3 Toronto Maple Leafs With 300 or More PIM in a Single Season

Four times in the history of the National Hockey League’s Toronto Maple Leafs, a player has accumulated 300 or more minutes in penalties during one regular season. Despite Gary Bettman’s propaganda regarding the unpopularity of fighting in the NHL, two of the three players to top 300 PIM are pretty much considered legends by many Toronto hockey fans.

Tie Domi

Tie Domi holds the Toronto Maple Leafs record for the most PIM in a single season with 365 in 1997-98. Domi finished second in the NHL that season, seven PIM behind Donald Brashear of the Vancouver Canucks. This was Tie’s career high, topping the 347 he sat out with the Winnipeg Jets in 1993-94.

Domi totaled 3,515 PIM during his NHL career, ranking him third all-time behind Dave Williams and Dale Hunter. Tie played 1,020 regular season NHL games between 1990-91 and 2005-06 with the New York Rangers, Jets and Maple Leafs. Originally, he was a second round pick of the Maple Leafs at the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, 27^th overall.

Dave ‘Tiger’ Williams

Dave ‘Tiger’ Williams was the previous owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs record before Domi came along. Williams sat out 351 in 1977-78. This total was 54 behind league leader Dave ‘The Hammer’ Schultz, who split his season between the Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins. Williams topped this total by seven PIM in 1986-87 with the Los Angeles Kings.

Dave is the all-time NHL penalty minutes leader with 3,966 in 962 games. Tiger played in the NHL from 1974-75 to 1987-88 with the Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and Hartford Whalers. He was a second round pick of the Maple Leafs at the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft, 31^st overall.

Williams also topped 300 PIM in the previous season. In 1976-77, Dave led the National Hockey League with 338 PIM, 64 more than the next man, Dennis Polonich of the Detroit Red Wings.

Brian Curran

In 1989-90, a less than memorable Maple Leaf sat out 301 minutes in the sin bin. Brian Curran tied with Dave Manson of the Chicago Blackhawks for sixth place in the category. The NHL was led in 1989-90 by Basil McRae of the Minnesota North Stars with 351. Curran’s career high came in 1986-87 with the New York Islanders when he sat 356 minutes.

Brian totaled 1,461 PIM in 381 NHL games over his career. He played from 1983-84 to 1993-94 with the Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, Toronto, Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals. He played with Toronto between 1987-88 and 1990-91. Originally, Curran was a second round pick of the Bruins in 1982, 22^nd overall.

4 Pittsburgh Penguins Draft Picks to Play 1,000 Game NHL Careers

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been drafting players since they came into the National Hockey League for the 1967-68 season. Yet, over the forty plus years, just four players drafted by the Penguins have gone on to NHL careers consisting of more than 1,000 regular season games. One of the players is still active in the league and three of the four are most likely destined for the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Doug Bodger

Doug Bodger was drafted ninth overall by Pittsburgh at the 1984 NHL Draft after two seasons of junior with the Kamloops Junior Oilers of the WHL. The big defenseman played with Pittsburgh from 1984-85 until a trade sent him to the Buffalo Sabres ten games into the 1988-89 season.

In total, Doug played 1,071 NHL regular season games between 1984-85 and 1999-00. Besides the Penguins and Sabres, Bodger also dressed for the San Jose Sharks, New Jersey Devils, Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks.

Mark Recchi

Mark Recchi was a fourth round pick of the Penguins at the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, 67^th overall. Recchi, like Bodger, was a product of the WHL, playing for the New Westminster Bruins and Kamloops Blazers. Mark played for the Penguins from 1988-89 until being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers during the 1991-92 season. He returned to Pittsburgh to play between 2005-06 and 2007-08.

