Leading team in scoring by 50+ points

[100mph slapshot]

Selanne still only scored about 37 or so points in a Duck uniform that season though.

That is true but it becomes problematic if we look at stats this way. For example, a team might trade their 2nd and 3rd highest scorers at the trade deadline, making the cap between the leader and the new 2nd highest (4th before the trades) scorer extremely large.

 

[jepjepjoo]

That is true but it becomes problematic if we look at stats this way. For example, a team might trade their 2nd and 3rd highest scorers at the trade deadline, making the cap between the leader and the new 2nd highest (4th before the trades) scorer extremely large.

Kariya was on pace for leading with 50+ pts without Selanne too. 28gp 21g 20a(1.46ppg) in his games with Selanne and 54gp 29g 38a without Selanne (1.24ppg, 102pts pace) so it's not like he gained any unfair advantage.

 

[Big Phil]

The 79 year was an aberration since Lemaire was injured and played in only 50 games but still scored 55 points in those games.

Make no mistake Lafleur was the offensive force of those Habs teams but there was much more talent around him than Dionne ever enjoyed.

There was more talent I will agree. Although keep in mind Dionne had the Triple Crown line with him a little while (Simmer and Taylor).

That being said here is Lafleur and the best years he had relative to his teams next highest scorer:

Lafleur in 1976 - 20 points better than P. Mahovlich
Lafleur in 1977 - 31 points better than Shutt
Lafleur in 1978 - 35 ponts better than Lemaire
Lafleur in 1979 - 52 points better than Shutt
Lafleur in 1980 - 34 points better than Larouche

Other than 1980, that's the dynasty years. I don't know about you, but if that doesn't tell you that Lafleur was the straw that stirred the drink..........

 

[Hardyvan123]

There was more talent I will agree. Although keep in mind Dionne had the Triple Crown line with him a little while (Simmer and Taylor).

That being said here is Lafleur and the best years he had relative to his teams next highest scorer:

Lafleur in 1976 - 20 points better than P. Mahovlich
Lafleur in 1977 - 31 points better than Shutt
Lafleur in 1978 - 35 ponts better than Lemaire
Lafleur in 1979 - 52 points better than Shutt
Lafleur in 1980 - 34 points better than Larouche

Other than 1980, that's the dynasty years. I don't know about you, but if that doesn't tell you that Lafleur was the straw that stirred the drink..........

Lafluer sure was but Dionne's supporting cast was never nearly as good as Lafleur and I actually think Dionne was the better player overall but had the worse situation.

The Sundin-Sakic comp comes to mind here as well. both guys are close and their is an argument for Sundin over Sakic but most guys take Sakic in a heartbeat.

 

[Big Phil]

Lafluer sure was but Dionne's supporting cast was never nearly as good as Lafleur and I actually think Dionne was the better player overall but had the worse situation.

The Sundin-Sakic comp comes to mind here as well. both guys are close and their is an argument for Sundin over Sakic but most guys take Sakic in a heartbeat.

The eye test tells me that Lafleur was better and even if you favour Dionne his playoff PPG isn't an excuse either. It can be argued that Dionne might have hurt his team a bit by the sudden drop in PPG once the postseason started. But prime vs. prime Lafleur got the Hart votes for a reason IMO.

As for Sundin and Sakic I can't see a legitimate case for Mats. He had good teams with him as well from 1998 to 2004. The Leafs were a pretty good team then, very close to the Avs overall. So you can't use that as an excuse. Sundin outscored Sakic, barely, in 1993. Other than that he never did while in Quebec.

There was one other time, 2002, when Sundin's game hit a high level similar to Sakic but that's as far as I would go for him. Sakic was the better player all around and his Hart voting, playoff resume, defensive prescence and scoring finishes would say this. I'll argue Sundin's case for the HHOF, but it's silly to put him at a Sakic level.

 

[Hawkey Town 18]

I agree, I would look at it the same way for the purposes of this question.

What about looking at it this way?...

When Selanne came to the Ducks they lost Oleg Tverdovsky and Chad Kilger who had 22 and 12 points respectively.

Selanne had 36 points while on the Ducks, so shouldn't the second highest scorer be at least what Selanne's + Tverdovsky's point totals were? That would make it 58 points and bring Kariya's margin of dominance down to 86.2%

Some might even argue that all 3 of Selanne, Tverdovsky, and Kilger should count, which would make the second highest scorer 22 + 12 + 36 = 70 points and Kariya's margin of dominance 54.3%

 

[Hockey Outsider]

The Sundin-Sakic comp comes to mind here as well. both guys are close and their is an argument for Sundin over Sakic but most guys take Sakic in a heartbeat.

How close? On an all-time list I'd rank Sakic at least 100 spots ahead of Sundin.

What's the argument for Sundin? The only argument I've ever seen for Sundin over Sakic is that Sundin outscored him one of the four years they played together (conveniently ignoring the other three seasons, and the rest of their careers).

 

[seventieslord]

What about looking at it this way?...

When Selanne came to the Ducks they lost Oleg Tverdovsky and Chad Kilger who had 22 and 12 points respectively.

Selanne had 36 points while on the Ducks, so shouldn't the second highest scorer be at least what Selanne's + Tverdovsky's point totals were? That would make it 58 points and bring Kariya's margin of dominance down to 86.2%

Some might even argue that all 3 of Selanne, Tverdovsky, and Kilger should count, which would make the second highest scorer 22 + 12 + 36 = 70 points and Kariya's margin of dominance 54.3%

Meh. It has merit, but I think I would rather just compare a player's total to whoever had the 2nd-most in that team's jersey that season.

 

[VMBM]

Lafluer sure was but Dionne's supporting cast was never nearly as good as Lafleur and I actually think Dionne was the better player overall but had the worse situation.

