Obscure hockey facts/stats (Part 2)

[Vujtek]

This might warrant a separate thread at some point, but it's interesting to observe that, nowadays, star players are recording far more empty-net points than ever before. It's presumably due to coaches pulling goalies earlier, and star forwards get more ice time in these situations.

Through the end of the Original Six era (ie the 1966-67 season), only seven players in all of NHL history had reached 10 empty net points. (We're 60-something games into the 2024-25 season, and we already have four players who reached double digits). Howe was the all-time leader with 16 EN points. We might see someone reach 16 EN points this season.

Prior to absorbing the WHA (ie the 1978-79 season), Beliveau was the all-time leader with just 22 EN points. Howe, Mahovlich and Dionne were the only other players over 20.

While this doesn't really affect the overall point of your post, it's worth noting that recording of empty-net points prior to the 1960's is unreliable and spotty at best. Take this game for example:

Montréal Canadiens - New York Rangers - Mar 14, 1948 | NHL.com

NHL Gamecenter - Montréal Canadiens vs. New York Rangers, Mar 14, 1948 - summary, stats, boxscore, play by play, recap and more.

www.nhl.com

Maurice Richard is not accounted for any empty-net goals for that game (or for that whole season either).

However, if you look at periodical newspaper article, this is what it says about the game:

"The score indicated a one-sided game but the contest definitely was far from that, until the final minute. Then with the Ranger goalie, Jim Henry, on the sidelines, the sharp-eyed Richard banged two long shots into the empty net to put the game completely out of reach of the Blue Shirts."

Rangers Lose to Canadiens and Drop to 4th Place as Bruins Down Detroit; MONTREAL SIX TOPS BLUE SHIRTS, 6 TO 3 Triumph Keeps Canadiens in Race, Thwarts Ranger Bid to Gain Play-Off Berth RICHARD SCORES 4 GOALS Game Is Close Until He Nets Twice for Vict

Maurice Richard personally kept the Canadiens of Montreal from definite elimination in the National Hockey League race last night. The famed rocket of the Habitants accounted for four goals as his team carved out a surprise 6-to-3 victory over the New York Rangers while a capacity crowd of...

timesmachine.nytimes.com

That's far from the only occasion of such error of accounting empty-net goals by the NHL prior to 1960's. So players like Richard, Howe and Beliveau actually have more empty-net points than their stat totals show.

 

[Robert Gordon Orr]

Goals by linemates 56 years apart.

Jaromir Jagr scored his last goal in the Czech league (Extraliga) on February 2, 2025.
He assisted on Milan Novy's goal in the Czechoslovakian league on January 24, 1989.
Milan Novy in turn scored his first league goal on January 18, 1969.

Former linemates

 

[Kahvi]

Liiga season finished yesterday and Atro Leppänen won the scoring race with 63 points in 60 games. And he's a defenseman.

Who was the latest D leading scorer in the major pro leagues (feel free to use whatever definition you have, but I was thinking NHL, AHL, KHL, top 5-7 european leagues etc.)

 

[The Panther]

Does anyone find the top goal-scorers this (2024-25) season kind of 'meh' (aside from Leon Draisaitl)?

Through about 66 games per club (give or take), Draisaitl has 49 goals and is pacing for 61 goals. Nothing shocking about the top guy's totals. But what's odd is that the #2 guy in the League (Nylander) has only 37 goals, meaning he's pacing for 46. Draisaitl currently has a 12-goal lead, with only sixteen games left.

I was curious about this, so I looked at past seasons. The last time any NHL player was 12 or more goals ahead of the #2 guy at this point in a season was... 1991-92, when Brett Hull had 66 and Roenick 47 (give or take, based on exact games played). It's been 33 years since a player was this far ahead in goals at this point in the season.

(Bure likely would have been about 13 goals ahead of #2 Owen Nolan, at this point in the season, if he hadn't missed some games during 1999-2000.)

(Neely almost surely would have been more than 12 goals ahead of #2 Fedorov / Sheppard if he hadn't stopped played after 44 games in 1993-94.)

