Right — those old teams aren’t immune to losing, but you really have to run a dysfunctional franchise for years before your fan support starts to erode. Detroit is probably a function of a different factor: the team was so good for so long that anything short of a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals was seen as a failure. The New Jersey Devils faced a similar problem in New Jersey after the early 2000s, too.
The Pens ran a dysfunctional franchise for 20 years before building a fan base the first time. After that the base was pretty stable. I don’t think Vegas has that much time to succeed or fail but I hope they can build one. They’re starting from a much better base than the Pens had.
You’re probably right about Detroit. The same is true here in Pittsburgh, winning has become the status quo. The injection of youth is important for teams such as this. Gives everyone something new to look at.
There is definitely a pendulum effect (BESIDES the salary cap) to winning NHL teams. We saw it with our local boys the Kings. I won’t say winning the Cup could ever be done on psychology alone, but it helps. You know a strong will, a tiny very into it town, really can get you to a series win from being down 0-3. Skill is hella not enough!
When the Kings are doing well, the entire town (Manhattan Beach, where they ALL live) is abuzz and displaying signs, stickers, gear. The town is that seventh player in MB for sure.
And then, when you are at the top for a few years, since there is no where to go but down, other teams have MORE motivation than you do to win the cup, and your salary cap for the hottest players means they need to sacrifice in order to stay, so the order of teams always changes at the top. Which is, in the end, fair and makes the playoffs so exciting.