Sid Abel won the Hart and made a number of end-of-season All Star teams. But he was often not the best player on his team – especially in the playoffs – and a lot of his regular season success came centering Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay.
Did Sid Abel deserve his Hart trophy? And does he belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame? Listen to us discuss his case here:
Sid Abel’s Career:
- NHL: 1938-43, 1946-54; 14 seasons, 9 quality
- Totals:
- 188G,
- 284A (t-8th All Time at his retirement) for
- 472P (17th All Time at his retirement) in
- 612 Games (20th All Time at his retirement);
- 49.4 Point Shares;
- Per Game: Abel doesn’t quality for the PG leaderboards but, if the qualifiers are lowered so that he does (175G, 275A, 450P), at his retirement Abel was
- T-6th All Time in APG (10 qualifying players)
- 13th All Time in PPG (18 qualifying players)
- Era: Of the 15 skaters to play in at least 574 games (7 modern seasons) between 1938 and 1954, Abel is
- 10th in Goals
- T-8th in GPG (doesn’t actually qualify)
- 4th in Assists
- T-2nd in APG (doesn’t actually qualify)
- 8th in Points
- T-7th in PPG (doesn’t actually qualify)
- 8th in Offensive Point Shares
- 8th in Defensive Point Shares (6th Forward)
- 9th in Point Shares
- 10th in Games
- 82-game average: 25G, 38A for 63P
- 3-year peak (1948-51): 70-game average of 30G, 35A for 65P
- Playoffs:
- 28G (t-2nd All time at his retirement – Richard, but 39 behind)
- 30A (4th All Time at his retirement – Lach, Blake, Cowley)
- 58P (4th All Time at his retirement – Richard, Lach, Blake)
- 94 Games (2nd All Time at his retirement – Bouchard)
- Per Game: At his retirement, Abel was
- 9th All Time in playoff GPG (12 qualifying players)
- 4th All Time in playoff APG (last among qualifying players)
- 6th All Time in playoff PPG (2nd last among qualifying players)
- Era: Of the 72 skaters to play in at least 41 playoff games between 1938 and 1954, Abel is
- 2nd in playoff Goals (behind by 39)
- T-13th in playoff GPG
- 3rd in playoff Assists
- T-16th in playoff APG
- 3rd in playoff Points
- 14th in playoff PPG
- 2nd in playoff Games
- Adjustment for Era:
- Hockey-Reference:
- 238G,
- 410A for
- 648P
- Adjusted 82-game average: 32G, 55A for 87P (+24P per 82 games)
- Per Game: Doesn’t qualify
- Hockey-Reference:
- VsX:
- 332G
- 598A
- 779P
- Per Game:
- T-20th All Time in Adjusted APG
- Trades:
- Traded at 34 to the Black Hawks for cash
Sid Abel’s Accomplishments:
- Hart (‘49)
- Top 5 in Hart voting one other time
- All Star:
- 1st Team All Star twice
- 2nd Team All Star twice
- 3 All Star Game appearances
- Top Player:
- Top 10 Player (by PS) twice (‘49, ‘50)
- Best Offensive Player (by OPS) once (‘50)
- Top 5 Offensive Player twice (‘49)
- Top 10 Offensive Player five times (‘42, ‘51, ‘52)
- Goals:
- Leaderboards:
- Led the league in Goals once
- Top 5 twice
- Top 10 three times
- GPG leaderboards:
- Top 5 in GPG twice
- Top 10 three times
- Single-season totals:
- 30 goals once
- 20 goals three times
- Leaderboards:
- Assists:
- Leaderboards:
- Top 5 in Assists six times
- Top 10 eight times
- APG leaderboards:
- Top 5 in APG four times
- Top 10 seven times
- Leaderboards:
- Points:
- Leaderboards:
- Top 5 in Points four times
- Top 10 five times
- PPG leaderboards:
- Top 5 in PPG twice
- Top 10 five times
- Single-season totals:
- 60 points twice (1 of only 12 players ever at his retirement)
- 50 points four times (1 of only 13 players ever at his retirement)
- Leaderboards:
- VsX Peak:
- Best 7 Seasons:
- Goals: 94th All Time
- Assists: 31st All Time
- Points: 56th All Time
- Best 10 Seasons:
- Goals: 130th All Time
- Assists: 56th All Time
- Points: 90th All Time
- Best 7 Seasons:
Sid Abel’s Great Teams:
- Top 3 Forward (led playoffs in goals) on one Champion (’50 Wings)
- Top 3 Forward (by points) on one Champion (’43 Wings), Runner Up (’49 Wings) and one Final Four (’51 Wings)
- Top 6 Forward (by points) on three Runners Up (’41, ’42, ’48 Wings) and one Final Four (’40 Wings)
- Top 9 Forward (by points) on one Champion (’52 Wings) and two Final Fours (’39, ’47 Wings)
- Injured on two Final Fours (’46 Wings, ’53 Hawks)