Top 5 NHL teams with the greatest Mount Rushmore of legends

By Ryan Gagne

Modified Feb 27, 2024 16:07 GMT

There may be 32 teams in NHL, but some of the game's greatest players actually skated together for the same franchise.

Whether we are talking about the great players of the Montreal Canadiens dynasty years or the modern era championship seasons of the Pittsburgh Penguins, every team has at least four players that make up their Mount Rushmore.

Ultimately, deciding which NHL legends make the cut is always the fun parts of these debates. Moreover, coming up with a list of the top five teams regarding their best players is even more daunting.

However, we gave it our best shot. Although not including iconic NHL franchises like the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks, here are the top five teams with the best legends.

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Top 5 NHL teams with the greatest Mount Rushmore of legends

#1. Edmonton Oilers

Wayne Gretzky - Mark Messier - Paul Coffey - Grant Fuhr

The Edmonton Oilers joined the NHL in 1979, the same year Wayne Gretzky debuted. Within 11 seasons, the franchise won five Stanley Cup titles, and Gretzky rewrote the record book with 1,669 points in just 696 games.

Outside of "The Great One," the team also had Mark Messier, who took over the captaincy when Gretzky left in 1988, leading the club to their final championship in 1990. Eventually, "The Moose" would break a 54-year curse in New York, becoming the only skater in NHL history to lead two franchises to a Stanley Cup.

Meanwhile, Paul Coffey was one of the smoothest skating defensemen of all time and was hands down one of the top defenders in the 1980s, winning two Norris Trophies while netting 669 points in 532 games with the Oilers.

In goal, Grant Fuhr is considered one of the game's legendary netminders, who won five Stanley Cups with Edmonton. Although he played in other cities, achieving a handful of NHL records, he is most associated with his hometown team.

#2. Montreal Canadiens

Maurice Richard - Jean Beliveau - Guy Lafleur - Patrick Roy

The Canadiens have employed some of the game's all-time greats and remain the only team with 24 Stanley Cup titles. When you walk into the Bell Centre, the banners stretch from one end to the other, honoring the greats who have played for Le Bleu-Blanc-Rouge.

Maurice "Rocket" Richard was the first NHL player to score 50 goals in a season and 500 goals in a career. When he got suspended for a game in 1955, the city of Montreal rioted to support their local hero. Today, the NHL goal-scoring award is named after him.

Bell Centre, Montreal, QC

Jean Beliveau is the only skater with his name engraved on the Stanley Cup 18 times, not only as a player but as an executive, who used to sit right behind the bench in the old glassless Montreal Forum. When he retired in 1971, he was among only two players in Montreal history to score over 1,000 points.

Guy Lafleur was a hockey legend and remains the franchise's all-time leading scorer with 1,246 points. During his career, he routinely scored over 100 points and dazzled fans with his end-to-end rushes while hoisting the Stanley Cup on five occasions.

Considering how many iconic players played for the Canadiens, there are so many choices for this fourth spot, but there's no denying Patrick Roy is one of the greatest players in franchise history. After leading the club to their last two championships in 1986 and 1993, his trade in 1995 shocked the hockey world and altered the NHL landscape forever.

As a pioneer of the butterfly style, Roy is highly regarded as one of the best NHL goaltenders of all-time.

#3. Boston Bruins

Bobby Orr - Phil Esposito - Ray Bourque - Patrice Bergeron

Although Gretzky may have all the scoring records, many would argue that Bobby Orr is the greatest player of all-time, transforming the game for all-time as a rookie defenseman who would go on to win scoring titles.

Moreover, he's the only defender to win the Norris Trophy eight times, achieving the feat from 1968 to 1975. If it wasn't for a career ending knee injury, there's no telling how far Orr would have carried his teams.

Shortly after Orr left the Boston Bruins, they drafted Ray Bourque who is the NHL's all-time leading scorer for defenseman, ranking 11th overall with 1,579 points. As one of the most gifted players ever, he is fondly remembered for winning the Stanley Cup in his final game, capping off an extraordinary 22-year career.

Outside of the defensemen, one of the best forwards in Boston history is Phil Espositio, who not only won two titles with Orr, but won several scoring titles and became the first NHLer to score 70 goals and 100 points in a season. Although he also played in New York, his best years in NHL came in Boston.

Just like the Canadiens, the Bruins are celebrating their 100th season and have an endless list of candidates. However no one has ever won five Frank J. Selke trophies as the league's best defensive forward like Patrice Bergeron.

He wore the Spoked B for 19 seasons and netted 1,040 points, capturing the Stanley Cup in 2011. As one of the longest tenured players in club history, he put his body on the line every year and has one of the most respected legacies in Boston.

#4. Detroit Red Wings

Gordie Howe - Terry Sawchuk - Steve Yzerman - Nicklas Lidstrom

The Detroit Red Wings are the third most successful Original Six team, with 11 Stanley Cup titles. Although their list of legends is just as long as other teams from previous eras, there is only one "Mr. Hockey" Gordie Howe.

As the only player in NHL history to play at 50 years old, Hower had one of the most distinguished careers, racking up 1,850 points in 26 years. He was so influential, that if a player scores a goal, adds an assist, and gets into a fight, it's called a "Gordie Howe hat trick," honoring his playing style in the 1950s and 1960s.

Terry Sawchuk played for four of the Original Six teams, but achieved his greatest success with the Red Wings in the 1950s. Arguelably the greatest NHL goalie of all-time until Roy and Martin Brodeur overtook most of his records in the 1990s and 2000s, Sawchuk has a legacy that will remain untouched for generations, thanks to his success and courageousness while playing the position without a mask.

Steve Yzerman is the current general manager of the Red Wings and played his entire 22-year career with the franchise, coming so close to breaking all of Howe's team records. As captain from 1986 to 2006, Yzerman is one of the most decorated players in Red Wings history and despite being from Ontario, found a forever home in Detroit.

Finally, Nicklas Lidstrom is considered one of the greatest hockey players of all-time, who spent his entire career in Detroit, chasing down Orr's Norris Trophy record. As the first European-born captain to the win the Stanley Cup, he is highly regarded as the best player to ever come from outside of North America.

#5. Pittsburgh Penguins

Mario Lemieux - Jaromir Jagr - Sidney Crosby - Evgeni Malkin

If it wasn't for back problems and cancer, Mario Lemieux may have broken most of Gretzky's records, that's just as amazing as he was. After being drafted by the Penguins in 1984, he saved the franchise not only on the ice, but in the board room too becoming the first ever player-owner in 2000.

Undeniably one of the game's all-time greats, Le Magnifique has one of the most unique legacies in NHL history, almost leaving him in a class of his own.

Just when Lemieux was leading the Penguins to the Stanley Cup in 1991 and 1992, one of his linemates was a young Jaromir Jagr, who would go on to score the second most points in NHL history, with 1,921.

Unsurprisingly, as a man committed to his craft, Jagr is still playing professional hockey in his native Czechia, at 52. Before the next two entries on the list came along, it was Lemieux and Jagr at the top of almost every scoring category in team history.

However, like they say, records are meant to be broken. Since his debut in 2005, Sidney Crosby has been the face of the NHL, winning three Stanley Cup titles, scoring one of the most iconic Olympic goals of all-time, while chasing down every record owned by his former landlord, Lemieux.

Together with Evgeni Malkin, the last 15 years of hockey in Pittsburgh has outlasted anything Lemieux and Jagr achieved together.

Now, on the back side of their careers, fans get to watch Crosby and Malkin, who have combined for 2,830 points, play together and hopefully ride off into the sunset together as the franchise's most iconic duo.