As with all our old timers, the question for us is, “How good was Jack Darragh?” Was he really a great player or was he merely someone who the voters fondly remembered?
In this episode, we examine his case. Listen here:
Jack Darragh’s Career
- NHL:
- 1917-21, 1922-4; 6 seasons, 5 quality
- Totals:
- 66G (12th at his retirement),
- 46A (7th) for
- 112P (11th) in
- 121 games (16th);
- 10 PS (17th);
- At his retirement, Darragh was 11th All Time in Offensive Point Shares
- Per Game: Obviously Darragh doesn’t qualify but if the qualifier is set to 82 games, at his retirement, Darragh was
- 13th in GPG,
- 5th in APG and
- 11th in PPG
- 82-game average: 45G, 31A for 76P
- 3-year peak (1918-21): 24-game average of 18G, 12A for 29P
- Playoffs: 3G for 3P in 11 games
- Adjusted:
- Hockey-Reference:
- 89G,
- 218A for
- 397P
- Adjusted 82-game average: 60G, 148A for 269P
- Per Game: Doesn’t qualify however if the qualifier is an absurdly low 82 games, Darragh is
- 5th All Time in Adjusted PPG
- VsX: Doesn’t qualify
- Hockey-Reference:
- Never traded.
- NHA:
- 1910-17; 7 seasons, all quality?
- Totals:
- 122G (probably 8th All Time),
- 16A (as high as 14th All Time) for
- 138P (as high as 8th All Time) in
- 132 games (maybe 2nd All Time)
- Per Game: If the qualifier is 82 games, Darragh is as high as
- 8th All Time in GPG and PPG, and
- 12th All time in APG
- 20-game average: 18G, 2A for 21P
- Did not calculate a 3-year peak
- Playoffs: 6G for 6P in 7 games
- Never traded.
Jack Darragh’s Accomplishments
- NHL:
- Top Player:
- Top 10 Offensive Player (by OPS) twice (’19, ’20)
- Top 10 Defensive Player* (by DPS) once (’20)
- Goals:
- Leader-boards:
- Top 10 in Goals three times
- GPG leader-boards:
- Top 10 in GPG twice
- Single-season totals:
- 20 goals once
- Leader-boards:
- Assists:
- Leader-boards:
- Led the league in Assists once (tied the single season record),
- Top 5 twice,
- Top 10 three times
- APG leader-boards:
- Led the league in APG once,
- Top 5 twice,
- Top 10 three times
- Leader-boards:
- Points:
- Leader-boards:
- Top 5 in Points once,
- Top 10 four times
- PPG leader-boards:
- Top 5 in PPG once,
- Top 10 four times.
- Leader-boards:
- Top Player:
- NHA:
- Goals:
- Leader-boards:
- Top 5 in Goals once,
- Top 10 three times
- GPG leader-boards
- Probably Top 10 in GPG three times
- Leader-boards:
- Assists:
- Leader-boards:
- Maybe Top 10 in Assists twice
- APG leader-boards:
- Possibly Top 10 in APG twice, but possibly only once or even never
- Leader-boards:
- Points:
- Leader-boards:
- Top 5 in Points once,
- Top 10 three times
- PPG leader-boards:
- Probably Top 10 in PPG three times [It’s worth noting that though he may have been in the Top 10 he had slightly more than half the PPG of the league leader in all three seasons]
- Leader-boards:
- Goals:
Jack Darragh’s Great Teams:
- NHL:
- Top 3 Forward (by points) on one Stanley Cup Champion (’23 Senators) and one NHL Runner Up (’19 Senators) and on one Stanley Cup Champion when there was no NHL playoff (’20 Senators),
- Top 6 Forward (by points) on one Stanley Cup Champion (’21 Senators) and one NHL Runner Up (’24 Senators)
- NAH:
- Top 3? Forward (by points) on one National Hockey Association Champion Stanley Cup Runner Up (’15 Senators),
- Reserve? (by games played) on one Stanley Cup Champion from the National Hockey Association (’11 Senators)
I think Jack Darragh was the sixth best Player on his team. He is my favourite old time player, and he had the best backhand of his day. He’ll never be Cy Denneny, Frank Nighbor, Joe Malone or Cyclone Taylor, but he still had a better backhand than them all combined. He wasn’t exactly a points-getter, but he did backcheck on many occasions. He, along with Mike Bossy, are the only two NHLers in history to score back-to-back Stanley Cup winning-goals. He is an amazing player who does deserve to be in the Hockey Hall Of Fame. Oh wait— he is!
Jack Darragh does deserve to be in the Hall Of Fame. Back then, there were no “first, second and third ballots” to determine who would enter the Hall, but I know players who played with him were included. Cyril Denneny, Punch Broadbent and George Boucher were all there at his induction, (he was deceased so he couldn’t attend) and they also were the people who wanted his induction. He was a speedy and debonair forward who could score. He, unfortunately, changed his mind very fast, and randomly. He retired twice, and his return kind of damaged his reputation. But so did Guy Lafleur in HIS last season and no one remembers that, and he’s in the Hall. So, yes, Darragh deserves to be in the Hockey Hall of Fame.