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*puolivalmiste* · 02-26-2024, 03:43 PM

So after some recent HoF votings I went to check some stats from the past which relatively soon took a spin that ended up being the research for this media. In the end I ended up listing the teams based on highest average point percentage over 5 seasons, because you can actually determine the best team ever based on a single metric and ignore playoffs while doing so. But at least it is one way to look at it and highlight some of the best teams that each franchise has been able to build while not just looking for a single season when the team might been lucky.

As anyone who has been around before switch to FHM knows the point percentages for top teams are higher during the FHM than they were back on STHS and for that reason I have looked at both all time highest and highest from the STHS era for each team. Based on the average difference on all time and STHS peaks I have given STHS era teams a flat bonus to their point percentage when ranking the teams. Not perfect but at least this way we got several STHS teams in the mix.

Teams are ranked based on what I deemed to be their best team, list some of their achievements along with any HoF players who played for the team at least 3 teams out of the 5 season period. I will also showcase either best STHS performance or actual all time high team along some random notes I made while making the research.

#20 San Francisco Pride, S63 - S67 (0.658)

We kick off the list with the franchise that has never won the Challenge Cup, this team made it to the game seven of the conference finals in S64 but that is as close as they got. Their best regular season of the stretch was season 65 with a record of 45-18-3 which was good enough for 3rd in the league. Like many recent teams on the list no player of the team is yet inducted to the Hall of Fame.

Their best STHS performance was between seasons 48 and 52 when they had point percentage of 0.562, they also won Presidents' Trophy in S50 and S52 with that team. So far the franchises all time best season was S38 when had point percentage of 0.740, just something for you to compare as we reach the other end of the list.

#19 Manhattan Rage, S3 - S7 (0.606)

From quite recent to almost the beginning of the league. Bit like the opposite of San Francisco, Manhattan has never won the Presidents' Trophy but has 4 Challenge Cups to their name, yet this team won none of those. This team’s best season was S7 when they had the record of 31-14-5. While the team didn't manage to win anything they still had few players who eventually made it to the Hall of Fame and even got awards named after them, these players were Turd Ferguson, Jeff Dar and Frankie Gooseneck.

Rage's all time highest point percentage was from S54 to S58 (0.663), two seasons after their latest cup win, unfortunately they were already on decline by S58 and thus didn't rank higher than this on the list.

#18 Seattle Riot, S18 - S22 (0.624)

Another STHS era team, currently known as Tampa Bay Barracuda, who haven't been having too many cup celebrations during their history but unlike the two teams above, this Seattle team managed to win the cup in S18. Their best regular season was S20 when they finished the season with a record of 34-12-4. Quite interestingly already by that point Riot was the 5th branding for the franchise. From this team Chris McZehrl and Daniel Merica ended up into the Hall of Fame when it all was said and done.

Their actual all time high point percentage was from S61 to S65 as Tamba Bay Barracuda when they had an average of 0.656 point percentage but they were not able to win any Challenge Cups or Presidents' Trophies during that time frame.

#17 Montreal Patriotes, S68 - S72 (0.723)

First of the teams that have joined the league during the FHM era. They did not win the Challenge Cup or the Presidents' Trophy with that team but finished 3rd in the league for both S69 and S71, both times with a record of 50-15-1, which are the best seasons of this team, being the only team on this list that doesn't have a singular best season. Yet in playoffs they never made it past the 2nd round and are now in rebuild.

#16 Toronto North Stars, S12 - S16 (0.646)

Another early team on the list, but unlike other STHS entries on the list, this is still the best 5 season performance by North Stars to this day. This team won the President Trophy in S12 but their best season was S15 when they went 35-13-2, 2 points more than they had when they won the Trophy. In S16 they made it to the cup finals but lost to Edmonton. This team had 5 players that were inducted to the Hall of Fame, shared for most among teams listed here. Those players were Aidan Richan, Benjamin Wong, Phil Schenn, Yousuf Scherbluk and Darian Scherbluk.

Toronto has had 2 decent runs during the FHM era but both fell short before they could hit the 5 season mark and be competitive on this list.

#15 Los Angeles Panthers, S31 - S35 (0.648)

STHS for the win as they say, this was the Panthers team that won Wasty last of his three Presidents' Trophies with their best season in S32 ending the season with a record of 38-10-2 at top of the standings. But in the playoffs this team managed only once to get to the second round and didn't make it past that. Timo Haas was only member of the team who eventually made it to the Hall of Fame.

Panther’s all time high is between S62 and S66 when they had the 0.691 average point percentage, while winning both the cup and Presidents' trophy in S65 and on top of S63 finals appearance.

#14 New Orleans Spectres, S47 - S51 (0.652)

Their peak performance starts only a season after them joining the league. While making it to the finals during that initial season they did not repeat that again before S54, so did not win a cup within this timeframe. Their best season was last on this timeframe as they had a record of 36-11-3 which was good enough for the Presidents' Trophy. The team also shares a top spot for most Hall of Fame player as Piotr Czerkawski, Oisin Fletcher, Joe Kurczewski, Aleister Cain and DeMaricus Smyth all have been inducted to hall since then.

