Does Joseph Didier Pitre Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

In this episode we discuss Didier Pitre, a star of the National Hockey Association (NHA) who played in the NHL only in last mid-late 30s. Does he belong?

Listen here:

Joseph Didier’s Career:

• NHL: 1917-1923; 6 seasons, 4 quality (by modern standards of PPG)
• Totals:
  • 64G (12th All Time at his retirement),
  • 33A (11th) for
  • 97P (14th) in
  • 127 games (9th);
  • 8.7 PS (20th)
  • At his retirement, Pitre was 21st All Time in Offensive Point Shares
• Per Game: Pitre doesn’t qualify for the leader-boards but, if the qualifier is set to a ridiculously low 82 games played, at his retirement, Pitre was
  • 17th in GPG and APG
  • 18th in PPG
• Not drafted
• 82-game average: 41G, 21A for 62P
• 3-year peak (1917-20): 24-game average of 18G, 9A for 27P
• Playoffs:
  • 2G,
  • 4A for
  • 6P in
  • 9 games
• Adjusted:
  • Hockey-Reference:
    • 86G,
    • 152A for
    • 238P
    • Adjusted 82-game average: 56G, 98A for 154P
    • Per Game: He doesn’t qualify but, if the qualifier is set to an absurd 82 games, Pitre is 17th All Time in Adjusted PPG
  • VsX: Doesn’t qualify
• Traded once prior to the existence of the NHL cash
• NHA:
  • Totals: Pitre is possibly
    • 3rd All Time in Goals
    • 5th All Time in Assists
    • 3rd All Time in Points
    • 3rd All Time in Games Played [this one is pretty sketchy]
  • Per Game: 12th All Time in PPG [playing way more games than most players]
• Pitre was also a star in the short-lived International Professional Hockey League (pre NHA), though how he compares to his contemporaries in that league is too much work

Didier Pitre’s Accomplishments:

• Top Player:
  • Top 10 Offensive Player (by OPS) twice (’18, ’19)
  • Top 10 Defensive Player (by DPS) once (‘18)* [Huge fucking asterisk]
• Goals:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in Goals once,
    • Top 10 thrice
  • GPG leader-boards:
    • Top 10 in GPG thrice
• Assists:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in Assists once,
    • Top 10 twice
  • APG leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in APG once
• Points:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in Points once,
    • Top 10 thrice
  • PPG leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in PPG once,
    • Top 10 thrice.
• Pre-NHL:
  • Led the IHL (IPHL) in 1905-06 in scoring
  • Led the NHA in assists and points in 1915-1916

Didier Pitre’s Great Teams

• NHL:
  • Top 3? Forward (led the NHL playoffs in assists) on one NHL Champion/Stanley Cup Finalist (’19 Canadiens, Cup cancelled due to Spanish Flu), Top 6? Forward on two NHL Runners Up (’18, ’23 Canadiens)
• NHA:
  • Best Player? (led playoffs in Goals) on one Stanley Cup Champion (’16 Canadiens) and one Stanley Cup Runner Up (’17 Canadiens)
  • Reserve? on one Stanley Cup Runner Up (’09 Professionals)