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.

1960-61 NHL Top 5 Goal Scorers

The hockey gods looked down with irony on the National Hockey League in 1960-61. Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard became the first 50 goal scorer in the NHL with 50 goals in 50 games in 1944-45. The next 50 goal scorer didn’t come until 1960-61, the first year that Richard was absent from the league after retiring. Let’s take a look at the top five goal scorers in that 1960-61 NHL season.

Bernie Geoffrion – Montreal Canadiens

Bernie ‘Boom Boom’ Geoffrion of the Montreal Canadiens led the NHL with 50 goals while playing in 64 of the team’s 70 regular season games. He also led the league with 95 points, earning the Art Ross Trophy. To top things off, Geoffrion was named the recipient of the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s MVP. It was a career season for Bernie, who played in the NHL from 1950-51 to 1967-68.

Frank Mahovlich – Toronto Maple Leafs

Frank Mahovlich of the Toronto Maple Leafs came a close second with 48 goals. In a National Hockey League career that lasted from 1957-58 to 1973-74, Mahovlich would have just one season with more goals, 1968-69, scoring 49 with the Detroit Red Wings.

Dickie Moore – Montreal Canadiens

Dickie Moore was a two time winner of the Art Ross Trophy in 1957-58 and 1958-59. 1960-61 was Moore’s swan song, finishing third in the NHL with 35 goals. His numbers would drop drastically over the next two years before retiring. Dickie would make two comeback attempts in 1964-65 with Toronto and 1967-68 with the St. Louis Blues but neither were lengthy or successful.

Jean Beliveau – Montreal Canadiens

Jean Beliveau was the third member of the Canadiens among the top five goal scorers. Beliveau finished with 32 goals, a far cry from his career best of 47 in 1955-56. Beliveau played his entire NHL career with the Canadiens from 1953-54 to 1970-71.

Bobby Hull – Chicago Blackhawks

Bobby Hull of the Chicago Black Hawks had a lull in his NHL career in 1960-61 but still finished fifth in the league with 31 goals. The season before, he scored 39. The following season, he would become just the third NHLer to score 50. Hull would score 50 or more five times during his career with the Black Hawks, including a career high 58 in 1968-69.

With all that goal scoring power, the Canadiens finished first overall in the six team league during the regular season. Montreal finished just two points ahead of second place Toronto but scored 20 more goals. Despite finishing in third, fifteen points behind the Canadiens, the Chicago Black Hawks eliminated Montreal in the opening round of the playoffs. Chicago met the Detroit Red Wings in the finals and won the Stanley Cup in six games.

 

NHL Hockey Trivia: Chicago Blackhawks Retired Numbers

The Chicago Blackhawks have been a fixture in the National Hockey League since the 1926-27 season. Many great hockey players have worn the red, black and white of the Blackhawks. Only a select group of these hockey legends have had their numbers taken out of circulation by the team and raised to the rafters for eternity.

Test and expand your hockey trivia knowledge of the Chicago Blackhawks retired numbers with these four hockey trivia questions.

Q. Two goaltenders have had their numbers retired by the Chicago Blackhawks. What goalie is the number 35 retired for?

A. Tony Esposito played for Chicago from 1969-70 until 1983-84. With exception of 13 games played with the Montreal Canadiens in 1968-69, Esposito played his whole career in Chicago. Tony finished his career with 76 shutouts and a 2.92 goals against average in 886 regular season games. Esposito was enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988, four years after his brother Phil Esposito.

The other number retired by Chicago for a goaltender is number 1 in honour of Glenn Hall. Glenn played for Chicago from 1957-58 to 1966-67. He came to the Blackhawks from the Detroit Red Wing and ended his career with the St. Louis Blues. The three time Vezina Trophy winner was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1975.

Both Tony Esposito and Glenn Hall had their numbers retired by the Blackhawks on the same day, November 20, 1988.

Q. What number is retired by the Chicago Blackhawks for two different players?

A. The number 3 is retired in honour of two defensemen, Pierre Pilote and Keith Magnuson. Both were long time blue liners in Chicago. Pilote was a three time winner of the Norris Memorial Trophy as the league’s top defenseman.

Pilote played for Chicago from 1955-56 to 1967-68, spending one last year in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1968-69. Magnuson played his entire NHL career with Chicago from 1969-70 to 1979-80. Both Pilote and Magnuson had their number retired by the Blackhawks on the same night, November 12, 2008. For Magnuson, it was posthumously, having died in 2003.

Q. The number 21 is retired by the Chicago Blackhawks in honour of what long-time great?

A. Stan Mikita holds the all-time Blackhawks career records for points and assists. He is the only NHL player to win the Art Ross Trophy, Hart Memorial Trophy and the Lady Byng Trophy in the same year. He accomplished this in two consecutive seasons during the 1960’s.

Mikita played his entire NHL career with Chicago from 1958-59 to 1979-80. His number was retired on October 19, 1980 and he entered the Hockey Hall of Fame three years later in 1983.

Q. The Blackhawks retired number 9 for what Hockey Hall of Fame player?

A. Easy question. Bobby Hull wore number 9 for the Blackhawks from 1957 to 1972 before becoming the face of the fledgling World Hockey Association. In 1983, Bobby entered the HHOF along with long time line mate Stan Mikita. On December 18, 1983, his number was retired by Chicago.