Recchi retired after the 2010-11 season, going out a champion as a member of the Boston Bruins Stanley Cup winning team. At 1,652 career regular season games, Mark sits behind just Gordie Howe, Mark Messier and Ron Francis for the all-time lead in games played. Throughout his career, Recchi also played for the Montreal Canadiens, Carolina Hurricanes, Atlanta Thrashers and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Jaromir Jagr

After three years playing in Russia’s KHL, Jaromir Jagr has returned to the NHL to add to his games played total. Jagr was the fifth overall pick at the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by the Penguins. He played with Pittsburgh from 1990-91 to 2000-01. He has also been a member of the Washington Capitals, Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers. Jaromir is currently a member of the New Jersey Devils and will pass the 1,400 game plateau in 2013-14 unless something drastic happens. He currently sits at 1,391 as of the end of the 2012-13 season.

Markus Naslund

Markus Naslund was drafted by Pittsburgh, sixteenth overall at the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. Naslund was traded from the Penguins to the Vancouver Canucks near the end of his third year with the club. He played with the Canucks until the end of the 2007-08 season, finishing off his NHL career with the New York Rangers in 2008-09. Naslund played a total of 1,117 NHL games, mostly as the heart and soul leader of the Vancouver Canucks.

Buffalo Sabres Players With 100 Points in a Single Season

The Buffalo Sabres came into the National Hockey League for the 1970-71 season along with the Vancouver Canucks, expanding the league to fourteen teams. The Sabres made an immediate splash by selecting GilbertPerreault first overall at the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft. Perreault would lead the team for close to two decades. What follows are the five Buffalo Sabres players that have achieved the 100 point plateau in a single season.

Rene Robert

Rene Robert was the first Buffalo player to total 100 points in a season. In 1974-75, Robert scored 40 goals and assisted on 60 for exactly 100 points in 74 games. Rene finished seventh in the race for the Art Ross Trophy. It was Robert’s fourth of eight seasons with the Sabres. He played in the NHL from 1970-71 to 1981-82 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo and the Colorado Rockies. It was the only time Robert achieved the 100 point plateau during his NHL career.

Gilbert Perreault

Gilbert Perreault was the next player to accomplish the feat. He had 113 points in 1975-76 and 106 points in 1979-80. In the first year, he scored 44 goals and assisted on 69 in 80 games, finishing third in the league.  In 1979-80, he finished with 106 points on 40 goals and 66 assists in 80 games, landing in fourth spot in the league.

Perreault was the first overall pick in 1970. He played seventeen seasons with the Sabres from 1970-71 to 1986-87. Buffalo was the only National Hockey League team Gilbert would ever play for.

Pierre Turgeon

Pierre Turgeon totalled 106 points in 1989-90 on 40 goals and 66 assists in 80 games, identical numbers to Gilbert Perreault in 1979-80. Turgeon finished seventh in the NHL in what was his third of five seasons with the Sabres. Like Perreault, Turgeon was the first overall pick of the Sabres at the 1987 NHL Entry Draft.

Pierre played in the NHL from 1987-88 to 2006-07. His performance in 1989-90 was his first of two 100 points seasons in the NHL. In 1992-93, he accumulated 132 with the New York Islanders.

Alexander Mogilny

Alexander Mogilny reached 127 points in 1992-93, largely due to his incredible 76 goal performance. Mogilny added 51 assists in 77 regular season games to finish seventh in the race for the Art Ross Trophy. It was Alex’s fourth of six years with the Sabres after being a fifth round pick of the club in 1988.

Mogilny played in the NHL from 1989-90 to 2005-06 with the Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils. 1992-93 was his first of two 100 point seasons. He totalled 107 with the Canucks in 1995-96.

Pat Lafontaine

Pat Lafontaine was also a 100+ point man in 1992-93 for the Sabres. Lafontaine set the current Buffalo record for points in a season with 148 on 53 goals and 95 assists in 84 games. He finished second in the NHL, twelve points behind Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was his second of six seasons with the Sabres. Originally, he was the third overall pick of the New York Islanders at the 1983 NHL Entry Draft.

For Lafontaine, it was his second of two 100+ points seasons. He reached 105 with the Islanders in 1989-90. Pat played in the National Hockey League from 1983-84 to 1997-98 with the Islanders, Sabres and New York Rangers. In his final year of junior hockey , 1982-83, with Verdun of the QMJHL, Pat scored an incredible 104 goals and assisted on another 130 assists for 234 points in 70 games.