Obscure hockey facts/stats

[kaiser matias]

Plus, technically, Joe Thornton.

Touche. By one point to Cheechoo.

 

[Big Phil]

It is 2021, and the record for most assists by a left winger is still Joe Juneau with 70 in 1993.

Scott Stevens in 2021 still holds the Devils' record for assists in a single season with 60 in 1994. Not even Taylor Hall who wins the Hart in 2018 had more assists that year (54) with the Devils. To this day the Devils still have never had a 100 point player.

How these two records are still standing is beyond me.

 

[iamjs]

Not sure if this was posted already,

Dean Morton is one of two NHL players to score a goal in their first game and never play a game in the NHL again

Four players have done this:

Date	Player	Position	Team	Opponent	+/-	Type	SOG	TOI	Score
12/13/1930	Rolly Huard	Center	Maple Leafs	Bruins	--	ESG	--	--	7-3 (L)
10/05/1989	Dean Morton	Defense	Red Wings	@Flames	-1	ESG	2	--	10-7 (L)
04/04/2004	Brad Fast	Defense	Hurricanes	+1	+1	ESG	4
12/01/2016	Samuel Henley	Center	Avalanche	Blue Jackets	+1	ESG	1	5:18	3-2 (L)

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Items of note:
* No team that had a "one gamer" on their team has won their game (0-3-1)
* Only one known player (Henley) has scored on his only shot in his only game.
* Rolly Huard is the only player to score the opening goal of the game.

 

[hacksaw7]

It is 2021, and the record for most assists by a left winger is still Joe Juneau with 70 in 1993.

Scott Stevens in 2021 still holds the Devils' record for assists in a single season with 60 in 1994. Not even Taylor Hall who wins the Hart in 2018 had more assists that year (54) with the Devils. To this day the Devils still have never had a 100 point player.

How these two records are still standing is beyond me.

If Elias didn't come down with hep and plays the entire wide open 05/06 season he may have eradicated both of those records.

Verbeek had 46 in 73 games in 1988. It's possible he would've hit 50 if he played the full slate of games

 

[Big Phil]

If Elias didn't come down with hep and plays the entire wide open 05/06 season he may have eradicated both of those records.

Verbeek had 46 in 73 games in 1988. It's possible he would've hit 50 if he played the full slate of games

Yeah, still haven't had a 50 goal guy either. Unreal. That's just hard to believe. Brian Gionta of all people leads the franchise with 48. And even then there aren't a lot of 40 goal players for the Devils either. Parise hitting 45 in 2009 might have been your best bet to have someone who could have hit it.

 

[alko]

 

[hacksaw7]

Yeah, still haven't had a 50 goal guy either. Unreal. That's just hard to believe. Brian Gionta of all people leads the franchise with 48. And even then there aren't a lot of 40 goal players for the Devils either. Parise hitting 45 in 2009 might have been your best bet to have someone who could have hit it.

Some of that I feel was sort of by design with the frugal Lou Lamoriello at the helm. He wanted to win and needed to win on the the cheap. Big scorers meant big salaries and the Devils really couldn't afford that then. He liked a balanced team, a fanatical commitment to defense. Having those kinds of guys just wasn't in Lou's formula for winning.

 

[kaiser matias]

Reminds me of 2010, when Ovechkin's 50th goal came from an assist by Backstrom, his 100th point.

 

[Hynh]

Related to this Devils talk, the Nashville Predators franchise record for goals in a season is just 34. There have been 279 instances of a player scoring 35+ goals in 628 team-seasons since the Predators joined the league.

 

[The Panther]

Consider who are the following NHL players are then what do they all have in common?:

-- highest Goals-per-game by a forward in a single season
-- highest Points-per-game by a forward in a single season
-- highest Goals-per-game by a defenceman in a single season
-- most "primary" points scored by a defenceman in a single season
-- highest save-percentage by a goaltender in a single season


ANSWER: They all played for the Edmonton Oilers during their NHL/WHA careers! (Only the save percentage one -- which was Jacques Plante for Toronto in 1970-71 -- was not achieved as Oilers.)

 

[MadLuke]

-- highest save-percentage by a goaltender in a single season....
which was Jacques Plante for Toronto in 1970-71

jacque plante leading the league 2 time with .940 and .944 save percentage season after turning 40 year's old is quite crazy, didn't realized that. Both in work sharing scenario (with Hall and Parent which in retrospect is quite special, a bit like if Roy-Brodeur or Hasek would have shared the net in 2003)

 

[The Panther]

jacque plante leading the league 2 time with .940 and .944 save percentage season after turning 40 year's old is quite crazy, didn't realized that. Both in work sharing scenario (with Hall and Parent which in retrospect is a bit crazy, a bit like if Roy-Brodeur or Hasek would have shared the net in 2003)

Yes, it's completely insane and it always turns my head when I see it. (It's part of the reason why I think Plante, along with Hašek, is the greatest goalie to ever play the game.)