Best average for Spectres was between S51-S55 with 0.662. This is the only team that has overlap on their STHS and all time performance. On top of the S51 Presidents' Trophy they also won the Challenge Cup in S54 and made it finals again in S55.

#13 Calgary Dragons, S10 - S14 (0.660)

I was fully expecting the Calgary team to be from the Steelhead era as he managed the team to 6 cups and impressively only had a single season below .5 during his 35 season tenure (S46 at 0.46). Instead the top spot goes to the team from about 10 seasons before. Dragons had won the cup in S8 and S9.they would get another before S27 so this is another cupless team. Their best season was S10 when they went 41-7-2 and won themselves a Presidents' Trophy, also winning it in S14. The Hall of Fame called for Ron Bolt, Ryan Jesster, Kain Webb and Mike Verminski at the end of their careers.

All time highest point percentage average for Calgary is from S55 to S59 (0.705) at the end of Steelhead’s career. At best that team finished second in the league during the regular season but didn't make it past the first round of playoffs.

#12 Seattle Argonauts, S66 - S70 (0.739)

Second of the four FHM era teams also means that there is only one team to highlight. Also from here on we start to see teams that managed to bring that regular season success to the playoffs like this Seattle team that made it to the finals 3 times in a row between S66 and S68 winning the Challenge Cup on the last two tries. On top of the cup they also won a S68 Presidents' Trophy with a record of 54-9-3. For next two seasons they stayed competitive until heading towards the rebuild. No player has yet to make it to the Hall of Fame.

#11 Minnesota Chiefs, S8 - S12 (0.666)

Minnesota hasn't been a competitive for a while but back in the early days of the league they put together a team that won the Challenge cup in both S10 and S12 while also taking home the Presidents' Trophy in S11 with their best season 38-11-1 for 77 points, which is still a franchise record despite the league changing to 66 game seasons about 20 seasons ago. Like many of the other early teams on the list also Chiefs had multiple Hall of Famers on their ranks as Christoph Klose, Brandon Sawyer, Nick Fisher and David Winter all played for them during this time period.

#10 Atlanta Inferno, S66 - S70 (0.747)

Another expansion team peaking around during the late sixties. So you know by this point what it means, no players in the Hall of Fame and no STHS era teams to be snubbed or do the snubbing. They won the Challenge Cup and Presidents' Trophy in S66 yet their best regular season was S68 when they went 51-13-2, 2 points more than in S66 but this time it was not enough for the Presidents' Trophy. After the cup win in S66 the playoffs didn't go in their favor as for the next four seasons they lost every season in game seven during the second round.

#9 New England Wolfpack, S69 - S73 (0.750)

Wolfpack is the team for which the difference between the actual best record and best STHS era team was closest, slight adjustment to the formula how STHS teams were compensated could easily swap the team we are talking about here. But that is not to take away from the one New England rostered from S69 to S73. During this time they won the Presidents' Trophy during both S72 and S73, which was also their best season with a record of 53-11-2. They also won Challenge Cup in S70, playing in finals of S72 and just outside of this window also won the S74 cup. HoF pending.

But the best New England team from the STHS era is nothing short of great. Between S31 to S35 New England had an average point percentage of 0.670, won 3 Presidents' Trophies and 2 Challenge Cups and had already won the Cup season before the mentioned window.

#7 Philadelphia Forge, S69 - S73 (0.761)

Clearly I have lost my ability to count but that is no fault of the Forge team we are looking at here. Actually out of all teams in the league, their worst season in franchise history is better than any other team's worst season. So Philly ranks highest of the FHM only era teams, they won the Challenge Cup in S69 and made it to the finals again in S73. They also won the Presidents' Trophy in S70 with the record of 57-8-1 for 115 points which is second most points in a season in leagues history. But as they really didn't stop at S73 Hall of Fame has to wait.

#7 Texas Renegades, S58 - S62 (0.761)

So why is Texas listed below Philadelphia despite them both having the same record, 502 points in 5 seasons, well of course it is stuff like better win rate and not personal bias. Texas kicked it off with their best season going 54-11-1 in S58 which won them the Presidents' Trophy, they followed that with a cup wins in S59 and S62 while also making it to finals in S60. Texas somehow While this isn't as recent as few others, any of the players have yet to appear in the Hall of Fame as their careers did continue past this window.

Despite winning a few Cups in the STHS era, their best performance was between S27 and S31 when they had 0.638 average point percentage and won a Presidents' Trophy but didn’t make it out of the first round even once.

#6 Buffalo Stampede, S53 - S57 (0.762)

Buffalo hasn’t been rebuilding in ages and their performance jumped to next level with the switch to FHM, their worst FHM season to date is S67 when they had a point percentage of 0.561. Still the first 5 seasons were the best stretch they have had. During that time frame they won Presidents' Trophy in S54 with their best season, with a record of 41-7-2 and again in S55 when they also brought the Challenge Cup to Buffalo. They also made it to the cup finals next season but were unable to beat Hamilton. They won their next Challenge Cup in S60 which could easily be considered to be part of the same run, just not for this list. Unlike other FHM teams, this Buffalo core has already had multiple members who made it to the Hall of Fame as Monkey D. Luffy, Matt Kholin, Hippo Passamus and Cedric Robinson all have been inducted after S62.

