Cam Neely

[Barnum]

Neely scored 50 goals in his first 44 games then went scoreless in his final 5.
So, technically he scored 50 goals in 44 games and scored 50 goals in 49 games.

Did you do that for Wayne's 50 in 39? Neely hit 50 goals in 44 games, thats how its written in the HOF. Its not written as 50 in 49

 

[Tmu84]

I was thinking the season where he scored 50 goals in under 50 games would be considerably less impressive in terms of adjusted totals, but according to hockey reference, his goal total of 50 goals in 49 games in 1994 adjusts to 45 goals.

Think about that: 45 era-adjusted goals in only 49 games. That's absolutely crazy.

https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/n/neelyca01.html

For the sake of comparison: Ovechkin's '08 season (65 goals in 82 games) adjusts to 72 goals. Cam's adjusted goals per game pace in '94 was actually slightly higher.

Of course, I don't know if he would have sustained that pace over 82 or 84 games, but the guy was an absolute monster that season when he did play.

[YT]

[YT]





And he was an actor as well!


[YT]

Wow, learn something new every day. I never realized it was Cam Neely as Sea Bass. And Dumb & Dumber is one of my favourite comedies of all time!

 

[Hobnobs]

Wow, learn something new every day. I never realized it was Cam Neely as Sea Bass. And Dumb & Dumber is one of my favourite comedies of all time!

Did you know that John Malkovich shoots Marty McSorley in Con Air?

 

[Hobnobs]

Oh and another funny movie thing. Ian Moran of the Pittsburgh Penguins at the time played Chris Chelios in Sudden Death

 

[The Panther]

As well, he didn't suffer much of a drop off in the playoffs - especially in goal scoring. He was routinely a beast in the playoffs and continually put up great numbers on a Bruins team that lacked depth outside of he and Bourque.

I know Neely was a great playoff scorer, and I liked him a lot, but as an Oilers' kid in '88 and '90 I remember well him coming up empty in the '88 and '90 Finals. Well, not exactly empty, but this is how he made out in those two Finals:
1988 -- 5GP: 2G + 1A = 3PTS (-5)
1990 -- 5GP: 0G + 4A = 4PTS (0)

I guess if you look at it as 5 points in 10 games, it's not too bad, but 2 goals in 10 games in the Finals is a little surprising. Ranford really had Neely's number in 1990 -- Cam is credited with 24 shots on net and no goals.... Ouch!

But anyway, Finals aside, he certainly was a playoff producer: 57 goals in 93 games!

 

[David Bruce Banner]

This may seem like sour grapes from a Canucks fan, but I've always thought that he would not have developed into the player he was if he had stayed in Vancouver. The team was just too terrible. Instead of getting nice feeds from the likes of Adam Oates, Neely would have had to watch Steve Tambellini dynamically skate around, whiff on the puck and fall down.

Probably would have developed into another Sergio Momesso, at best.

 

[double5son10]

Neely is the player for the Bruins that, to me, changed the imbalance in the Boston/Montreal rivalry (well, him and Michael Thelvin). More than any other player it's Neely that gets the monkey off the Bruins back. He absolutely owned Roy.

 

[Sentinel]

Neely is a legend in the minds of all Bruins fans. The heart and soul of that team (although Bourque was the brain, the lungs, the legs, and the kidneys). His legacy and his charisma made him bigger than he was, but I'm all for hockey myths.

 

[seventieslord]

I know Neely was a great playoff scorer, and I liked him a lot, but as an Oilers' kid in '88 and '90 I remember well him coming up empty in the '88 and '90 Finals. Well, not exactly empty, but this is how he made out in those two Finals:
1988 -- 5GP: 2G + 1A = 3PTS (-5)
1990 -- 5GP: 0G + 4A = 4PTS (0)

I guess if you look at it as 5 points in 10 games, it's not too bad, but 2 goals in 10 games in the Finals is a little surprising. Ranford really had Neely's number in 1990 -- Cam is credited with 24 shots on net and no goals.... Ouch!

But anyway, Finals aside, he certainly was a playoff producer: 57 goals in 93 games!

I believe that would be 7 points in 10 games.

 

[The Panther]

I believe that would be 7 points in 10 games.

I was under the impression that there would be no math...

 

[Bustedprospect]

This may seem like sour grapes from a Canucks fan, but I've always thought that he would not have developed into the player he was if he had stayed in Vancouver. The team was just too terrible. Instead of getting nice feeds from the likes of Adam Oates, Neely would have had to watch Steve Tambellini dynamically skate around, whiff on the puck and fall down.

Probably would have developed into another Sergio Momesso, at best.

Canucks werent good back then. But to be honest those Bruins teams had no business reaching as far as they did. They just didnt have the depth to win it all.

 

[Boxscore]

Neely was interesting to say the least. As others have said, he was a power forward poster boy in the 90s. He's kind of folklore-ish due to his injury-plagued seasons and brilliant hands around the net. He was also universally beloved among hockey circles, hence his place in the HHOF.

 

[crobro]

I remember the day the Canucks drafted Neely Phil Esposito was congratulating Harry Neale on the pick saying that the rangers had him rated number 1 and were hoping to pick him

 

[Iapyi]

neely was an incredible player. he was tough as nails and had a scorers touch. he also played a pretty complete game if memory serves me correct which i suspect it does.

definitely deserves to be in the hhof but i think those discussions are inane.

 

[ted2019]

If Cam Neely is a HHOF, then Tim Kerr should be as well.

 

[BobbyAwe]

I'm not suggesting anyone should be in the HOF because of what their stats MIGHT have been if their career weren't shortened by injury, but Neely certainly missed out on a ton of goals because of his. As to his potential stats, after two 50 goal seasons, he was injured and out for the season in 1991-92 after 9 games. In those 9 games he had 9 goals. The next year he played only 13 games and had 11 goals (18 points). The next year was the 50 in 44, and after that he faded for the last 2 years as his hip wouldn't improve and he retired at only 30 years old. It's pretty certain, without the injury, he was on his way to two 50-60 goal seasons in the shortened years, and probably several more after the 50 in 44 since he was only 28 years old at that point. Taking into consideration he was also one of the biggest hitters and best fighters in the league, that's DOMINANCE.

 

[The Panther]

Yeah, I think it is quite likely Neely would have had one 70-goal season in there, and maybe another 60-goal season or two, if healthy. But it's always back to the "should-coulda" sort of thing -- we can feel safe in speculating, but unless the player actually did it, we don't actually know.