Evolution Of The NHL Scoring Record

Wayne Gretzky’s record for most points in a single National Hockey League season has stood for nearly three decades. Some say it’s unbreakable, but as with any record in professional sports, it will seem unbreakable until the day it’s broken.  Through time, the record stood at an ‘unbreakable’ level 16 times since the creation of the NHL in 1917-18.

Joe Malone of the Montreal Canadiens held the mark first for most points in a single National Hockey League campaign. All he had to do to accomplish this was lead the league in scoring in its inaugural season. Assists were not recorded in that first year but Malone’s total of 44 goals in 20 games was in itself a pretty amazing feat and set the standard. To put that amount into perspective, applying that goal scoring pace over the present day 82 game schedule would produce 180 goals.

Malone broke his own record two years later while playing for the Quebec Bulldogs. Playing four more games than in 1917-18, Joe added four more points for 48 in 1919-20. This record would stand until the 1927-28 season when Howie Morenz of the Montreal Canadiens would total 51 points. However, Morenz’s total was accomplished over a much longer 43 game games.

Outside of Boston Bruins fans, the name Cooney Weiland is not overly well known. However, Weiland, while playing for the Boston Bruins during the 1929-30 season, shattered Morenz’s record with 73 points in 44 games. That season, six players would better the 51 point plateau. As for Weiland, he would go on to a respectable eleven season NHL career but would never get higher than the 38 point mark again in his career.

Over a decade would pass before Weiland’s mark would be surpassed. With the aid of an expanded 50 game schedule, Doug Bentley tied the record with 73 points in 1942-43. The following season, Herb Cain of the Boston Bruins would increase the record by nine points to 82 in 48 games. Just three short years later, Cain would be sent down to the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League where he would finish out his professional hockey career.

The legendary Gordie Howe would be next to set the mark. It would take Mr. Hockey 22 more games than Cain to add four points to the record. In 1950-51, Howe had an even 43 goals and 43 assists for 86 points. The following season, Howe would equal the mark and the season after that, 1952-53, Howe would increase the record by nine points to 95.

The record jumped just a single point in 1958-59 as Dickie Moore of the Montreal Canadiens would total 96 points in the same 70 games as Howe. The record would increase by the same increment in the mid 1960’s as teammates Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita of the Chicago Blackhawks would each get 97 points in 1965-66 and 1966-67 respectively.

The late 1960’s brought expansion to the NHL and doubling the size of the league overnight, increasing the length of the schedule and watering down the talent was catalyst to a new level of offense. Phil Esposito came into his own during the 1968-69 season and provided the Boston Bruins with 126 points. Two seasons later, Esposito would increase the record to 152 points, a number that most thought could never be broken.

Along came a kid from Brantford, Ontario, Canada and the league’s record books were never the same. Wayne Gretzky, in just his second season in the NHL, provided the Edmonton Oilers with 164 points. The following season, the impossible was accomplished with The Great One’s 92 goals, 120 assists and 212 points. The 212 points would be eclipsed by none other than Wayne Gretzky himself during the 1985-86 season when he had 215 in 80 games, but the 92 goals stands as an NHL record today.

Is the record breakable? Of course it is. The game has changed and the offensive numbers have dropped since the mid 1990’s but things can change on a dime. A simply amazing player could emerge. Rule changes could provide a more offensive game. Retraction or expansion could significantly affect the level of talent. Just as Joe Malone’s record was thought unbreakable ninety years ago, Gretzky’s might falsely be thought of as unbreakable today.

NHL Hockey Trivia: Denis Potvin

Denis Potvin was to be the next Bobby Orr when picked by the New York Islanders in the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft. Although not quite achieving the greatness of Orr, Potvin’s career went down as one of the greatest ever for a defenseman.

Test and expand your hockey trivia knowledge of Islanders great, Denis Potvin, with the following four hockey trivia questions.

Q. In what year did Denis Potvin become only the second defenseman in NHL history to surpass 100 points in a single regular season?

A. Potvin contributed 101 points in 1978-79 for the New York Islanders while missing seven games. Denis became the second defenseman to accomplish the feat with Bobby Orr being the first. Just Paul Coffey, Al MacInnis and Brian Leetch have reached the plateau since.

Q. What Ontario Hockey League team’s record does Denis Potvin still hold for most points by a defenseman in a single season?

A. Potvin had 35 goals and 88 assists for 123 points in just 61 games in 1972-73 for the Ottawa 67’s. The total stood as an OHL record until Bryan Fogarty had 155 with the Niagara Falls Thunder in 1988-89.

Q. The New York Islanders retired number 5 in honour of Denis Potvin in 1992. His number is also retired by the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s, however it is not number 5. Which number is retired by the Ottawa 67’s in honour of Potvin?