Buffalo under WannabeFinn was already doing well during the STHS era, From S46 to S50 the team had 0.596 average point percentage, they won Presidents’ Trophy in S46 and Challenge Cups in both S46 and S48.

#5 Chicago Syndicate, S62 - S66 (0.773)

While New Orleans came out of the gate as a competitor Chicago took slightly longer to build their team. They have had a competitive roster since the early fifties and got even better after. From S62 to S66 Chicago won the Presidents’ Trophy twice, in seasons S62 and S64. While S64 Trophy was followed by the Challenge Cup win their best season and highest total points in league was the S62 when they finished the season with a record of 56-5-5 for 117 points. Despite the Hall of Fame being behind multiple seasons this Chicago team already saw its first player making it to the Hall as Martijn Westbroek was inducted in the S67 ceremony.

Chicago's short stint with STHS ment their best performance ended up being the last 5 seasons the engine was used. Between S48 and S52 Chicago averaged 0.536 and did not win the Challenge Cup nor Presidents’ Trophy.

#4 Edmonton Comets, S2 - S6 (0.716)

As we close in to the podium we go back to the STHS glory. Edmonton joined the league for the 2nd season and their great first three seasons are what carried them this high on the list. While their first season was impressive they had to wait until season 3 to win their first Presidents’ Trophy and Challenge Cup. Then repeated that performance next season while having the best season in league history when looking at point% as they went 34-2-4 (0.900). By the S6 they were already below 0.500 but history had been made. It is fitting that both Jay McDonald and Mike Honcho played for the team, now both in Hall of Fame, while McDonald Trophy is awarded to player with most goals in a season and Honcho to goalie with least allowed in a season.

Edmonton as Blizzard has multiple times got close to the 0.716 but never managed to pass it despite being tied for most cups in the league. But should they hit at least 82 points this season they will set a new franchise best for 5 seasons average point percentage, which meant I had to make sure to get this media out before that happens so I don’t have to mention their Challenge Cup win in S73 or the Presidents’ Trophy from last season because this was enough writing already.

#3 Winnipeg Aurora, S67 - S71 (0.815)

From pages of history back to a very recent team. As expected from top 3 regular season performances, they won 3 Presidents’ Trophies, S67, S69 and S71, they also made it to the finals for the last three seasons but were not unable to win the Challenge Cup, though they got that fixed too in S72. Their best season was S71 when they had a record of 54-9-3, but also one thing that really helped them to place this high on the list was their consistency, their worst season was S67 when they went 50-13-3 for 103 points, highest point percentage for worst season among all these teams.

During the STHS era Winnipeg Jets had a record of 0.698 between S37 - S41, which is one of the best STHS records in the league, they won the Challenge Cup in S37 and the Presidents' Trophy in both S40 and S41.

#2 Hamilton Steelhawks, S57 - S61 (0.820)

Hamilton was the powerhouse of early FHM. If we would be looking at their run between S54 and S64 they would still rank third on this list. They are the one other team along with Winnipeg that managed to have 5 straight 100 point seasons, best being the S61 when they had a record of 57-8-1. Starting just after the S56 when they won both Presidents' Trophy and Challenge Cup they followed that with Presidents' Trophy wins in S57, S59 and S61 while also winning the Challenge Cup in S58 and S61, and making it to the finals in S57 too but losing to Chicago. So far the only player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame is Theo Morgan.

During STHS the best run Hamilton had was from S16 to S20 when they averaged 0.682 point percentage, won Presidents’ Trophies in S17, S19 and S20, made it to the finals twice but were unable to win a Challenge Cup.

#1 West Kendall Platoon, S1 - S5 (0.744)

Like I spoiled earlier, STHS for the win. West Kendall Platoon managed to put up decent FHM numbers in early seasons on STHS and thus claim the top spot on the list, by a slight margin over Hamilton. Their best season was the very first one in league as they went 30-5-5 to win the first Presidents' Trophy, they also won it in S2 and S5. The only season they didn't play in finals was S3 and they won two Challenge Cups, in S2 and S5. Bit surprisingly only 3 members of the team made it to the Hall of Fame, those being Brandon Holmes, Alex Reay and Sarmad Khan.

For their all time highest average we have to wait until the team moved to Baltimore as their best seasons were between S60 and S64 with 0.768. Despite the good record they only managed to win a single Presidents' Trophy, while never making it all the way to finals.

So here you have it folks, the league started out with the best (as was proven by math so it must be true) and it has been downhill ever since.

After writing all this I feel like the list has huge recency bias and yet at the same time very early seasons seem to be over-represented as well, almost like there is more nuance to the league's history than just STHS/FHM split.

~3270 words