I think I had a thread about this a while ago, and some (more knowledgeable) posters pointed out that Plante very likely had most of the easier opponents in 1970-71, and I think he mostly played home (?) games or something odd, but anyway he played in some favorable circumstances.

But no matter how you slice the bread, Plante at age 42, on a very mediocre Leafs' team in the post-expansion era, easily out-performed 25-year-old Bernie Parent (who would win back-to-back Conn Smythes starting three years later), not to mention the more easily-forgotten Bruce Gamble, whose .882 is laughable compared to Plante's .944. In addition to having the highest save-percentage in history at age 42, Plante had the NHL's best GAA, and most 'goals saved above average'. He was a 2nd-team All Star and even got 16 Hart votes.

Incidentally, when Plante was 44 years old, he went to the Bobby-Orr Bruins, appeared in only 8 games, with 7 wins and 1 loss, posting a team-best .927 and 2.00 GAA. A year later, he came out of retirement to play for the sub.500 WHA Oilers, aged 46, and was easily the club's best goaltender.

It's yet further proof that the best athletes in hockey can dominate in any era. Plante's first NHL action was on a club with Elmer Lach (born in World War I) at center, and just three years before Ray Bourque arrived in the League, he was still a very, very good goalie at the pro level.

 

[MadLuke]

I think I had a thread about this a while ago, and some (more knowledgeable) posters pointed out that Plante very likely had most of the easier opponents in 1970-71, and I think he mostly played home (?) games or something odd, but anyway he played in some favorable circumstances.

Maybe that a bad metric for opposition quality, but shot against by game is about the same for the 3 goaltenders with a very small amount for Plante receiving the most shot by game and has the goaltender playing by far the most game of that group, how much can he be protected. If he played more home game and that the local shot counter was more generous that could explain it (but the amount of shot against by game for the 3 goaltender being virtually the same would make that a strange coincidence), that said he was not the goaltender on the first all star team.

 

[iamjs]

Selanne (Ducks, Jets/Coyotes) and Bure (Canucks, Panthers) are the only players to lead two different franchises in goals scored in a season.

 

[frisco]

In the last year of the WHA, Dave Dryden played 63 games and won 41. He won the goalie of the year and MVP award. However, he only managed two wins the rest of his career after the WHA-NHL merger.

My Best-Carey

 

[The Panther]

In the last year of the WHA, Dave Dryden played 63 games and won 41. He won the goalie of the year and MVP award. However, he only managed two wins the rest of his career after the WHA-NHL merger.

My Best-Carey

Well, he only played in 12 more decisions for a first-year club in 1979-80 before retiring.

Somebody posted an interesting Edmonton news article about his decision to retire on here, recently. I can't recall the specific reasons, but maybe at age 38 or whatever his heart wasn't quite in it anymore.

I know little about him, but looking back over his career stats it's all rather odd. He was the classic "not-good-enough-for-the-O6" guy (a few games with Chicago) and then, aged 26, the expansion allowed him a career in the big league. His NHL numbers with Chicago and expansion-Buffalo look just okay, nothing great. Then he jumps to the WHA in 1974, just as his team, the Sabres, were improving (they went to the Finals in '75 without him). Ends up with Edmonton after false-start with the Chicago Cougars, and by 1978-79 he's 37 and should be just about toast, but he suddenly ends up the MVP of the WHA for its final season (!). Seems kind of random. Then, the Oilers enter the NHL and he promptly retires.

 

[Retire91]

Selanne (Ducks, Jets/Coyotes) and Bure (Canucks, Panthers) are the only players to lead two different franchises in goals scored in a season.

That is quite a feat. I half expected Gretzky to be in this club but 70 goals is a hard mark to top and Wayne was "only" averaging 40-50 goal seasons by that time :p

 

[Super Fadio Bro]

Selanne (Ducks, Jets/Coyotes) and Bure (Canucks, Panthers) are the only players to lead two different franchises in goals scored in a season.

The Preds never had a 40+ goal scorer in a season (something the Golden Knights player achieved in their inaugural season).

