The “Gordie Howe phantom assists†argument doesn’t stand up to any serious scrutiny.
Gordie Howe won six Art Ross trophies: 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957 and 1963. I’m assuming no Richard supporters can question three of those Art Ross trophies: 1952 (Richard finished 15th), 1957 (6th) and 1963 (out of the top twenty). Let’s look at the other three Art Ross trophies.
In 1951, Howe led the league in scoring with 86 points; Richard was second with 66 points. Howe led the league in scoring by 20 points – if Howe “stole†the Art Ross from the Rocket, he would have had to earn at least 21 phantom points in 70 games. That’s close to one phantom point every three games. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but I think it’s highly unlikely for Howe to get that many phantom points without anyone noticing.
In 1953, Howe led the league in scoring with 95 points – at the time that was the single season all-time record. Howe’s linemate Ted Lindsay was second with 71 points; Richard was third with 61 points. Howe is a staggering 34 points ahead of Richard, in a 70 game season. If Howe “stole†the Art Ross, he would have needed basically one phantom point everyone two games. Again, nothing is impossible, but Howe’s margin of victory is so enormous that it would be virtually impossible to create that many phantom points, without everyone noticing.
In 1954, Howe led the league with 81 points; Richard was second with 67 points. Howe would have needed 15 phantom points (in 70 games) to steal the Art Ross. That’s just under one point every four games. Once again, I can’t say it’s impossible, but it seems highly improbably that Howe could earn so many phantom assists without arousing a lot of suspicion.
In summary: Richard finished out of the top five in scoring during three of Howe’s six Art Ross trophies. For the other three, Howe finished so far ahead of Richard that a couple of phantom points here and there would make no difference. If the league gave the scoring title to Howe, they would have had to give him a phantom point every two, three or four games, for the length of the entire season – I think it’s nearly impossible to give one player so many fake points without anybody noticing.