(Mogilny possibly would have been 12 or more goals ahead of Selanne if he hadn't missed 7 or so games by this point in 1992-93. Then again, Mario would have been ahead of Mogilny if he hadn't missed 20+ games by this point.)

 

[Kahvi]

Does anyone find the top goal-scorers this (2024-25) season kind of 'meh' (aside from Leon Draisaitl)?

Through about 66 games per club (give or take), Draisaitl has 49 goals and is pacing for 61 goals. Nothing shocking about the top guy's totals. But what's odd is that the #2 guy in the League (Nylander) has only 37 goals, meaning he's pacing for 46. Draisaitl currently has a 12-goal lead, with only sixteen games left.

I was curious about this, so I looked at past seasons. The last time any NHL player was 12 or more goals ahead of the #2 guy at this point in a season was... 1991-92, when Brett Hull had 66 and Roenick 47 (give or take, based on exact games played). It's been 33 years since a player was this far ahead in goals at this point in the season.

(Bure likely would have been about 13 goals ahead of #2 Owen Nolan, at this point in the season, if he hadn't missed some games during 1999-2000.)

(Neely almost surely would have been more than 12 goals ahead of #2 Fedorov / Sheppard if he hadn't stopped played after 44 games in 1993-94.)

(Mogilny possibly would have been 12 or more goals ahead of Selanne if he hadn't missed 7 or so games by this point in 1992-93. Then again, Mario would have been ahead of Mogilny if he hadn't missed 20+ games by this point.)

12 goals between Drai and Nylander. If you go 12 goals from Nylander, you are looking at guys like Aho, Duchene, Huberdeau, Forsberg, Toffoli and others with 25 goals, good enough to be T-34th in goal scoring.

 

[The Panther]

12 goals between Drai and Nylander. If you go 12 goals from Nylander, you are looking at guys like Aho, Duchene, Huberdeau, Forsberg, Toffoli and others with 25 goals, good enough to be T-34th in goal scoring.

Yeah, it's kind of odd. Possibly only one guy hits 50 this year.

 

[Yozhik v tumane]

Liiga season finished yesterday and Atro Leppänen won the scoring race with 63 points in 60 games. And he's a defenseman.

Who was the latest D leading scorer in the major pro leagues (feel free to use whatever definition you have, but I was thinking NHL, AHL, KHL, top 5-7 european leagues etc.)

I’m not sure there’s been one in the SHL. First thought was Kodie Curran, but he finished 2nd, 5 points behind the leader, with 49 points in 2019-20. David Rundblad finished 3rd in 2010-11, Jonathan Pudas, Jesse Virtanen, David Petrasek each finished 4th once. Then I have to go all the way back to the 80s to find defensemen in the top 5 or 10 (Magnus Svensson, Anders Eldebrink, Peter Loob), and eventually I found a season with two top 5 scoring defensemen: 1978-79 featured Mats Waltin 2nd (47 points in 42 GP) and Göran Lindblom 4th (43 points in 36 GP). Anders Kallur led the SEL with 51 points that season.

1975-76 marked the start of the professionalization of Swedish hockey with the top division being named Elitserien/the Swedish Elite League (SEL). The top flight was called Division 1 prior, and I’m not sure how reliable the stat keeping (looking at Eliteprospects) are as I’m getting into the 1960s… but I don’t think sometimes defenseman Eilert Määttä was playing D when he apparently co-led the top flight in scoring with 32 goals in 1962-63. He probably wasn’t playing D that year, and his identical statline to Nils Nilsson raises suspicion the numbers are off. I’m quite sure there never was a defenseman leading the Swedish league in scoring, at least it hasn’t happened since hockey “turned professional”.

But there have been #1 defensemen leading top teams in scoring the last few years, including Jonathan Pudas (Skellefteå) and Joel Persson (Växjö). My Luleå had two defensemen, Erik Gustafsson and Nils Lundkvist, 1st and 2nd in team scoring in 2019-20 prior to covid-19 canceling playoffs, on the by far best team in the regular season. I think we’re currently in an era where it’s not entirely unlikely a defenseman could lead the league in scoring. It takes a talented allround #1 defenseman on a deep team, but we’ve had several of that sort in recent years.

