2016 Pittsburgh Penguins
Regular season: 48-26-8, 104. Playoffs: 16-8
Crosby and company won their second Stanley Cup title, but it took another coaching change to get there. Mike Johnston was fired after 28 games and Mike Sullivan became coach. Fleury suffered a concussion in March, opening the door for Matt Murray to lead the Penguins on a playoff run.
19. 2000 New Jersey Devils
Regular season. 45-22-12-3. Playoffs: 16-7
Coach Robbie Ftorek was fired with eight games left in the season and though Larry Robinson went 4-4, he led the team to its second championship. The Devils had to rally from a 3-1 series deficit in the conference finals and then they ousted the defending champion Stars in six games in the final. Scott Stevens, who rocked Eric Lindros in the conference final, was playoff MVP.
18. 2014 Los Angeles Kings
Regular season: 46-28-8, 100. Playoffs: 16-10
This team was resilient, overcoming a 3-0 series deficit to oust the San Jose Sharks, then a 3-2 deficit against the Ducks. It won Game 7 on the road three times. The final was a five-game win against the New York Rangers, but three games went to overtime, two to double overtime. Justin Williams, nicknamed ‘Mr. Game 7,’ appropriately was playoff MVP.
17. 2003 New Jersey Devils
Regular season: 46-20-10-6, 108. Playoffs: 16-8
Martin Brodeur was brilliant in the regular season with a league-best 41 wins and nine shutouts. He also was brilliant in the playoffs with seven shutouts, including three in the final. Though Brodeur won the Vezina Trophy, he didn’t get the Conn Smythe. That went to Anaheim goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere.
16. 2015 Chicago Blackhawks
Regular season: 48-28-6, 102. Playoffs: 16-7
This was their third championship in five years, and core members Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and Marian Hossa led the way. Keith won the Conn Smythe with a league-best 18 assists and plus-16 rating. This team ranked second in the regular season in defense and they held the Lightning, the No. 1 offense, to 10 goals in six games in the final.
15. 2010 Chicago Blackhawks
Regular season: 52-22-8, 112. Playoffs: 16-6
They were the first dynasty of the salary cap era, led by Toews, Kane and future Hall of Famers Hossa and Keith. But the Blackhawks had to part with multiple players after this season because of cap concerns. It took them three years to win again.
14. 2011 Boston Bruins
Regular season: 46-25-11, 103. Playoffs: 16-9
They were led by four players who would be the core for years: Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Krejci. Tim Thomas won the Vezina Trophy and Conn Smythe, with a .938 save percentage in the regular season and .940 in the playoffs. The Bruins overcame 2-0 series deficits in the first and final round and a 3-2 deficit in the final.
13. 2024 Florida Panthers
Regular season: 52-24-6, 110. Playoffs: 16-8
A year after losing in the 2023 final, the Panthers captured the first title in franchise history. Unlike in 2023, they had home-ice advantage in three rounds. They beat the No. 1 overall Rangers in six games in the conference final and won the first three games against the Oilers in the final. Edmonton fought back to tie the series but the Panthers played a perfect Game 7 to lift the Cup.
12. 2007 Anaheim Ducks
Regular season: 48-20-14, 110. Playoffs: 16-4
Hall of Famers Teemu Selanne and Chris Pronger won their first and only Cup. Scott Niedermayer won his fourth (three with the Devils) and got to share it with brother Rob. Scott also won the Conn Smythe.
11. 2023 Vegas Golden Knights
Regular season: 51-22-9, 111. Playoffs: 16-6
The Golden Knights won a championship in their sixth season of existence, fulfilling team owner Bill Foley’s prediction. Vegas had the Western Conference’s best record despite multiple goalie injuries that continued in the playoffs. They switched to Adin Hill after Laurent Brossoit was hurt. Jonathan Marchessault (13 goals) won the Conn Smythe over Jack Eichel (26 points). Vegas crushed the banged-up Panthers 9-3 in the clincher.
10. 2006 Carolina Hurricanes
Regular season: 52-22-8, 112. Playoffs: 16-9
They were the first champion of the salary cap era. They lost the first two games of the playoffs, but coach Peter Laviolette switched to goalie Cam Ward early in Game 2 and he went on to win the Conn Smythe. Captain Rod Brind’Amour is now the Hurricanes’ coach and midseason addition Mark Recchi went on to the Hall of Fame.
