reckoning
Registered User
- Jan 4, 2005
- 7,012
- 1,251
There are several threads on this board which debate which player was the greatest scorer ever. Invariably at some point, someone will say "Player A only scored more points than Player B because he was surrounded by better players", which may be a valid argument. So I decided to look at all the years since expansion and see which players led the NHL in scoring points on the highest percentage of goals his team scored. For example if he had 100 points and his team had 300 goals then his mark would be 33.3. Logically this method should hinder players playing on strong teams and benefit players on weak teams. I`m not saying this is the best way to judge a players worth, but it`s something that should be taken into consideration along with everything else:
`68 S.Mikita (Chi) 41.0
`69 G.Howe (Det) 43.1
`70 B.Orr (Bos) 43.3
`71 P.Esposito (Bos) 38.1
`72 B.Clarke (Phi) 40.5
`73 P.Esposito (Bos) 39.4
`74 P.Esposito (Bos) 41.5
So far the scoring leader usually wins (or almost wins) in this category too, the main exception being Howe`s `69 season. The fact that Gordie was able to finish 3rd in the scoring race as a 40 year-old is even more impressive when you consider that the team he played on was falling apart. Mikita also won this category in `64, `65 and `67; making him one of only four players to do it at least four times.
`75 M.Dionne (Det) 46.7
`76 G.Charron (KC) 37.4
`77 M.Dionne (LA) 45.0
`78 D.Sittler (Tor) 43.2
`79 M.Dionne (LA) 44.5
`80 M.Dionne (LA) 47.2
As you can see, Marcel Dionne really shines in this statistic; it`s downright scary to imagine how many points he could`ve accumulated on a good team. Guy Charron`s appearance here should be taken with a grain of salt; he wasn`t even in the top 30 scorers but has a high mark because his team was so inept.
`81 W.Gretzky (Edm) 50.0
`82 W.Gretzky (Edm) 50.8
`83 W.Gretzky (Edm) 46.2
`84 W.Gretzky (Edm) 46.0
`85 W.Gretzky (Edm) 51.9
`86 W.Gretzky (Edm) 50.5
`87 W.Gretzky (Edm) 49.2
Well, well, well; Gretzky wins 7 years in a row, and usually by a wide margin and with higher numbers than anyone else to that point in the modern era. I`d like to think that this would help end the stupid argument that Gretzky`s points totals were only so high because of his teammates, but it probably won`t.
`88 M.Lemieux (Pit) 52.7
`89 M.Lemieux (Pit) 57.3
Lemieux`s `89 score of 57.3% is easily the highest mark ever in the modern era, and that`s not even taking into account the fact that he missed four games. As I mentioned in another thread, it`s totally ridiculous that he didn`t win the Hart that season.
`90 S.Yzerman (Det) 44.1
`91 W.Gretzky (LA) 47.9
`92 W.Gretzky (LA) 42.2
`93 P.Lafontaine (Buf) 44.2
`94 W.Gretzky (LA) 44.2
`95 E.Lindros (Phi) 46.7
`96 P.Kariya (Ana) 46.2
Gretzky seems to be doing quite well for himself in the post-Edmonton phase of his career. Lemieux`s name doesn`t appear here but it should as there are four seasons where he put up very high numbers (`90, `92, `93 and `96) and most certainly would`ve won if not for games missed due to injury.
`97 T.Selanne (Ana) 44.5
`98 W.Gretzky (NYR) 45.7
`99 J.Jagr (Pit) 52.5
`00 J.Jagr (Pit) 39.8
`01 P.Bure (Fla) 46.0
`02 J.Iginla (Clg) 47.8
`03 M.Lemieux (Pit) 48.1
`04 R.Lang (Wsh/Det) 41.1
As we move into the new millenium the Europeans are starting to make an impact on this chart- Jagr`s `99 season looks particularly impressive. Very surprised to see one of Gretzky`s Ranger years on here. That gives him the top score in 11 different seasons more than anyone else.
I`ll spare you the year-by-year listings for pre-expansion years, but will make a couple of points about them:
Gordie Howe totally dominated this statistic in the 50s; winning it seven times as well as twice more in the 60s giving him a total of nine- second only to Gretzky. Mikita and Dionne are tied for third with four apiece.
