1996-98, Detroit Red Wings

One of the most important results of the Summit Series of 1972 was a recognition by Canada and the Soviet Union that each nation had a distinct style of play, and in ensuing years each took styles from the other and incorporated them into their own game. For instance, Canada learned about puck movement while the Soviets learned about physical play. But there were other subtle examples, one of which was the Soviets' penchant for uniting their forward line and defence pairing into a cohesive five-man unit. It wasn't until a quarter of a century later, however, that this strategy was used in the NHL, and the distinction of making a successful go of it belongs to Detroit Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman.

When Bowman started coaching Detroit in 1993, he inherited a roster that quickly became among the top teams in the league. The team made it to the Stanley Cup finals in 1996, but the Wings were quickly dispatched by the Colorado Avalanche in four straight games. No matter. Bowman's team returned to the finals the next year, and this time it was the Wings who did the sweeping, of Philadelphia, in four straight games.

A large part of Detroit's success came from the Russian fivesome of defencemen Vyacheslav Fetisov and Vladimir Konstantinov and forwards Igor Larionov, Sergei Fedorov, and Slava Kozlov. The uniting of these five was inspired, to say the least. Bowman had two veterans in Fetisov and Larionov who were revered by the next generation of players, among whom the other three were the cream of the crop. Not only had all the players grown up under the Soviet system of hockey, the younger players were inspired by and motivated by their elders, and the veterans in turn acted as de facto coaches for their Soviet protégés.

The result was a Stanley Cup which was of historic significance as the wily Bowman took a page from the old Soviet playbook and used it in a modern way with a combination of old school and new school players. The political meaning of the coaching strategy was almost as important as the hockey results. Had Bowman used a five-man unit in 1972, he might have been branded a traitor. In 1997, he was called a genius.