Players Highest in the Scoring Race when Traded

[The Panther]

Who ya got? I guess the players can be traded anytime after the NHL season started and up to (obviously) the trade deadline. (So, not counting anyone traded between the seasons, which is normally when top scorers are traded.)

I was thinking of this because of many mentions of Bernie Nicholls lately. Nicholls, I believe, was sitting 3rd in NHL scoring when he was traded from L.A. to New York (at the All Star game!) on January 20th, 1990. (At that moment, he had 74 points in 47 games, putting him behind only Wayne and Mario, and about 3 points ahead of Yzerman and 4 ahead of Messier).

Joe Thornton is famously the only player traded in mid-season who went on to actually win the scoring race. But he was traded really early in the season, on November 30th, 2005, to be exact. At that moment, he had 33 points in 23 games for Boston. However, Jagr had 39 points at that stage in the season, and believe it or not Daniel Alfredsson had 40 and Spezza 41! So, Thornton was (corrected to) 13th in NHL scoring when traded to San Jose.

So, I've got two guys who were top 15 in NHL scoring when traded mid-season. Who else??

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[Johnny Engine]

Robert Lang was up there when the Caps let him go, right?

 

[Chili]

John Cullen was 5th in scoring in 1991 when he was traded from Pittsburgh to Hartford, that`s where he finished just ahead of Sakic and Yzerman.

That was the season Mario Lemieux was out most of the year so Cullen was the Pens #1 centre.

 

[Czech Your Math]

Joe Thornton is famously the only player traded in mid-season who went on to actually win the scoring race. But he was traded really early in the season, on November 30th, 2005, to be exact. At that moment, he had 33 points in 23 games for Boston. However, Jagr had 39 points at that stage in the season, and believe it or not Daniel Alfredsson had 40! So, Thornton was likely at 3rd in NHL scoring when traded to San Jose (I can't confirm that's right, but I guess he was third).

I believe Thornton was no better than 6th at the time he was traded:

Spezza 41
Alfredsson 40
Jagr 39
Forsberg 39
Heatley 38
Thornton 33

Robert Lang was up there when the Caps let him go, right?

This is probably the winning answer, aside from possibly players traded within the first month or so.

Oates in '02 may have been pretty close to the top.

 

[The Panther]

Has anyone been higher than Nicholls (3rd) when traded in the second half?

(Good catch, above, on Thornton's being lower than I thought when traded. Some crazy scoring in early 2005-06 with all those power plays!)

 

[Staniowski]

Where can you find the scoring leaders on a particular date?

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

on the day of the trade, thornton was tied for 11th, with prospal and... bryan mccabe

NHL.com - Stats


of the other guys listed (i love that we can check scoring leaders day by day now), cullen was indeed 5th. by then, he had already cooled down a bit. at his best he was second, behind only gretzky, in late january.

similar, albeit more dramatic, story for mike york. 2nd in the league at the new year, fell completely off starting in january, was in a seven-way tie for 29th when he was traded at the deadline. he was on the FLY line with fleury and lindros that year, and his fortunes rose and fell with his linemates, particularly fleury, who went into a tailspin in the second half of that season, after being the early hart/ross favourite. york went scoreless in 17 of 21 games after december 28th, the game fleury attacked san jose’s mascot.

lang, however, was tied with MSL for first when he was traded to detroit. a week and a half after the trade, he got hurt and missed three weeks, putting an end to his art ross chances.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

theo fleury himself was 6th when he was traded to colorado.

 

[reckoning]

Does anyone know where Andy Bathgate ranked when he was traded in '64? He finished 4th overall, and the trade was late in the season.

 

[agentblack]

theo fleury himself was 6th when he was traded to colorado.

ah them the times i miss. I didnt know he was that high up though
I remember his first game, they lost to the Oilers i think but damn they were all dancing out there all night

 

[Normand Lacombe]

Bathgate was tied for 4th at the time of the trade.

 

[The Panther]

Bathgate was tied for 4th at the time of the trade.

By the way, you're not really Normand Lacombe, are you?

 

[The Panther]

Here was the scoring race exactly when Nicholls was traded in January, 1990 (indeed he was 3rd, though barely):

NHL.com - Stats

 

[Normand Lacombe]

By the way, you're not really Normand Lacombe, are you?

No, I just chose his name because I couldn't think of any creative username.

 

[Nick Hansen]

Kovalchuk was 12th in pts, 5th in scoring despite missing a handful of games when he was traded from Thrashers to the Devils.

(Ovechkin really was on fire that season, damn)

NHL.com - Stats

 

[GMR]

Robert Lang was my initial guess from memory. Hard to be higher than first.

