The Islanders dynasty of the early 80's is often credited with creating the tradition of the playoff beard. Since then, there has been an annual analysis of which players deliver the strongest growth. The competition is thick, which is why perennial mentions such as Dave Lowry, Clark Gillies, Max Talbot and Claude Giroux aren't included in the slideshow below. Nothing personal. This is definitely more subjective than scientific.

Greatest NHL Playoff Beards

 

Dustin Penner

Penner has had some practice letting his beard run wild. He won the Cup with Anaheim in 2007 and completed the SoCal parlay by doing it with Los Angeles in 2012.

 

Henrik Zetterberg

He won the Conn Smythe in 2008 when the Red Wings beat the Penguins in the Stanley Cup Final.

 

Mike Commodore

He reached the Stanley Cup Final twice, losing with Calgary in 2004 and winning with Carolina in 2006.

 

Scott Niedermayer/Rob Niedermayer

The brothers won the Cup together with the Ducks in 2007. Scott is in the foreground of the photo.

 

Jean-Sebastien Giguere

He was the Conn Smythe winner in 2003 when Anaheim lost to the Devils in the final, but he captured the Cup in 2007.

 

Scott Hartnell

He helped the Flyers reach the final in 2010 before losing to Chicago.

 

Shea Weber

The Predators haven't made it past the second round yet, but it doesn't take long for him to reach full bloom.

 

Ken Daneyko

Fans saw plenty of his beard as he was part of three Stanley Cup winners during his career in New Jersey.

 

Paul Mara

Like Weber, he didn't need to reach the final to show off the thickness.

 

Lanny McDonald

Always known for his mustache, McDonald capped off his career with the Cup in Calgary in 1989.

 

Zdeno Chara

What's scarier? His beard or his slap shot?

 

Ken Morrow

Since the tradition goes back to the Islanders, we needed one of them to round out the list.

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And while we're on the subject, check out this classic from Molson Canadian:

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