Islanders’ four straight Cups still cast a shadow over today’s pro sports dynasties

Between 1976 and 1979, the Montreal Canadiens won four straight Stanley Cup championships before the New York Islanders matched them between 1980 and 1983. And no other team in the NHL has replicated that since, which is impressive enough.

But do you know what's even more impressive? There's also not a single team in the four major North American professional sports leagues who replicated that, either. So, think about it for a second.

Nobody in the last four-plus decades has accomplished it. Not in the NFL, where teams like the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots came close a couple of times, winning three Super Bowls in four seasons, but they couldn't make it four in a row as the Cowboys missed the Super Bowl in 1994 and the Patriots missed out in 2002.

Also in the 1980s, the San Francisco 49ers were red hot, and they also won four titles. But, they didn't outright dominate the league four seasons in a row, which makes the Islanders dynasty that much sweeter.

You can still call the New York Islanders dynasty the best in sports from the 1980s and onward

Shift gears to Major League Baseball, and the New York Yankees outright dominated the late 1990s, but their four World Series came in five seasons - 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000. But, after the three-peat, they found a way to lose to the then-expansion Arizona Diamondbacks, who ironically happen to be my favorite baseball team, so, "You're welcome, Isles fans!"

In the NBA, the Chicago Bulls managed to win six championships in the 1990s, which is why some may believe they're the best dynasty between the 1980s and present day.

And okay, I can see their point, but two three-peats still means they weren't the class of the league in four straight seasons, which may be harder to do. That said, I'm giving the Isles a (slight) edge.

Then, there are the Lakers, who forged a dynasty between 2000 and 2002, but they couldn't snag a fourth-straight title. Fast-forward to the 2010s, and the Golden State Warriors were just impeccable, but the Cleveland Cavaliers (seriously) stifled them in 2016, ending their hopes for a four-peat.

The Islanders stand alone at the pro sports mountaintop

So, the Islanders still stand as the most dominant team and dynasty across a four-year stretch in the four North American pro sports leagues from the 1980s until the present day in July 2025. Yeah, there have been more than a few close calls over the years, and chances are, someone, at some point, will match or maybe even surpass the Isles.

That's if the Isles don't gear up for another four-peat themselves at some point in the future. And hey, I'll never say never. We might just see, as the decade reaches its second half, if there are any takers. If not, then Isles fans can keep celebrating the best four-year run since the Habs managed the feat between 1976-79.

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