A. Denis Potvin wore number 7 with the Ottawa 67’s and that is the number that is retired for Denis, as well as Doug Wilson. When Potvin arrived with the Islanders for the 1973-74 season, despite being the first overall pick, he lost number seven to Germain Gagnon who was in his second season with the Islanders and was therefore the veteran. Gagnon made it 62 games into the season before being traded to the Chicago Blackhawks. Potvin could have reclaimed the jersey number but chose to stick with number 5. Gagnon made it two more seasons in the NHL before retiring with the Kansas City Scouts after the 1975-76 season.

Q. To this day, in which NHL arena will you hear the chant, “Potvin Sucks”?

A. Of course, Madison Square Garden, the home of the New York Rangers when the Islanders cross the river to play their rivals. Some people still have the nerve to argue that Toronto and Montreal have the most heated rivalry in the NHL. It just doesn’t compare to the hatred that Islanders and Rangers fans have for each other.

Bonus: Denis Potvin won the Max Kaminsky Trophy twice, 1971-72 and 1972-73, as the Ontario Hockey League’s top defenseman. He also won the James Norris Trophy three times as the NHL’s top defenseman.

Potvin is one of just three players to win the Kaminsky Trophy on more than one occasion. The other two are Bryan Berard and Ryan Ellis. There are also just three players that have won both the Kaminsky Trophy and Norris Trophy. The other two are Al MacInnis and Chris Pronger.

Norfolk Admirals Individual Single Season Records

The Norfolk Admirals came into the American Hockey League for the 2000-01 season as an expansion franchise. Originally, the Admirals were affiliated with the Chicago Blackhawks but have been the farm team of the Tampa Bay Lightning since the 2007-08 season.

In their relatively short history, Norfolk players have put up decent individual stats. The individual single season records for the team are respectable and were set by a handful of players that are familiar to hockey fans.
The Admirals individual records for most goals, assists and points in a season were all set in 2006-07. Besides this past 2011-12 season, it was their most successful regular season in history with 50 wins and 108 points. Unfortunately, they lost in the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs to the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins.

Troy Brouwer – 41 Goals

Troy Brouwer set the team mark for goals with 41, finishing third in the AHL for that category. It was Troy’s only season with Norfolk before becoming a regular in the National Hockey League. Since, Troy has played over 300 games in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks and Washington Capitals.

Martin St. Pierre – 72 Assists and 99 Points

Martin St. Pierre set the mark for both assists and points with 72 and 99. For each, he was second in the AHL that season, narrowly missing out in the race for the John B. Sollenberger Trophy. 2006-07 was St. Pierre’s first of two seasons with the Admirals. He was undrafted after a great junior career with the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League but has managed to play 38 games in the league thus far with the Blackhawks, Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators. Marty spent 2011-12 with the AHL’s Springfield Falcons.

Zack Stortini – 299 PIM

Zack Stortini broke Mike Brown’s record for PIM with 299 in 2013-14. Now three seasons removed from what was a regular job in the National Hockey League, Stortini wore the ‘A’ for Norfolk in 2013-14. He played 73 regular season games and added nine points.
Zack was a third round pick by the Edmonton Oilers in 2003 after his second of four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the Sudbury Wolves. Of those four years, Stortini was team captain for the final three. Zack played 257 games in the NHL with the Oilers, and Nashville Predators. His last NHL game was with the Predators in 2011-12, his only game with the team.
Brown set the previous team record for most penalty minutes in a single season with 286 in 2004-05. Brown was in his first of two seasons with the Admirals and at the tail end of his pro career. 2005-06 would be his last season before hanging up the blades. Mike was originally a first round pick of the Florida Panthers in 1997. He never played for Florida but did appear in 34 NHL games between 2000-01 and 2005-06 with the Vancouver Canucks, Anaheim Mighty Ducks and Chicago.

Goaltending Records

Norfolk’s major individual single season goaltending records belong to two netminders that now play prominent roles in the NHL. Corey Crawford and Craig Anderson used the Admirals as a stepping stone to National Hockey League careers.
Crawford has the Admirals record for most wins in a single season with 38 in 2006-07. Corey was a second round pick of the Blackhawks in 2003 and has become the team’s number one goalie over the past two seasons.
Anderson set team marks for lowest goals against average and highest save percentage in 2002-03. Playing in 32 games, he recorded a 1.94 GAA and a .923 save percentage for Norfolk. He also spent time with the Blackhawks that season, appearing in six NHL games. Craig was a third round pick of the Blackhawks in 2001 and has since had stints with Chicago, Florida Panthers, Colorado Avalanche and Ottawa.