Does Gordie Drillon Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Did you know that Gordie Drillon was one of the greatest goal scorers in early NHL history?

He was indeed. And we think he has a pretty slam dunk Hall of Fame case. Listen to us talk about him here:

Gordie Drillon’s Career:

• 1936-43, 7 seasons, all quality
• Totals:
  • 155G (22nd All Time at his departure for WWII),
  • 140A for
  • 295P in
  • 312 Games;
  • 37.4 Point Shares
• Per Game: Drillon doesn’t qualify, but if we lower the qualifiers so he does (to 150G, 100A and 250P), at his departure to WWII, Drillon was
  • 4th All Time in GPG (Denneny, Dye, Stewart)
  • T-8th All Time in APG
  • 3rd All Time in PPG (Apps, Denneny)
• Era: Of the 40 skaters to play in at least 246 games (3 modern seasons) between 1936 and 1943, Drillon is
  • 1st in Goals (by 17)
  • 1st in GPG (nobody actually qualifies)
  • 7th in Assists
  • T-7th in APG (nobody actually qualifies)
  • 2nd in Points
  • 3rd in PPG (nobody actually qualifies)
  • 1st in Offensive Point Shares
  • T-14th in Defensive Point Shares among Forwards
  • 4th in Point Shares
  • 14th in Games
• 82-game average: 41G, 37A for 78P
• 3-year peak (1938-41): 48-game average of 24G, 22A for 45P
• Playoffs:
  • 26G (1st All Time – by 7 – at his departure to WWII),
  • 15A (t-16th All Time at his departure) for
  • 41P (1st All Time at his departure) in
  • 50 Games (t-18th All Time at his departure)
  • Per Game:
    • 1st All Time in playoff GPG (only qualifying player – if the qualifier is lowered to 15G, he was 3rd All Time – Lalonde, Denneny)
    • Drillon doesn’t qualify for the APG and PPG leaderboards, but if the qualifiers are lowered so he does (to 15A and 40P), at his departure for WII, Drillon was
      • 17th All Time in playoff APG (3rd last among qualifying players)
      • 1st All Time in playoff PPG (by .13, 2 qualifying players – if the qualifier is lowered to 30P he was 2nd All Time – Liscombe)
  • Era: Of the 12 skaters to play in at least 41 playoff Games between 1937 and 1943, Drillon is
    • 1st in playoff Goals (ahead by 9)
    • 1st in playoff GPG (ahead by 0.15)
    • 5th in playoff Assists
    • 5th in playoff APG
    • 1st in playoff Points
    • 1st in playoff PPG
    • 2nd in playoff Games
• Adjustment for Era:
  • Hockey-Reference:
    • 228G,
    • 237A for
    • 465P
    • Adjusted 82-game average: 60G, 62A for 122P (+77P per 82 games)
    • Per Game: Doesn’t qualify
  • VsX:
    • 328G
    • Assists: Doesn’t qualify
    • Points: Doesn’t qualify
    • Per Game:
      • 1st All Time in VsX GPG;
      • Doesn’t qualify for APG or PPG
• Trades:
  • Traded just before his 29th birthday to the Habs for cash

Gordie Drillon’s Accomplishments:

• Byng (‘38)
• All Star:
  • 1st Team All Star twice
  • 2nd Team All Star once
• Top Player:
  • Top 5 Player (by Point Shares) once (‘38)
  • Top 10 twice (‘41)
  • Best Offensive Player (by OPS) once (‘38)
  • Top 5 (really top 3) three times (‘40, ‘41)
  • Top 10 six times (‘37, ‘39, ‘42)
• Goals:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Led the league in Goals once
    • Top 5 five times
    • Top 10 six times
  • GPG leader-boards:
    • Led the league in GPG once
    • Top 5 five times
    • Top 10 every season he was in the league
  • Single-season totals:
    • 25 Goals twice (1 of only 13 players ever at his departure for WWII)
    • 20 Goals five times (1 of only 11 players ever at his departure)
• Assists:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in Assists once
    • Top 10 twice
  • APG leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in APG once
    • Top 10 three times
• Points:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Led the league in Points once
    • Top 5 three times
    • Top 10 four times
  • PPG leader-boards:
    • Led the league in PPG once
    • Top 5 three times
    • Top 10 five times
  • Single-season totals:
    • 50 Points twice (1 of only 7 players ever at his departure)
• Playoffs:
  • Led 31% of his career playoff series in Points (t-10th All Time)
  • Top 3 in Points in 54% of his career playoff series (t-18th All Time)

Gordie Drillon’s Great Teams:

• Best Player? (led playoffs in Goals and Points) on one Runner Up (‘38 Leafs)
• Best Player? (led playoffs in Goals) on one Runner Up (‘39 Leafs)
• Top 3 Forward (by points) on one Runner Up (‘40 Leafs) and two Final Fours (‘41 Leafs, ‘43 Canadiens)
• Top 9 Forward (by Points) but Injured (missed 38% of the games) on one Champion (‘42 Leafs)