Montreal, despite being the top team of the 50s, 60s and 70s, is rarely represented here. Geoffrion, Moore, Beliveau and Lafleur have never won it. This is due to the fact that they usually had incredible depth throughout their lineup as opposed to relying on one player to provide the offence. Maurice Richard however, did win it three times. The other players to do it three times from the early years are two guys in the Hall, but rarely mentioned among the best ever, Babe Dye and Syd Howe, and one player who was overlooked by the Hall (perhaps unfairly)- Paul Thompson.
`68 S.Mikita (Chi) 41.0
`69 G.Howe (Det) 43.1
`70 B.Orr (Bos) 43.3
`71 P.Esposito (Bos) 38.1
`72 B.Clarke (Phi) 40.5
`73 P.Esposito (Bos) 39.4
`74 P.Esposito (Bos) 41.5
So far the scoring leader usually wins (or almost wins) in this category too, the main exception being Howe`s `69 season. The fact that Gordie was able to finish 3rd in the scoring race as a 40 year-old is even more impressive when you consider that the team he played on was falling apart. Mikita also won this category in `64, `65 and `67; making him one of only four players to do it at least four times.
`75 M.Dionne (Det) 46.7
`76 G.Charron (KC) 37.4
`77 M.Dionne (LA) 45.0
`78 D.Sittler (Tor) 43.2
`79 M.Dionne (LA) 44.5
`80 M.Dionne (LA) 47.2
As you can see, Marcel Dionne really shines in this statistic; it`s downright scary to imagine how many points he could`ve accumulated on a good team. Guy Charron`s appearance here should be taken with a grain of salt; he wasn`t even in the top 30 scorers but has a high mark because his team was so inept.
`81 W.Gretzky (Edm) 50.0
`82 W.Gretzky (Edm) 50.8
`83 W.Gretzky (Edm) 46.2
`84 W.Gretzky (Edm) 46.0
`85 W.Gretzky (Edm) 51.9
`86 W.Gretzky (Edm) 50.5
`87 W.Gretzky (Edm) 49.2
Well, well, well; Gretzky wins 7 years in a row, and usually by a wide margin and with higher numbers than anyone else to that point in the modern era. I`d like to think that this would help end the stupid argument that Gretzky`s points totals were only so high because of his teammates, but it probably won`t.
`88 M.Lemieux (Pit) 52.7
`89 M.Lemieux (Pit) 57.3
Lemieux`s `89 score of 57.3% is easily the highest mark ever in the modern era, and that`s not even taking into account the fact that he missed four games. As I mentioned in another thread, it`s totally ridiculous that he didn`t win the Hart that season.
`90 S.Yzerman (Det) 44.1
`91 W.Gretzky (LA) 47.9
`92 W.Gretzky (LA) 42.2
`93 P.Lafontaine (Buf) 44.2
`94 W.Gretzky (LA) 44.2
`95 E.Lindros (Phi) 46.7
`96 P.Kariya (Ana) 46.2
Gretzky seems to be doing quite well for himself in the post-Edmonton phase of his career. Lemieux`s name doesn`t appear here but it should as there are four seasons where he put up very high numbers (`90, `92, `93 and `96) and most certainly would`ve won if not for games missed due to injury.
`97 T.Selanne (Ana) 44.5
`98 W.Gretzky (NYR) 45.7
`99 J.Jagr (Pit) 52.5
`00 J.Jagr (Pit) 39.8
`01 P.Bure (Fla) 46.0
`02 J.Iginla (Clg) 47.8
`03 M.Lemieux (Pit) 48.1
`04 R.Lang (Wsh/Det) 41.1
As we move into the new millenium the Europeans are starting to make an impact on this chart- Jagr`s `99 season looks particularly impressive. Very surprised to see one of Gretzky`s Ranger years on here. That gives him the top score in 11 different seasons more than anyone else.
I`ll spare you the year-by-year listings for pre-expansion years, but will make a couple of points about them:
Gordie Howe totally dominated this statistic in the 50s; winning it seven times as well as twice more in the 60s giving him a total of nine- second only to Gretzky. Mikita and Dionne are tied for third with four apiece.
Montreal, despite being the top team of the 50s, 60s and 70s, is rarely represented here. Geoffrion, Moore, Beliveau and Lafleur have never won it. This is due to the fact that they usually had incredible depth throughout their lineup as opposed to relying on one player to provide the offence. Maurice Richard however, did win it three times. The other players to do it three times from the early years are two guys in the Hall, but rarely mentioned among the best ever, Babe Dye and Syd Howe, and one player who was overlooked by the Hall (perhaps unfairly)- Paul Thompson.