9. 2020 Tampa Bay Lightning
Regular season: 43-21-6, 92. Playoffs: 16-6
The Lightning had won 62 games the year before only to get swept in the first round. But they added grittier players to get through the playoff grind. The postseason was played in the playoff bubble in Toronto and Edmonton because of the pandemic. The Lightning were deep enough to win despite captain Steven Stamkos missing all but 2:47 in the playoffs.
8. 2021 Tampa Bay Lightning
Regular season: 36-17-3, 75. Playoffs: 16-7
Nikita Kucherov missed the entire the COVID-shortened regular season after hip surgery. But he returned in the playoffs and dominated with a postseason-best 32 points as the Lightning won back-to-back titles. The Conn Smythe went to goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who clinched each round with a shutout.
7. 2025 Florida Panthers
Regular season: 47-31-4, 98. Playoffs: 16-7
They pulled off back-to-back titles. GM Bill Zito added Seth Jones before the deadline then he shocked the hockey world by landing Marchand in a trade. The Panthers were banged up down the stretch, but they got players back to make a run despite lacking home-ice advantage in every round. Coach Paul Maurice switched out his fourth line to overcome a 2-0 series deficit in the second round. Matthew Tkachuk played through a hernia and had 23 points in 23 games. Zito managed to get playoff MVP Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Marchand re-signed in the offseason.
6. 2017 Pittsburgh Penguins
Regular season: 50-21-11, 111. Playoffs: 16-9
The Penguins were the first team in the salary cap era to win back-to-back championships. Sullivan made it 2-for-2 as a Penguins coach and Crosby won his second consecutive Conn Smythe. Fleury started the first two playoff rounds but Murray took over in the middle of the conference final and finished up. This was Fleury’s last season with the Penguins as he went to the Golden Knights in the expansion draft.
5. 2022 Colorado Avalanche
Regular season: 56-19-7, 119. Playoffs: 16-4
Their 119 points were the most among the teams on this list. They rolled in the playoffs, sweeping two series and knocking off the two-time defending champion Lightning in six games. Defenseman Cale Makar won the Conn Smythe and Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen also had big postseasons.
4. 2002 Detroit Red Wings
Regular season: 51-17-10-4, 116. Playoffs: 16-7
Here’s the list of future Hall of Famers on this team: Steve Yzerman, Nicklas Lidstrom, Brendan Shanahan, Brett Hull, Sergei Fedorov, Igor Larionov, Pavel Datsyuk, Luc Robitaille, Chris Chelios and Dominik Hasek. Coach Scotty Bowman, already in the Hall, made everything mesh. The Red Wings won the Presidents’ Trophy and were resilient in the playoffs. Bowman retired after lifting the Cup. Hasek stepped away, too, though he eventually returned to the league.
3. 2008 Detroit Red Wings
Regular season: 54-21-7, 115. Playoffs: 16-6
This team also got a rare Presidents’ Trophy/Stanley Cup double and did it during the salary cap era. They ranked third in goals and first in goals against. Conn Smythe winner Henrik Zetterberg and Datsyuk dominated in the playoffs. Chris Osgood had a 1.55 goals-against average. This core also went to the 2009 final, losing to the Penguins.
2. 2013 Chicago Blackhawks
Regular season: 36-7-5, 77. Playoffs: 16-7
This season was 48 games because of a lockout, but what a season. The Blackhawks went the first 24 games without a regulation loss and finished with a league-best .802 points percentage. The playoffs weren’t as easy because they had to overcome a 3-1 series deficit in the second round against the Red Wings. Chicago scored two goals in 17 seconds to clinch the title in Game 6 when it looked the Bruins might push the series to seven games.
1. 2001 Colorado Avalanche
Regular season: 52-16-10-4, 118. Playoffs: 16-7
Superstar Ray Bourque, acquired the season before, finally got to lift the Stanley Cup. This was already a loaded team with Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Patrick Roy and Bourque, and then they added Rob Blake at the deadline. Yes, general manager Pierre Lacroix didn’t have to worry about a salary cap, but he had the desired players needed to pull off such a big trade. The Avalanche won the final in seven games against the defending champion Devils even though Forsberg missed the series after spleen surgery.