Does Cyclone Taylor Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Cyclone Taylor didn’t play a game in the NHL, but he was arguably one of the first pro hockey stars, along with Newsy Lalonde and Joe Malone. How does he compare with them?

Does he belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame even though he played the majority of his career in the PCHA?

Listen here:

Cyclone Taylor’s Career

• Never played a game in the NHL
• PCHA (Centre):
  • 1912-23; 10 seasons, 8 quality
  • Totals:
    • 159G (3rd All Time),
    • 104A (1st by over 20 assists) for
    • 263P (1st) in
    • 130 games (probably 14th)
  • Per Game: Taylor is probably
    • 1st All Time in GPG if the qualifier is set to 82 games played (5th with no qualifier),
    • 1st All Time in APG regardless of any qualifier (and .34 APG ahead of the 2nd place players) and
    • 1st All Time in PPG regardless of any qualifier (and .64 ahead of the next player to play at least 82 games in the PCHA)
  • 22.5-game average: 27G, 18A for 45P
  • 3-year peak (1913-16): 16-game average of 22G, 16A for 39P [Note: This does not include his best GPG season]
  • Playoffs (from 1918): 1G, 1A for 2P in 8 games
  • Never Traded.
• NHA (Cover-Point):
  • 1909-11; 2 seasons, 1 quality
  • 22G in 29 games
• IHL (IPHL) (Cover-Point):
  • 1905-07; 2 seasons, 1 quality
  • 29G, 7A for 36P in 29 games
• Amateur (Cover-Point):
  • Manitoba Hockey League 1905-06:
    • 3G, 1A for 4P in 4 games
  • ECAHA:
    • 1907-09; 2 seasons, both quality
    • 18G in 21 games
  • Western Pennsylvania Hockey League 1908-09:
    • 0P in 3 games.

Cyclone Taylor’s Accomplishments:

• PCHA (Centre):
  • Goals:
    • Leader-boards:
      • Led the league in Goals three times,
      • Top 5 five times,
      • Top 10 probably seven times but not sure
    • GPG leader-boards:
      • Unknown number of times he led league in GPG or fell in Top 10 but he played full seasons the years he led the league so he likely led it at least three times
  • Assists:
    • Leader-boards:
      • Led the league in Assists five times,
      • Top 5 at least seven times
    • APG leader-boards:
      • Probably led the league in APG five times
  • Points:
    • Led the league in Points five times (only player to do so),
    • Top 10 seven times
    • PPG leader-boards:
      • Probably led the league in PPG five times
• NHA (Cover-Point):
  • Did not make the Top 10 in either season
• IHL (IPHL):
  • Unknown
• Amateur:
  • MHL: Unknown
  • ECAHA:
    • Never made the Top 10
  • WPHL: Never scored

Cyclone Taylor’s Great Teams:

• Best Player on one Stanley Cup Champion (‘15 Millionaires),
• Top 3 Forward on one Stanley Cup Runner Up (‘18 Millionaires),
• Role Player on one Stanley Cup Runner up (‘21 Millionaires)