Eddie Gerard won a bunch of Stanley Cups. And by one metric he might have been the best defenceman in the early NHL.
Was he? Does he deserve to the be in the Hockey Hall of Fame? We discuss his case on our latest episode.
Listen here:
Eddie Gerard’s stats:
Eddie Gerard’s Career
- NHL: 1917-1923; 6 seasons, all quality
- Totals:
- 50G,
- 48A (5th All Time at his retirement) for
- 98P in
- 128 games (6th);
- 26.5 PS (3rd)
- At his retirement, Gerard was 7th All Time in APG
- At his retirement, Gerard was 1st All Time in Defensive Point Shares
- 82-game average: 32G, 31A for 63P
- 3-year peak (1920-23): 24-game average of 8G, 10A for 19P
- Playoffs: 4G for 4P in 11 games
- Adjusted:
- Hockey-Reference:
- 66G, 224A for 290P
- Adjusted 82-game average: 42G, 144A for 186P [Absurd]
- Gerard doesn’t qualify for the PG leader-boards but he is 6th All Time in Adjusted PPG if the qualifier is set at an absurdly low 82 games
- VsX: Gerard doesn’t qualify for the adjustment
- Hockey-Reference:
- Never Traded.
- NHA:
- 1914-17; 4 seasons, all quality
- Totals:
- 45G (at best 22nd All Time),
- 31A (at best 4th All Time), for
- 76P (at best 14th All Time) in
- 74 games (at best 13th All Time, but probably lower)
- If the qualifier is set low enough for Gerard but high enough to exclude the leader (who played in only 40 games, or two seasons), Gerard might be 1st All Time in APG
- 20-game average of: 12G, 8A for 21P
- Playoffs: 2G for 2P in 7 games
- Never traded.
Eddie Gerard’s Accomplishments
- Back Check MVP (’21)
- Top Player:
- Top 10 Player (by PS) five times (’18, ’19, ’20, ’21, ’22, ’23)
- Top 10 Offensive Player (by OPS) once (’18)
- Set the single-season for DPS in 1919-20 and again in 1920-21 (the record lasted until 1925-26)
- Best Defensive Player (by DPS) three times (’19, ’20, ’21), Top 5 four times (’22), Top 10 six times (’18, ’23)
- Goals:
- Top 10 in Goals once
- Scored 10 goals twice (1 of only 7 D to do so at his retirement)
- Assists:
- Led the league in Assists once, Top 5 twice, Top 10 four times
- Led the league in APG once, Top 5 twice
- Points:
- Top 10 in Points once
Eddie Gerard’s: Great Teams
- NHL:
- Top 2 D (by points) on one Stanley Cup Champion (’21 Senators) and one NHL Runner Up (’19 Senators),
- Reserve? on two Stanley Cup Champions (’20, ’23 Senators),
- Role Player on one Stanley Cup Champion (’22 St. Patricks)* [Giant asterisk!]
*Here’s where it gets weird:
Gerard was loaned to the St. Pats for the 1922 Stanley Cup after the Pats had defeated…wait for it…his Senators in the NHL playoffs.
Harry Cameron had been knocked out of the Stanley Cup final – contested between the NHL champion and the PCHA champion. So Gerard was loaned to the Pats for one game to cover for Cameron.
Gerard was no longer allowed to play for the Pats in their cup clinching game but history considers Gerard to have won his third Cup.