Professional sports fans have been treated to quite a year. From a close Super Bowl victory going to the Denver Broncos, all the way to an epic seven-game final in the NBA Championship going the way of the Cleveland Cavaliers, each of the four sports lived up to their billing. But after a champion has been crowned, the inevitable question is raised: can they repeat?
Repeat winners are a rare occurrence that seems to be the likely result in 2017. Each champion will face fierce competition and free agency that is sure to eat into their personnel. Having reviewed each champion from North America’s “big four” sportrs, it is the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins that have the best shot at repeating as champions, hoisting the Stanley Cup up once again.
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos had a great run last season. In Peyton Manning’s farewell season, they overcame a great deal of adversity and came out the other side, victorious. Given the stiff competition and relative parity that exists in much of the league, and the fact that both Manning and Brock Osweiler are gone, the chances of a repeat appear nil. In fact, it might be a stretch to even consider the Denver Broncos a shoe-in for the playoffs come the 2016-2017 season. We just don’t see it happening.
Kansas City Royals
The World Series was certainly a spectacle to behold last season as the small town Kansas City Royals smashed their way to victory with a stellar offense and more than respectable pitching. They are already putting themselves in a good position for a repeat performance, just a few games behind the first place Cleveland Indians. The reality, however, is that baseball is a grueling marathon. Only the strongest survive through the entire season, and repeats are rare—in the past 15 years it’s been non existent. With the likes of the Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals and San Francisco Giants in the National League, and an equally stacked American League, it appears unlikely that they will repeat as champions.
Cleveland Cavaliers
With a Cleveland team finally winning a championship after a more than five-decade drought, it’s easy to see how some would believe it is the first of several to come. But a look at the Golden State Warriors proved just how difficult that is, despite a record setting season. The Warriors will be even stronger next season with their recent signing of Kevin Durant. The NBA is extremely competitive. In the Western conference alone, the likes of the San Antonion Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trailblazers, Houston Rockets, and more will be competing for a run at the championship while the Toronto Raptors, and Boston Celtics are rising in the East. Cleveland won this year, but most would agree that their chemistry is a question mark, despite their wonderful run this year. Kevin Love remains a huge factor in the equation. Many feel he hinders the team given his salary, and whispers of “trade” have percolated through the NBA.
Pittsburgh Penguins
That leaves the Penguins. Hockey teams are much more stable with players tending to stay with teams longer. Pittsburgh proved this past season that they have an offense to be reckoned with, and a back line that is second to none. The emergence in the playoffs of goalie Matt Murray bolsters what is already a dominant core of players led by the game’s greatest player, Sidney Crosby. There is also the possibility of adding value with the trade of long-time netminder Marc-André Fleury.
Naturally, repeating as champions is a very, very tall order. But of all current champions in the NHL, NBA, MLB and NFL, as long as the Penguins can stay healthy, while keeping a majority of their lineup through the summer and into the regular season, then they will be in a great spot to repeat.