 

[alko]

Does anyone find the top goal-scorers this (2024-25) season kind of 'meh' (aside from Leon Draisaitl)?

Through about 66 games per club (give or take), Draisaitl has 49 goals and is pacing for 61 goals. Nothing shocking about the top guy's totals. But what's odd is that the #2 guy in the League (Nylander) has only 37 goals, meaning he's pacing for 46. Draisaitl currently has a 12-goal lead, with only sixteen games left.

I was curious about this, so I looked at past seasons. The last time any NHL player was 12 or more goals ahead of the #2 guy at this point in a season was... 1991-92, when Brett Hull had 66 and Roenick 47 (give or take, based on exact games played). It's been 33 years since a player was this far ahead in goals at this point in the season.

(Bure likely would have been about 13 goals ahead of #2 Owen Nolan, at this point in the season, if he hadn't missed some games during 1999-2000.)

(Neely almost surely would have been more than 12 goals ahead of #2 Fedorov / Sheppard if he hadn't stopped played after 44 games in 1993-94.)

(Mogilny possibly would have been 12 or more goals ahead of Selanne if he hadn't missed 7 or so games by this point in 1992-93. Then again, Mario would have been ahead of Mogilny if he hadn't missed 20+ games by this point.)

Ovie in 2007/2008 - 65 goals

Next one, Kovalchuk - 52 goals

 

[The Panther]

Ovie in 2007/2008 - 65 goals

Next one, Kovalchuk - 52 goals

Sure, but I was talking about this precise point in the season (i.e., not the end of season).

 

[Sanf]

Liiga season finished yesterday and Atro Leppänen won the scoring race with 63 points in 60 games. And he's a defenseman.

Who was the latest D leading scorer in the major pro leagues (feel free to use whatever definition you have, but I was thinking NHL, AHL, KHL, top 5-7 european leagues etc.)

Petteri Nummelin won scoring race in 2002-2003 Swiss league with 57 points in 43 games. Nummelin played occasionally as forward in Lugano, but can´t remember if he did that season.

 

[carjackmalone]

Dick Tarnstrom in Pittsburgh and reijo Routsalainen with the rangers

 

[Kahvi]

Dick Tarnstrom in Pittsburgh and reijo Routsalainen with the rangers

Both were best scorers for their team, not in the entire NHL.

 

[Mr Nogatco]

Only 3 players have hit the 800 GP mark before recording their first 30 goal season:

Alex Delvecchio, Mike Sillinger, and Tom Wilson

 

[Voight]

The last time they Buffalo Sabres made the playoffs (2011), Alex Ovechkin had 301 goals and was about 1/3rd of the way to the all time goals record.

It is now 2025, the Sabres are likely going to miss the playoffs and Ovechkin is 7 goals away from passing Gretzky for the most all time.

 

[jigglysquishy]

Makar hit 80 points yesterday, marking the third time in his career. Only 7 other defencemen have done that.

If he hits 90 points (likely), it will be the second time in his career. The only 2x 90+ point dmen are

Coffey - x7
Orr - x6
Bourque - x4
Potvin -x3
MacInnis -x2

 

[Hockey Outsider]

Most ES primary assists, all-time

This is another one of those stats where Gretzky has a comical lead. He's 72% ahead of second place.

These numbers aren't adjusted for era. Howe and Jagr would be a bit closer to Gretzky, while Messier and Francis would fall below Thornton and Crosby.

Crosby is 7th and still climbing. Other active players are Kane (22nd with 350), Malkin (28th with 335), and Kopitar (35th with 308). McDavid is already in the top 50.

The top defensemen are Coffey (318), Bourque (276), Murphy (237), Robison (236) and Housley (222).

Most ES primary assists, all-time, per 82 games (eligibility - top 100 scorers)

This stat has questionable value. It's not adjusted for era, nor is it adjusted for the length of a player's career (so players Jagr, Howe, Messier, and Francis look much worse than they should).

