Does Reginald Hooley Smith Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Hooley Smith was one of those skaters who played multiple positions, because back then skaters did that a lot more. We think he was primarily a Centre or a RW, though he supposed to have played D at times.

Smith doesn’t have a lot of accomplishments, though he was among the best passers of his era. But he was an amateur star – winning an Allan Cup and just dominating on his way to an Olympic Gold – and won a few Cups.

He has a fairly mixed case and we’re not quite sure what to do. So listen to us talk about Hooley Smith’s Hall of Fame case here:

Hooley Smith’s Career:

• NHL: 1924-41; 17 seasons, 10 quality (by modern PPG standards)
• Totals:
  • 200G (10th All Time at his retirement), 
  • 225A (2nd All Time at his retirement – Boucher) for 
  • 425P (4th All Time at his retirement – Stewart, Morenz, Joliat) in 
  • 715 games (1st All Time at his retirement and he was the career leader in games played from the 1939-40 season to the 1942-43 season) 
  • 65.3 PS (12th);
  • 7th All Time in Offensive Point Shares at his retirement
  • 10th Forward* All Time in Defensive Point Shares at his retirement
• Per Game: At his retirement, Smith was
  • 10th All Time in GPG (last among qualifying players);
  • Smith doesn’t qualify for either AGP or PPG leader-boards, but if we lower the qualifiers so that he does, at his retirement, he was
    • 3rd All Time in APG (Boucher, Morenz – last among qualifying players, and none actually qualify)
    • 5th All Time in PPG (Morenz, Stewart, Boucher, Joliat – last among qualifying players, only Morenz actually qualifies)
• Era: Of the 10 skaters to play in at least 574 Games (7 modern seasons), Smith is
  • 4th in Goals
  • 4th in GPG
  • 1st in Assists
  • 1st in APG (doesn’t actually qualify)
  • 2nd in Points
  • 4th in PPG (doesn’t actually qualify)
  • 3rd in Offensive Point Shares
  • 4th in Defensive Point Shares
  • 4th in Point Shares
• 82-game average: 23G, 25A for 48P
• 3-year peak (1931-34): 48-game average of 17G, 26A for 43P
• Playoffs:
  • 11G (t-19th All Time in playoff Goals at his retirement) 
  • 8A for 
  • 19P in 
  • 54 games (10th All Time in playoff Games at his retirement)
  • Per Game: Smith doesn’t qualify for the leader-boards, but if we lower them enough, at his retirement Smith was
    • 24th All Time in playoff GPG (2nd last among qualifying players, doesn’t actually qualify)
  • Era: Of the 34 skaters to play in at least 41 playoff games between 1924 and 1941, Smith is
    • T-11th in playoff Goals
    • 12th in playoff GPG (doesn’t actually qualify)
    • T-19th in playoff Assists
    • 21st in playoff APG (doesn’t actually qualify)
    • T-15th in playoff Points
    • T-17th in playoff PPG (doesn’t actually qualify)
    • T-8th in playoff Games
• Adjustment for Era:
  • Hockey-Reference:
    • 358G, 
    • 716A for 
    • 1074P
    • Adjusted 82-game average: 41G, 82A for 123P (+75P per 82-games)
    • Per Game: Doesn’t qualify for Adjusted APG or PPG and isn’t in the Top 25 for Adjusted GPG
  • VsX:
    • 359G
    • 637A
    • 879P
    • Per Game: Not in the Top 25
• Trades:
  • Traded at 24 to the Maroons for Punch Broadbent (35)
  • Traded at 33 to the Bruins for cash and Future Considerations (Gerry Shannon, 26)
  • Traded at 34 to the Americans for cash

Hooley Smith’s Accomplishments:

• Top 5 in Hart voting twice
• All Star:
  • 1st All Star Team once
  • 2nd All Star Team once
• Top Player:
  • Top 5 Offensive Player (by OPS) once (’36), 
  • Top 10 three times (’33, ’34)
• Goals:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in Goals once
    • Top 10 four times
  • GPG leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in GPG once
    • Top 10 three times
  • Single-season totals:
    • Scored 20 goals twice
• Assists
  • Leader-boards
    • Top 5 in Assists three times
    • Top 10 seven times
  • APG leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in APG once
    • Top 10 five times
• Points:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in Points twice
    • Top 10 six times
  • Leader-boards PPG:
    • Top 5 in PPG three times
    • Top 10 six times
• VsX Peak:
  • Best 7 Seasons:
    • Goals: T-200th All Time
    • Assists: 70th All Time
    • Points: t-123rd All Time
  • Best 10 Seasons:
    • Goals: 192nd All time
    • Assists: 102nd All Time
    • Points: 128th All Time

Hooley Smith’s Great Teams:

• NHL:
  • Best Skater? (by points) on one Final Four (’32 Maroons), 
  • Top 3 Forward (by points)on one Runner Up (’28 Maroons) and one Final Four (’30 Maroons), 
  • Top 6 Forward (by points) on one Champion (’27 Senators) and two Final Four (’34 Maroons, ‘38 Americans), 
  • Captain (didn’t score) on one Champion (’35 Maroons), 
  • Unknown role (didn’t score) on one Final Four (’36 Maroons)
• Olympics:
  • Best Skater (by points) on one Olympic Champion (’24 Canada – Granites)
• Senior:
  • Best Skater? (by points) on one Allan Cup Champion (’23 Granites)