 

[Neutrinos]

theo fleury himself was 6th when he was traded to colorado.

Fleury was the first name that came to mind

 

[DJ Man]

Bathgate was tied for 4th at the time of the trade.

As his new team had played one fewer game at the time, Bathgate wound up with a 71-game season instead of the usual 70 (in those days). Had he won a scoring title by a single point, the runner up might have a legitimate gripe.

 

[The Panther]

Robert Lang was my initial guess from memory. Hard to be higher than first.

I think we have a winner! I vaguely remembered this, but it was easy to forget because Lang ended up 9th in scoring that season. The stats suggest he was tied with Marty St.Louis for 1st in scoring when he was traded to Detroit.

So, we've got:
1. Robert Lang 2003-04 (tied 1st in scoring)
2. Bernie Nicholls 1989-90 (3rd in scoring)

 

[alko]

What about Wayne Gretzky, when he was traded to St. Louis Blues?

 

[MadLuke]

What about Wayne Gretzky, when he was traded to St. Louis Blues?

I was going to say must have been close 82 points in just 62 games sounding like a lot, but that was 95-96 and 2 players were over 100 points by a lot already:

NHL Stats

The official source for NHL Stats including skaters, goalies, teams stats and more.

www.nhl.com

#10, and more than 40 points behind Lemieux who had a ridiculous 126 points in 53 games start (that a 195 points pace in the 82 games era, 200 in the 84), including a 53g in 53 games.

 

[FerrisRox]

I was thinking of this because of many mentions of Bernie Nicholls lately. Nicholls, I believe, was sitting 3rd in NHL scoring when he was traded from L.A. to New York (at the All Star game!) on January 20th, 1990.

One of the interesting little quirks about this trade involves that All-Star Game.

Nicholls was traded the night before the game, and went from the Campbell Conference to the Wales Conference.

Despite being a New York Ranger, Nicholls suited up for the Campbell Conference All-Stars and actually played against his teammate Brian Leetch.

I don't think a player has ever played in an All-Star Game representing a team he didn't play for before or since.

 

[iamjs]

Robert Lang was up there when the Caps let him go, right?

Capitals trade Lang to Detroit

NHL scoring leader Robert Lang was traded from Washington to the Detroit Red Wings on Friday, another roster shake-up in a losing season for the Capitals.

www.espn.com

"Robert Lang should fit in well with the high-scoring Detroit Red Wings.

Lang, who shares the league lead in points, was acquired by the
Red Wings from Washington on Friday in a deal that sent Tomas
Fleischmann, a first-round draft pick this year and a fourth
rounder in 2006 to the Capitals.

The 33-year-old Lang is enjoying one of his finest seasons. He
has 29 goals and 45 assists and is tied with Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis with 74 points."

 

[kaiser matias]

One of the interesting little quirks about this trade involves that All-Star Game.

Nicholls was traded the night before the game, and went from the Campbell Conference to the Wales Conference.

Despite being a New York Ranger, Nicholls suited up for the Campbell Conference All-Stars and actually played against his teammate Brian Leetch.

I don't think a player has ever played in an All-Star Game representing a team he didn't play for before or since.

Sandis Ozolinsh had a similar thing in 2003: playing for Florida, traded to Anaheim on January 30, 2003. All-Star Game held on February 2, in Florida. Ozolinsh was a named a starter, so played on the Eastern Conference as a Panther for the game, but didn't play in the skills competition: "Participating in the All-Star Game is one thing, but the skills competition is another. It would look really unusual for a player to be representing his old team, so I thought this was the right thing to do."

Apparently he was fined for skipping the skills competition, but I don't blame him. Still remember he got a loud cheer from his "home crowd", and how odd it was seeing him come out for the Eastern Conference with a Panthers logo on, while the announcer said he was from Anaheim.

 

[Big Phil]

By the way, is it just me or is the Nicholls trade one of the worst trades of all-time? You trade a guy away who cracked 150 points the previous season and was halfway there again just past the halfway mark of the season. You have the best 1-2 centre punch in the NHL, no doubt. And look at the teams that have won Cups in NHL history, even recent history. Look at all of the 1-2 punch combos at centre. Tons of them. But the Kings trade him and while they get back two good wingers, they already had wingers. They had Robitaille right in his prime. They had an older Tonelli and Taylor, but they had Krusher as well. Come on, you maybe need a better goalie and defense, but more forwards? Huh? Anyway, the Kings made some bad moves after getting Gretzky. It just goes to show you how lost they were without #99.