 

[vippe]

How close? On an all-time list I'd rank Sakic at least 100 spots ahead of Sundin.

What's the argument for Sundin? The only argument I've ever seen for Sundin over Sakic is that Sundin outscored him one of the four years they played together (conveniently ignoring the other three seasons, and the rest of their careers).

I thin Sundin was the superior international player, in fact he is one of the better performers alltime in international competition so I'd give him the nodge there.. And I'd probably argue he was robbed of the 1st team pick in 01-02 by no one else than Sakic. I do think that Sundin was the better player that year.. but that's basically it though...

 

[Big Phil]

I thin Sundin was the superior international player, in fact he is one of the better performers alltime in international competition so I'd give him the nodge there.. And I'd probably argue he was robbed of the 1st team pick in 01-02 by no one else than Sakic. I do think that Sundin was the better player that year.. but that's basically it though...

If you want to say 2002 was a better year for Sundin then I can live with that. But even that's debatable. Sakic was better defensively and both finished with the same amount of points (80-79). Sakic was MVP of the Olympics too. But there is that season and maybe 1993. Other than that Sakic blows him out of the water. Not much of a contest

 

[vippe]

If you want to say 2002 was a better year for Sundin then I can live with that. But even that's debatable. Sakic was better defensively and both finished with the same amount of points (80-79). Sakic was MVP of the Olympics too. But there is that season and maybe 1993. Other than that Sakic blows him out of the water. Not much of a contest

Yeah but since when does olympics have anything to do with all star selections? I never said anything about any other season except for the obvious 92-93 season which was already mentioned by another poster. Are you saying that Sakic blows Sundin out of the water in international play aswell? Because that is ridiculous.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

John Tavares led his team by 35 points in 2014-15, which is remarkable given how low-scoring the season was, but he's still far from making the list on the first page.

 

[tommygunn]

This is a question based on a discussion on the main board. How many players have led their team in scoring by at least 50 points?

Here's what we have so far:

Player | Season | Team | Margin
Guy Lafleur|1989|Montreal|52
Joe Sakic|1991|Quebec|50
Mario Lemieux|1986|Pittsburgh|58
Mario Lemieux|1988|Pittsburgh|89
Mario Lemieux|1989|Pittsburgh|84
Paul Kariya|1996|Anaheim|64
Pavel Bure|2001|Florida|55
Steve Yzerman|1989|Detroit|62
Wayne Gretzky|1981|Edmonton|89
Wayne Gretzky|1982|Edmonton|107
Wayne Gretzky|1983|Edmonton|90
Wayne Gretzky|1984|Edmonton|89
Wayne Gretzky|1985|Edmonton|73
Wayne Gretzky|1986|Edmonton|77
Wayne Gretzky|1987|Edmonton|75
Wayne Gretzky|1991|Los Angeles|72

Close calls
- Lemieux barely misses on a fourth season (in 1993 he led the Penguins by 49 points).
- Ovechkin led the 2006 Capitals in scoring by 49 points.
- Maruk led the 1982 Capitals in scoring by 49 points.

It's stunning how much Gretzky dominates this list. These numbers are so unreal they almost seem made up.

I thought Dionne would have done it, but his largest margin was 39 points in 1979.

Lafleur in '79, not '89.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

Lafleur in '79, not '89.

Well, that was a stupid typo. I corrected it.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

I've updated the 1st post after the data migration. It's tough for me to prove the "completeness" of the list. As always, if it looks like anything is wrong or missing, let me know.

 

[Killion]

I've updated the 1st post after the data migration. It's tough for me to prove the "completeness" of the list. As always, if it looks like anything is wrong or missing, let me know.

Nice job & thanks Hockey Outsider. Busy night for you.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

Not surprisingly, nobody accomplished this feat this year. (It's happened once so far in the 21st century). Nikita Kucherov (Art Ross and presumable Hart trophy winner) led his team in scoring by the largest margin this year - 30 points.

 

[Neutrinos]

Turgeon lead the '93 Islanders in scoring by 45 points

 

[Hockey Outsider]

Nobody led their team in scoring by 50+ points in 2020 (a tough feat given that the season was shortened due to COVID-19).

Nathan MacKinnon led his team by 43 points after Colorado's season was cancelled after 70 games. A simple extrapolation puts him on pace for a lead of exactly 50 points (which I've noted as a "close call" in the first post).

Only three other players led their team in scoring by 20+ points in 2020: Jack Eichel (28), Patrick Kane (24), and Artemi Panarin (20).

 

[Hockey Outsider]

Nobody came close to leading their team in scoring by 50+ points this year (a feat that would be virtually impossible due to the shortened season).

Two players led their team in scoring by 20+ points - Connor McDavid and Brad Marchand (both by 21 point margins).

 

[VanIslander]

8 of the top 10 are Gretzky's.
2 of the top 10 are Lemieux's.
The next best is by Kariya.

Yeah, that checks out.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

Nobody came close to making this list in 2022. Only five players led their team by twenty or more points:

- J.T. Miller (Vancouver, 31 points)
- Jonathan Huberdeau (Florida, 27 points)
- Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota, 23 points)
- Kyle Connor (Winnipeg, 23 points)
- Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay, 21 points)

 

[Hockey Outsider]

2023 update: nobody led their team in scoring by 50+ points this year.

The closest were David Pastrnak (46 points), Erik Karlsson (34 - as a defenseman), Jason Robertson (31), and Matthew Tkachuk (31).

 

[JianYang]

To think Gretzky did this 8 times..... It's just asinine. It's not like he was playing with a bunch of stiffs either.

Just one of many mind boggling stats that Gretzky has entered into the books.