In An NHL Without Wayne Gretzky And Mario Lemieux

There’s no question that the National Hockey League’s record books are dominated by Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. Between the two, they own the top 12 single season performances in total assists, the top 13 point totals and three of the top four goal totals. What if neither had existed? What would the record books look like today?

·         Steve Yzerman would hold the points record with 155 points

·         Bobby Orr would still hold the record for most assists in a season

·         Brett Hull would hold the record for most goals

Of course, the butterfly effect would be in effect and guys like Jari Kurri, Bernie Nicholls, Ron Francis, Jaromir Jagr and Paul Coffey, although stars, may not have had such great numbers without the help of the Great One and Super Mario. And, of course, this is purely hypothetical as time travel has not been invented yet.

Gretzky will most likely forever hold the record for goals, assists and points in a season. His 92 goals in 1981-82 are pretty much untouchable, although Brett Hull made a pretty good run at it in 1990-91. If the two greats had never played the game, the record for most goals in a single NHL season would belong to Hull at 86 while playing for the St. Louis Blues.

Following ten goals behind would be a trio of players at 76 goals. Phil Esposito owned the record before Gretzky with his 76 goal performance with the Boston Bruins in 1970-71, a mark that was at the time thought to be unbeatable. Alexander Mogilny of the Buffalo Sabres and Teemu Selanne of the Winnipeg Jets both scored 76 in 1992-93. Mogilny’s total is a Buffalo Sabres record. Selanne still holds the record for most goals by an NHL rookie.

Wayne Gretzky’s record of 163 assists in 1985-86 is 61 more than the next non-dynamic duo mark. Bobby Orr would be our record holder with the 102 assists he accumulated during the 1970-71 season. The 102 is still a team record and the most by any defenseman in NHL history. Orr is the only player other than Gretzky and Lemieux to top 100 assists in a single season.

Close behind with 97 assists is another Boston Bruin. Adam Oates achieved this total in 1992-93. Ironically, the third highest total belongs to Joe Thornton with 96. Joe played the first half of the 2005-06 season with the Bruins before being traded to the San Jose Sharks.

Take away the top thirteen point totals in NHL history, including Gretzky’s record 215 in 1985-86 and you’re left with Steve Yzerman as the leading man. Yzerman totaled 155 points in 1988-89 with the Detroit Red Wings. That was good enough for just third in the race for the Art Ross Trophy as Lemieux had 199 and Gretzky had 168.

Phil Esposito’s 152 points in that magic 1970-71 Boston Bruins season stands the test of time and would be the second best without the duo. Bring out the asterix for numbers three and four. Bernie Nicholls totaled 150 points in 1988-89 with the help of Wayne Gretzky and Jaromir Jagr had 149 in 1995-96 with the help of Lemieux. The next two on the list would be Pat Lafontaine with his 148 points with the Buffalo Sabres in 1992-93 and Mike Bossy with 147 with the New York Islanders in 1981-82.

NHL Hockey Trivia: St. Louis Blues Individual Single Season Records

The St. Louis Blues were one of six teams to enter the National Hockey League in 1967-68 as part of the first wave of modern expansion. The individual records of the Blues were certainly not all set in a couple of magical seasons, as is with the case with many NHL teams. The current team records range in the date they were set from the second year of the franchise to just three years ago.

Test and expand your hockey trivia knowledge of the St. Louis Blues individual records with these four St. Louis Blues trivia questions.

Q. What player holds the St. Louis Blues record for most assists in a single season?

A. Adam Oates had 90 assists in the 1990-91 season, mostly setting up line mate Brett Hull. This was not the best season for Oates when it came to assists. The setup man had 97 helpers with the Boston Bruins in 1992-93. Oates finished his career in sixth on the NHL all-time list for assists with 1,079.

Q. What goalie broke a long standing team record for most shutouts in a season in 2011-12?

A. In 2011-12, Brian Elliott broke a long standing franchise record with nine shutouts. The mark topped a performance by a Hockey Hall of Fame goalie in just the team’s second year in the National Hockey League. Glenn Hall, the team’s main goalie for their first two seasons in the NHL, held opponents goal-less eight times in the 1968-69 season. The effort earned him his third Vezina Trophy.

