Does Dick Irvin Sr. Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame as a Player?

Dick Irvin Sr. is arguably not as famous as his son to anyone who isn’t a Habs fan or who isn’t a really old Leafs fan.

But before he was a great coach, he was a player. In this episode of The Back Check we try to decide whether he was a player who was good enough to be inducted just as a player, and not due to his coach record, because that’s a conversation we can have.

Listen here:

Dick Irvin’s Career:

• NHL: 1926-29, 3 seasons, 2 quality
• Totals:
  • 29G,
  • 23A for
  • 52P in
  • 95 games
• Per Game: Irvin obviously doesn’t qualify for any leader-boards
• Era: Of the 28 players aged 30 or older to play in at least 82 games between 1926 and 1929, Irvin is
  • 5th in Goals, Points and Offensive Point Shares
  • 6th in PPG
  • 2nd in Assists and APG
  • 4th in PPG
  • 12th in Point Shares
• 82-game average: 25G, 20A for 45P
• No possession stats
• Playoffs:
  • 2G for 2P in 2 games
  • Era: Of 35 skaters who were over 30 to play in the playoffs, Irvin is
    • 3rd in playoff Goals
    • 1st in playoff GPG (though this is laughable)
    • 8th/last in playoff Assists
    • 8th/last in playoff APG
    • 4th in playoff Points
    • 1st in playoff PPG (again, laughable)
• Adjusted:
  • Hockey-Reference:
    • 56G,
    • 147A for
    • 203P
    • Adjusted 82-game average: 48G, 127A for 175P (+130P per 82 games, which is a joke)
    • Per Game: Doesn’t qualify for adjusted leaderboards
  • VsX: Doesn’t qualify
• Transferred into the NHL when the WCHL folded, but otherwise never traded.
• PCHA:
  • 1916-17, 1 quality season
  • Totals:
    • 35G,
    • 10A for
    • 45P in
    • 23 games
  • Per Game: If the qualifier is set to an absurd 20 games (less than a single season), Irvin is
    • 1st All Time in GPG
    • 5th in APG
    • 2nd in PPG
  • No playoff games played
  • Drafted out of the PCHA and so became an amateur hockey player again.
• WCHL:
  • 1921-26; 5 seasons, all quality
  • Totals:
    • 58G (as high as 8th All Time),
    • 24A (as high as 10th) for
    • 82P (as high as 9th) in
    • 102 games (as high as 14th)
  • Per Game: If the qualifier is set to 82 games played, Irvin is possibly as high as
    • 8th All Time in GPG and APG and
    • 9th in PPG
  • 30-game average of 17G, 7A for 24P
  • 3-year peak is too annoying to calculate
  • Playoffs: 4G for 4P in 8 games
  • Never traded.

Dick Irvin’s Accomplishments:

• Top 5 in Hart voting once
• Top Player:
  • Top 10 Player (by PS) once (‘27)
  • Top 5 Offensive Player (by OPS) once (‘27)
• Goals:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in Goals once
  • GPG leader-boards:
    • Top 10 in GPG once
• Assists:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Led the league in Assists once
  • APG leader-boards:
    • Led the league in APG once
• Points:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in Points once
  • PPG leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in PPG once
• PCHA:
  • Goals:
    • Top 5 in Goals his only season in the league
    • Probably Top 5 in GPG his only season in the league
  • Assists:
    • Top 10 in Assists his only season in the league
    • Possibly Top 10 in APG his only season in the league
  • Points:
    • Top 5 in Points his only season in the league
    • Top 10 in PPG his only season in the league
• WCHL:
  • Goals:
    • Leader-boards:
      • Top 5 in Goals twice,
      • Top 10 three times
    • GPG leader-boards:
      • Top 5 in GPG twice,
      • Top 10 three times
  • Assists:
    • Leader-boards:
      • Top 5? In Assists once (just over a ¼ of the league leader),
      • Top 10 probably three times
    • APG leader-boards:
      • Top 10 in APG three times (¼ to ½ the league leader’s, depending upon the year)
  • Points:
    • Leader-boards:
      • Top 5 in Points once (half the league leader),
      • Top 10 three times
    • PPG leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in PPG probably three times

Great Teams:

• WCHL:
  • Top 3 Forward (by points) on one WCHL Champion (‘22 Capitals)
• Senior:
  • Best Player? (20 points in 6 games!!!) on one Allan Cup Champion (‘15 Monarchs)