 

[Staniowski]

Bob Bourne and Clark Gillies:

Both born in 1954 in Saskatchewan.

They played the same 3 seasons in the Western League (WJHL).

Both very good baseball players, and were teammates in minor league ball in the Houston Astros organization in 1972.

Both drafted into the NHL, and also the WHA, in 1974.

Both played their first NHL game on Oct. 9, 1974.

Both played LW quite a lot on the Islanders top line with Trottier and Bossy.

Both won 4 Cups with the Islanders.

Both played their final game with the Islanders on April 12, 1986.

They departed the Islanders on the same day, both claimed on waivers.

They both finished their NHL careers in '87-'88.

Their children are married to each other....Bob's son, Clark's daughter.

They are the two grandfathers to the same two children.

 

[The Panther]

Stats from 1945-46 (immediately post-war) to 1966-67 (end of six-team NHL):

Total goals (regular season)
649 Gordie Howe
457 Maurice Richard
399 Jean Beliveau
388 Bernie Geoffrion
370 Bobby Hull

Goals-per-game (regular season) (min. 200 goals)
0.549 Bobby Hull
0.528 Maurice Richard
0.471 Bernie Geoffrion
0.464 Gordie Howe
0.462 Jean Beliveau

Total assists (regular season)
652 Gordie Howe
556 Andy Bathgate
545 Jean Beliveau
542 Red Kelly
536 Alex Delvecchio

Assists-per-game (regular season) (min. 200 assists)
0.670 Stan Mikita
0.631 Jean Beliveau
0.609 Gordie Howe
0.605 Andy Bathgate
0.585 Henri Richard
0.540 Bill Hay
0.526 Elmer Lach
0.512 Bobby Hull
0.501 Norm Ullman
0.496 Bert Olmstead

Total points (regular season)
1501 Gordie Howe
944 Jean Beliveau
870 Andy Bathgate
864 Alex Delvecchio
828 Ted Lindsay

Points-per-game (regular season) (min. 300 points)
1.09 Jean Beliveau
1.07 Gordie Howe
1.06 Bobby Hull
1.06 Stan Mikita
0.97 Bernie Geoffrion
0.96 Maurice Richard
0.95 Andy Bathgate
0.94 Doug Bentley
0.93 Henri Richard
0.87 Dickie Moore

Even-Strength points (regular season)
997 Gordie Howe
603 Ted Lindsay
587 Jean Beliveau
586 Maurice Richard
585 Andy Bathgate

Power-play points (regular season)
473 Gordie Howe
355 Jean Beliveau
289 Bernie Geoffrion
276 Andy Bathgate
259 Alex Delvecchio

Short-handed points (regular season)
38 Jerry Toppazzini
33 Donnie Marshall
31 Gordie Howe
29 Bob Pulford
28 Ron Stewart
29 Red Kelly

Plus/Minus (1959-60 to 1966-67 only)
+192 Pierre Pilote
+174 Stan Mikita
+154 Carl Brewer
+152 Kenny Wharram
+126 Bobby Hull

 

[DeysArena]

Selanne (Ducks, Jets/Coyotes) and Bure (Canucks, Panthers) are the only players to lead two different franchises in goals scored in a season.

My big takeaway from this graphic is that Nashville has never has a player top 34 goals in a season.

Edit: I just noticed that Le Champion made the same point.

 

[iamjs]

with the recent passing of Mark Pavelich, I learned that he is the only American player to ever score 5 goals in a game.

List of players with five or more goals in an NHL game - Wikipedia

 

[Big Phil]

Don Cherry had three players on his team at the same time from 1976-'78 (Bucyk, Middleton, Ratelle) who either were past (Bucyk), current (Ratelle in 1976), or future (Middleton 1982) Lady Byng winners on those tough as nails Bruins teams. Granted, Cherry liked all of them, but it was always a bit of a joke in his dressing room because he would say "I don't want any Lady Byngs in this game today!" Ratelle jokingly came up to Cherry and apologized when he won the Byng in 1976, haha. Anyway, it is a very interesting stat, have their been three Lady Byng winners on a team before or since? All I can think of is the Blackhawks of the 1960s with Hull, Mikita and Wharram. By the way, I've often admired the Byng winners, it is never a lousy player as we know and lots of tough players have won it.

 

[iamjs]

Gretzky is the only player to win the Lady Byng with three different teams (EDM, LAK, NYR).

 

[Jericho111091]

Gretzky is the only player to win the Lady Byng with three different teams (EDM, LAK, NYR).

Didn't win it with the Blues? What a bum.