Gretzky still has an enormous lead over Lemieux (despite playing far more games while past his prime). I knew Gretzky would be the leader, but I thought it would have been closer.

McDavid currently has the 2nd best pace. Eventually, as he begins to slow down, he'll fall behind Lemieux. If he has an unusually long decline phase to his career, he could sink further - but let's enjoy the ride.

Clarke, Forsberg and Crosby all look really good by this metric. Trottier, given how many years he played while past his prime, also looks quite good. I'll also highlight Henri Richard (a very strong playmaker at ES, and the only player from the Original Six era on the list).

The top defensemen are Coffey (18.5), Bourque (14.0), Robinson (14.0), Leetch (12.9) and Housley (12.2). Orr isn't eligible for this list (since I'm only looking at the 100 highest scoring players in NHL history), but he's at 25.1.

 

[Run the Gauntlet]

Most ES primary assists, all-time

View attachment 998305

This is another one of those stats where Gretzky has a comical lead. He's 72% ahead of second place.

These numbers aren't adjusted for era. Howe and Jagr would be a bit closer to Gretzky, while Messier and Francis would fall below Thornton and Crosby.

Crosby is 7th and still climbing. Other active players are Kane (22nd with 350), Malkin (28th with 335), and Kopitar (35th with 308). McDavid is already in the top 50.

The top defensemen are Coffey (318), Bourque (276), Murphy (237), Robison (236) and Housley (222).

Most ES primary assists, all-time, per 82 games (eligibility - top 100 scorers)

View attachment 998324

This stat has questionable value. It's not adjusted for era, nor is it adjusted for the length of a player's career (so players Jagr, Howe, Messier, and Francis look much worse than they should).

Gretzky still has an enormous lead over Lemieux (despite playing far more games while past his prime). I knew Gretzky would be the leader, but I thought it would have been closer.

McDavid currently has the 2nd best pace. Eventually, as he begins to slow down, he'll fall behind Lemieux. If he has an unusually long decline phase to his career, he could sink further - but let's enjoy the ride.

Clarke, Forsberg and Crosby all look really good by this metric. Trottier, given how many years he played while past his prime, also looks quite good. I'll also highlight Henri Richard (a very strong playmaker at ES, and the only player from the Original Six era on the list).

The top defensemen are Coffey (18.5), Bourque (14.0), Robinson (14.0), Leetch (12.9) and Housley (12.2). Orr isn't eligible for this list (since I'm only looking at the 100 highest scoring players in NHL history), but he's at 25.1.

Housley shows up twice maybe he really is a hall of famer?

 

[Sadekuuro]

I don't think anyone doubts Housley's offensive chops. One wonders if he'd be held in much higher regard if he had played (more) as a winger rather than a "defenseman".

 

[kaiser matias]

It's been posted in these threads over the years that the Devils single season record for assists was Scott Stevens with 60 in 1993-94.

Jesper Bratt broke that the other day.

I expect few people would have picked those two names.

 

[The Panther]

It's been posted in these threads over the years that the Devils single season record for assists was Scott Stevens with 60 in 1993-94.

Jesper Bratt broke that the other day.

That was always a great random stat because (a) Stevens and (b) only 60 (!) seem like such unlikely record holders / amounts.

Other fairly unimpressive franchise / assists-in-a-season record holders:
Columbus: 59 -- Artemi Panarin (2019)
Minnesota: 61 -- Kirill Kaprizov (2022)
(Vegas already has a seasonal assist-leader higher than the two above, and the franchise has existed only 7 full seasons.)
Also:
Anaheim: 66 -- Ryan Getzlaff (2009)
Carolina (Hartford): 69 -- Ron Francis (1990)

The most assists in any season by an Ottawa Senator is... Jason Spezza, with 71. I dunno, but I would have guessed Alfredsson or Karlsson.

 

[The Panther]

Another funny (depending on your perspective) one:

During the Phoenix / Arizona Coyotes' 27 NHL seasons, they produced a grand total of TWO 40-goal seasons. (Both by Keith Tkachuk, and one was only 40 on the nose.)

