It is well known that the loser point (first introduced in 1999-00 season) inflates the point total. Nowadays, the playoffs cut is usually well above 90 points, and multiple teams per season routinely get more than 100 points. The purpose of this post is to quantify the effect of loser point in order to compare team achievements from different seasons and eras.
There are two ways of quantifying the loser point – "team-by-team" and "global" (uniform adjustment of the whole table).
Team-by-team
A team record can be adjusted by calculating the share of points the team won:
Points taken / (Points taken + Points surrendered)
Points taken: 2 for any win + 1 for every OT/SO loss,
Points surrendered: 2 for any loss + 1 for every OT/SO win.
Example: currently, the Islanders are on pace to 82 × 42 / 29 = 119 points; in 29 games they took 42 points (20 wins, 2 OT/SO losses) and surrendered 25 points (9 losses, 7 OT/SO wins); their adjusted point total is on pace to 103 points.
Global
Total amount of points available:
Number of games per team × Number of teams + Total amount of loser points
Total amount of loser points varies from season to season: 131 points on average from 1999-00 to 2003-04 and 289 points on average (not counting lockout-shortened 2012-13 season) since introduction of shootouts and elimination of ties.
Adjusting coefficient:
Number of games per team × Number of teams / Total amount of points available
Last season there were 271 loser points; hence, the coefficient is 82 × 31 / (82 × 31 + 271) = 0.904.
Example: the historical 2018-19 Tampa Bay season produced 128 points; adjusting it for the loser point gives 116 points.
On average, the loser point inflates the point total by 5.4% for 1999-2004 and by 11.7% since 2005.
While team-by-team approach is more fair, the global one is easier to calculate and it also does not alter the order of standings. Below are the best and worst seasons adjusted for the loser point globally and normalized to 82 games (points rounded to the nearest whole number).
5 best seasons of all time:
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[/TBODY]5 worst seasons of all time:
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[/TBODY]5 best seasons since 2005:
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[/TBODY]5 worst seasons since 2005:
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[/TBODY]Detroit is currently on pace for the worst season since 2005.
Of course, the exercise above is purely academic – there were a lot of different things across seasons and eras, even the rules were different. However, it gives one some perspective about claims of historicity, "best season ever", etc.
There are two ways of quantifying the loser point – "team-by-team" and "global" (uniform adjustment of the whole table).
Team-by-team
A team record can be adjusted by calculating the share of points the team won:
Points taken / (Points taken + Points surrendered)
Points taken: 2 for any win + 1 for every OT/SO loss,
Points surrendered: 2 for any loss + 1 for every OT/SO win.
Example: currently, the Islanders are on pace to 82 × 42 / 29 = 119 points; in 29 games they took 42 points (20 wins, 2 OT/SO losses) and surrendered 25 points (9 losses, 7 OT/SO wins); their adjusted point total is on pace to 103 points.
Global
Total amount of points available:
Number of games per team × Number of teams + Total amount of loser points
Total amount of loser points varies from season to season: 131 points on average from 1999-00 to 2003-04 and 289 points on average (not counting lockout-shortened 2012-13 season) since introduction of shootouts and elimination of ties.
Adjusting coefficient:
Number of games per team × Number of teams / Total amount of points available
Last season there were 271 loser points; hence, the coefficient is 82 × 31 / (82 × 31 + 271) = 0.904.
Example: the historical 2018-19 Tampa Bay season produced 128 points; adjusting it for the loser point gives 116 points.
On average, the loser point inflates the point total by 5.4% for 1999-2004 and by 11.7% since 2005.
While team-by-team approach is more fair, the global one is easier to calculate and it also does not alter the order of standings. Below are the best and worst seasons adjusted for the loser point globally and normalized to 82 games (points rounded to the nearest whole number).
5 best seasons of all time:
| Season | Team | Points Real | Points Adjusted |
| 1929-30 | Boston Bruins | 77 | 144 |
| 1943-44 | Montreal Canadiens | 83 | 136 |
| 1976-77 | Montreal Canadiens | 132 | 135 |
| 1977-78 | Montreal Canadiens | 129 | 131 |
| 1944-45 | Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 131 |
| Season | Team | Points Real | Points Adjusted |
| 1929-30 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 13 | 24 |
| 1992-93 | Ottawa Senators | 24 | 23 |
| 1992-93 | San Jose Sharks | 24 | 23 |
| 1930-31 | Philadelphia Quakers | 12 | 22 |
| 1974-75 | Washington Capitals | 21 | 22 |
| Season | Team | Points Real | Points Adjusted |
| 2012-13 | Chicago Blackhawks | 77 | 118 |
| 2018-19 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 128 | 116 |
| 2005-06 | Detroit Red Wings | 124 | 111 |
| 2012-13 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 72 | 111 |
| 2015-16 | Washington Capitals | 120 | 108 |
| Season | Team | Points Real | Points Adjusted |
| 2006-07 | Philadelphia Flyers | 56 | 50 |
| 2014-15 | Arizona Coyotes | 56 | 50 |
| 2014-15 | Buffalo Sabres | 54 | 48 |
| 2013-14 | Buffalo Sabres | 52 | 46 |
| 2016-17 | Colorado Avalanche | 48 | 43 |
Of course, the exercise above is purely academic – there were a lot of different things across seasons and eras, even the rules were different. However, it gives one some perspective about claims of historicity, "best season ever", etc.
