Are ‘Super Teams’ good for professional sports?
One enduring argument that has shaped modern professional sports is certainly up for debate again. As the calendar rapidly accelerates towards Christmas, the Colorado Avalanche and Oklahoma City Thunder have firmly established themselves as ‘Super Teams’ in their respective leagues, inviting the question: is it better for leagues to have real parity, or are they healthier when a Super Team emerges?
Naturally, this query is debated in some form through the 24-7 sports news cycle, but it’s often litigated by the punditry class. So we went around the NHL to ask what professional athletes think of Super Teams, both in the NHL and in other professional sports they watch.
If you’re unfamiliar with their pedigree, here’s a brief introduction: Oklahoma City is 24-2 with a 16.8 point average margin of victory (Denver ranks second with a 9.2 margin, for comparison) a transcendent guard in reigning NBA and NBA Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, whose efficiency from the mid-range is on par with Michael Jordan’s. And the Thunder could be in line to gain the first overall pick from a loaded 2026 NBA Draft class (via an unprotected first-rounder from the Los Angeles Clippers) while playing the best defense of the 21st century.
Colorado has posted a 24-2-7 record with a plus-56 goal differential, while Nathan MacKinnon leads the NHL in scoring and the club boasts an absurd plus-36 goal differential (48-12) when he’s on the ice at 5-on-5, via Natural Stat Trick. Martin Necas and Artturi Lehkonen are second and third, respectively, while Cale Makar is the runaway favourite to win the Norris Trophy again. Somehow, the Avalanche have turned their greatest weakness into a position of strength, rotating Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood expertly in goal.
We may be understating how far ahead of the curve the Avalanche and Thunder are, relative to their competition. So what do NHL players think of Super Teams?
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Steven Lorentz won a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers in 2024 and is keenly aware of a variety of outcomes, playing on his fourth NHL team.
“It’s nice when it’s competitive, but I’ve been on teams that have been in the basement on the opposite side of it, when we’re not doing so good,” Lorentz said to Daily Faceoff prior to a Dec. 6 game against the Montreal Canadiens.
“Colorado is a good squad. Everybody has to chase the top team and only one team walks away with the trophy. It makes for good stories come playoff time. You look at Tampa Bay a few years ago, where they won the Presidents’ Trophy, and they end up getting knocked out. It gives teams a lot of confidence when you beat teams like that. It’s a tough league, man! There’s a lot of good players, and a lot of good teams. They’ve just rolled with the opportunity. So they’ve obviously shown up really well, and they’re a team you can’t take lightly, you have to bring your A-game every time you play them.”
This is perhaps where hockey’s grueling playoff format comes into play, as there’s a notion that the top teams in the NBA are ordained for greatness, while real parity displays itself in pursuit of the Stanley Cup.
“It’s different in other sports. I don’t follow the NBA too closely, because they do have Super Teams that load up and you just know they’re going to cruise,” Lorentz said. “There’s only three or four teams cruising to the Finals. And that’s why hockey is so great. You can have a team full of superstars and it doesn’t necessarily mean at all they’re going to win. It’s the opposite. It’s the third and fourth-line players that wear those top players down.”
“I guess they’re a little bit different in terms of how the salary cap works,” San Jose Sharks forward Collin Graf told Daily Faceoff on Dec. 11. “In hockey, it’s really hard to have a Super Team because the cap is the same, but in baseball and basketball, it may be a little bit easier. [The Avalanche are] off to a good start. They’re a really good team, we’ve played them a couple of times, they stick to what they’re good at.”
Chicago Blackhawks forward Frank Nazar shared similar sentiments prior to a Dec. 16 game against the Leafs.
“I think it’s been awesome this year. Very competitive, fun hockey. Each game to watch is going to be high-paced and fun to watch, with pretty close games,” Nazar said to Daily Faceoff. “I thought it was fun to play against Colorado. At the time, they only had one regulation loss. We were out there, battling our tails off trying to beat them. I think we could have. We have full belief in the locker room that we could’ve beat them, and we get to play them again. They’re a great team, and it’s been a lot of fun this year.”
“People say it’s a copycat league, where a lot of teams try to emulate what teams that are winning are doing,” Blackhawks defenseman Ethan Del Mastro said to Daily Faceoff. “This year has obviously been really close. They’re copying teams like Florida. Colorado obviously is a really good team. They have superstars and really good players. A lot of teams that were in the bottom tier of the league are stepping up, keep getting better and developing, and it’s made for a pretty tight race so far.”
And while most NHL players aren’t watching other sports with the same fervor, there is an appreciation of the Thunder’s outstanding start to the year, with an eye-popping record in the standings.
“I think it’s pretty cool. I’ve been trying to keep up with it,” Nazar said of the Thunder. “It’s weird, hockey’s not too much like that. It’s rare to find something like that. You have the Bruins a couple of years ago, they did really well. Maybe Colorado can do that again. It’s definitely something you don’t see very often in hockey.”
“I think it’s always cool to see other teams in different leagues to see how well they do,” Del Mastro said. “It’s obviously different. It’s a different sport, so sometimes we don’t grasp how hard it is for them, or they don’t grasp how hard it is for us, but when you see teams that are 24-2, it’s pretty cool.”
“It’s great. I think if the answer were that easy, a lot of teams would switch to what Colorado is doing,” Blackhawks forward Ryan Donato told Daily Faceoff. “They’re obviously having a great year, but it goes to show how good the league is this year, points-wise, a lot of teams that are even and one or two points away from each other all year. I think if the answer were that easy, teams would try to separate themselves to find that answer. I think it’s a competitive year, there are a lot of good teams right now, it’s fun.”
Donato also pointed to an NFL dynasty that shaped his childhood, along with other players across the NHL. During the process of researching and conducting interviews, the Tom Brady-era New England Patriots were the most commonly cited team from another league aside from the NHL.
“It’s a good question. I think it’s just fun to watch teams that win. It’s easy to cheer for teams that win. I grew up as a Patriots fan. It wasn’t like I was a die-hard, but I knew every year they were going to be in the playoffs, or in the Super Bowl, and I didn’t really have to pay close attention but I could be a fake fan. By the end of the year, they were going to win. It’s fun to be part of teams that win and that Super Teams get a lot of support from people, because they’re winning a lot.”
There isn’t unanimous agreement on whether the Avalanche constitute a Super Team, despite their point differential and superstar pedigree, with several incumbents from the 2022 team that lifted the Cup. Leafs forward Nick Robertson appeared to disagree with the premise, when I asked him about the Avalanche and Thunder, prior to a Dec. 13 game against the Edmonton Oilers.
“You say the Avalanche are a Super Team?” Robertson responded, before expanding on his answer.
“I don’t think much about it. I think they’re a good team. I think they’re off to a good start. The team they had before was more of a Super Team,” Robertson said. “(Mikko) Rantanen’s not there, I don’t think they’re a super team. In the NBA, those guys are more of a Super Team than hockey.”
The debate between parity, and the role of Super Teams in professional sports will wage on well past this season. It’s clear that the majority of players recognize the Avalanche as the team to beat, and while cognizant of their strengths, they’re not willing to concede outright superiority just yet, while an appreciation of the Thunder, and NFL dynasties of yesteryear allow professional athletes to join the rest of us in an appreciation of the zenith.
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