What’s really impressive about Elliott’s record is that he was not the number one goalie for St. Louis in 2011-12. Brian played in 38 games while Jaroslav Halak appeared in 46. The two combined for 15 shutouts on the season. In 1968-69, Hall appeared in 41 games while Jacques Plante played in 37. The duo combined for 13 shutouts. It should be noted that the schedule in 1968-69 was six games shorter than it was in 2011-12.

Q. Who holds the St. Louis Blues record the most penalty minutes in a single season?

A. In 1975-76 Bob Gassoff sat out 306 minutes. Gassoff was killed shortly after the end of the following season in a freak motorcycle accident. His number 3 was retired by the team the following season and is one of only six St. Louis Blues retired numbers. 1975-76 was the third of just four seasons Bob played in the NHL before his untimely demise.

Q. What St. Louis Blues goaltender holds the team record for the highest save percentage in a single regular season (minimum 25 games played)?

A. Brian Elliott broke another record in 2011-12. Elliott recorded an amazing .940 save percentage to go along with his nine shutouts and team record 1.56 goals against average. The previous record had been set just a few years before by Chris Mason. Elliott simply shattered Mason’s mark of .916. However, Chris saw plenty more action, appearing in 57 games for the Blues in 2008-09.

6 St. Louis Blues With 100 Point Seasons

The St. Louis Blues entered the National Hockey League for the 1967-68 season along with five other teams, doubling the league in size. It took until the 1980-81 season before the Blues had a player surpass the 100 point plateau in a single season. Six different players to date have accomplished the feat in St. Louis history, two have done it four times and one has done it twice. 1993-94 was the last time a Blues player surpassed 100.

Bernie Federko

Bernie Federko was the first ever St. Louis Blues player to reach 100 points in a season. Bernie accomplished the feat a total of four times over his career with St. Louis. In 1980-81, he totalled 104 then topping that with 107 in 1983-84. He added 103 in 1984-85 and 102 the following season. In the first three years, he finished ninth in the NHL for points. In 1985-86, his 102 points weren’t good enough to make the top 10.

Federko played with St. Louis from 1976-77 to 1988-89 after being the seventh overall pick by the club at the 1976 NHL Amateur Draft. In junior hockey, he was awarded the Brownridge Trophy as the WHL’s top scorer, accumulating 187 points with the Saskatoon Blades. The Brownridge Trophy has since been renamed the Bob Clarke Trophy.

Brett Hull

Brett Hull also surpassed 100 points four times as a member of the Blues. In four consecutive seasons, starting in 1989-90, he accomplished the feat. In 1990-91, he recorded 131 points with the help of 86 goals. The point total is a St. Louis Blues record and the 86 goals is the second highest total in NHL history, behind Wayne Gretzky’s 92. In 1989-90, Hull has 113 points, in 1991-92 it was 109 and in 1992-93 he totalled 101.

Hull was originally drafted in the sixth round of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft by the Calgary Flames. He played with St. Louis from 1987-88 to 1997-98. Brett was awarded the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP in 1990-91 for his stellar performance.

Adam Oates

Adam Oates twice recorded more than 100 points in a season with the Blues, 1989-90 (102) and 1990-91 (115). He would accomplish the feat twice more with the Boston Bruins, topping out at 142 points in 1992-93. Oates was undrafted and started out his NHL career with the Detroit Red Wings. Adam played for the Blues from 1989-90 to 1991-92.

Doug Gilmour

Doug Gilmour contributed 105 points in 1986-87, finishing fifth in the NHL. Gilmour played with St. Louis from 1983-84 to 1987-88 after being a late seventh round pick by the club at the 1982 NHL Entry Draft. He topped 100 points twice more in his career, both times with Toronto, topping out at 127 points in 1992-93. Gilmour earned the Eddie Powers Trophy in the Ontario Hockey League after a 177 point performance with the Cornwall Royals.

Craig Janney

Craig Janney had a 106 point season in 1992-93. The total didn’t even place in the top ten that season, with Mark Recchi’s 123 points holding down tenth spot. Janney played with St. Louis from 1991-92 to 1994-95. He was originally a first round pick of the Boston Bruins in 1986.

Brendan Shanahan

Brendan Shanahan was the last St. Louis player to crack the 100 point plateau. In 1993-94, Shanahan reached 102 points and finished eighth in the NHL. Brendan played for the Blues from 1991-92 to 1994-95. He was originally a second overall pick by the New Jersey Devils in 1987.