 

[The Panther]

It's quite rare for left-wingers to score 100+ points in an NHL season (well, aside from Robitaille and Ovechkin).

Number of (listed, with one exception) left-winger-seasons when the player scored 100 points for an NHL franchise:

Buffalo -- 0
Columbus -- 0
Nashville -- 0
New Jersey / Colorado -- 0
San Jose -- 0
Seattle -- 0
Tampa Bay -- 0
Toronto -- 0
Utah -- 0
Vegas -- 0
Phoenix / Arizona / Winnipeg -- 0
Winnipeg / Atlanta -- 0

Most of the above aren't surprising, but I'm a little surprised that Buffalo and Toronto have never had one.

Carolina / Hartford -- 1 (Stoughton)
Chicago -- 1 (Hull)
Detroit -- 1 (Ogrodnick)
Edmonton -- 1 (Messier)
(NHL.com doesn't list Messier as a left-wing, but he was in 1982-83 when he scored 106 for Edmonton. And he was for part of 1983-84, too.)
Minnesota --1 (Kaprizov)
NY Islanders -- 1 (Tonelli)
St. Louis -- 1 (Shanahan)

I might have missed a team, but I think every other club has had at least two such seasons.

Conversely, Florida has had only two 100-point scorers in franchise history... and both were left-wingers (Huberdeau and Tkachuk).

Not sure, but I think the club with the most left-wing 100+ point seasons in NHL history so far is... Los Angeles! (4 x Robitaille, 2 x Simmer.) The even odder thing about that is that NONE of L.A.'s top-9 point scoring seasons in franchise history are by left-wingers...

 

[alko]

Another funny (depending on your perspective) one:

During the Phoenix / Arizona Coyotes' 27 NHL seasons, they produced a grand total of TWO 40-goal seasons. (Both by Keith Tkachuk, and one was only 40 on the nose.)

In the Devils history (1982–present) there isnt a player with at least 100 points. Jack Hughes was close (99 in 2022/2023).

 

[The Panther]

In the Devils history (1982–present) there isnt a player with at least 100 points. Jack Hughes was close (99 in 2022/2023).

Yep. There was kind of an assumption after 2023 that Jack Hughes would crack 100 points immediately thereafter, but he didn't and in fact has slowed down in scoring pace (he's still great, of course).

Jesper Bratt still has an outside shot at 100 points this season if he were to go on a bit of a heater to close the it out... but, probably he'll fall a bit short.
___________________

The Montreal Canadiens haven't had a 100-point scorer for 39 years. And it's been 29 years now since they've had a 90-point player.
___________________

Speaking of Montreal, the most even-strength goals in a season by any Canadien — by quite a large margin — is Steve Shutt, who scored 52 such in 1976-77. In fact, Steve Shutt that year scored 5 more even-strength goals than Mario Lemieux ever did in a single season.
___________________

7 NHL franchises have seen at least one player score 50 or more even-strength goals in a single season:
-- 4 x Edmonton (3 Gretzky, 1 Kurri)
-- 2 x Boston (2 Esposito)
-- 1 x St .Louis (Hull)
-- 1 x Montreal (Shutt)
-- 1 x Winnipeg / Phoenix / Arizona (Selanne)
-- 1 x Philadelphia (Leach)
-- 1 x Toronto (Matthews)

___________________

Aside from Gretzky (who did it 10 times and missed having 11 due to brief injury in 1990), only 5 players in history have reached 100 even-strength points in a single season:
-- 104 Lafleur, 1977
-- 102 Lemieux, 1989
-- 101 Kurri, 1985
-- 101 Yzerman, 1989
-- 100 Bossy, 1982

___________________

QUIZ QUESTION:
Since the summer of 1996, only 3 player-seasons have reached 90 even-strength points in a season. QUESTION: Without looking it up, who are these three players?:

92 -- ________
91 -- ________
90 -- ________
?

 

[The Panther]

Ken Dryden failed to win the Stanley Cup twice in his entire career.