Does Cy Denneny Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

If consistency is what matters, Denneny was one of the best, if not the best, wingers of the NHL’s first decade and a half. Though only briefly dominant, he played and scored longer than most players. So we wonder where he ranks all time.

Listen to us talk about Cy Denneny here:

Cy Denneny’s Career:

• NHL: 1917-1929; 12 seasons, 10 quality
• Totals:
  • 248G (1st All Time at his retirement, held until 1933-34),
  • 85A (3rd All Time at his retirement) for
  • 330P (1st, held until 1931-32) in
  • 328 games (3rd All Time at his retirement);
  • 58.4 PS (2nd All Time at his retirement)
  • At his retirement, Denneny was 2nd All Time in Offensive Point Shares
• Per game:
  • Denneny is 3rd All Time in GPG (Denneny qualified for the leader board during the 1924-25 season and held 1st All Time through the next season; he regained 1st All Time in the 1930-31 season and did not relinquish it until the 1980-81 season). At his retirement, Denneny was 2nd All Time in GPG (behind by 0.01 GPG).
  • Nobody who played through 1929 qualified for the APG or PPG leader-boards, but if the qualifier is set to 300 games played, Denneny was
    • 2nd in APG and
    • 1st in PPG.
• 82-game average: 62G, 21A for 84P
• 3-year peak (1920-23): 24 game average of 29G, 10A for 39P
• Playoffs:
  • 16G (1st All Time from 1927 until 1938)
  • 2A (tied 15th All Time at his retirement) for
  • 18P (2nd All time at his retirement) in
  • 25 games* (1st All Time at his retirement))
  • Per Game: Nobody from this era meets Hockey-Reference’s leader-board qualifiers for Per Game stats, but if we lower them, at his retirement Denneny was
    • 2nd All Time in playoff GPG
    • 5th All Time (last among qualifying players) in playoff APG)
    • 2nd All Time in playoff PPG
• Adjusted:
  • Hockey-Reference:
    • 392G, 455A for 847P
    • Adjusted 82-game average: 98G, 114A for 212P
    • Denneny is 2nd All Time in Adjusted GPG (behind by 0.01 GPG) but doesn’t qualify for the other two leaderboards
  • VsX: Doesn’t qualify for the adjustment
• Traded once at the end of his career for cash.
• NHA:
  • 1914-17, 3 seasons, 1 quality
  • 33G, 4A for 37P in 42 games
  • If the qualifier is set ridiculously low (40 games), Denneny might be in the Top 25 All Time in APG
  • 20-game average of 16G, 2A for 18P
  • Playoffs: 1G for 1P in 2 games
  • Traded once for cash.

*Keep in mind that Stanley Cup playoff games were not counted as NHL playoff games until 1927.

Cy Denenny’s Accomplishments:

• Back Check MVP (’24, ’26)
• Top Player:
  • Top 5 Player (by PS) six times (’18, ’21, ’22, ’24, ’25, ’26),
  • Top 10 eight times (’19, ’23)
  • Best Offensive Player (by OPS) once (’24),
  • Top 5 eight times (’18, ’19, ’21, ’22, ’23, ’25, ’26),
  • Top 10 nine times (’27)
• Goals:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Led the league in Goals once,
    • Top 5 eight times,
    • Top 10 nine times
  • GPG Leader-boards:
    • Led the league in GPG once,
    • Top 5 eight times
  • Single Season totals:
    • Scored 35 goals once (1 of only 4 players ever at his retirement),
    • 30 goals twice (1 of 4 players at his retirement),
    • 25 goals four times (1 of 2 players),
    • 20 goals seven times (only player ever to do so at his retirement)
• Assists:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Led the league in Assists twice,
    • Top 5 five times,
    • Top 10 six times
  • APG Leader-boards:
    • Set the single-season record for APG in the first NHL season (lost it the next season),
    • led the league in APG twice,
    • Top 5 four times
• Points:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Led the league in Points once,
    • Top 5 seven times
  • PPG Leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in PPG eight times
• VsX: Doesn’t qualify for the adjustment.
• NHA:
  • Goals:
    • Top 5 in Goals once
    • Top 5 in GPG once
  • Assists:
    • Top 10 in Assists maybe once
    • Top 10 in APG maybe once
  • Points:
    • Top 5 in Points once
    • Top 10 in PPG once.

Cy Denneny’s Great Teams:

(Stanley Cup vied for by multiple leagues until 1927)

• NHL:
  • Best Skater (led NHL playoffs in goals) on two Stanley Cup Champions (’23, ’27 Senators),
  • Best Skater (by points) on one NHL Runner Up (’24 Senators),
  • Best Forward (by points) on one NHL Runner Up (’19 Senators),
  • Top 3 Forward (led the NHL playoffs in goals) on one NHL Runner Up (’22 Senators),
  • Top 3 Forward (by points) on one Stanley Cup Champion (’21 Senators) and one NHL Runner Up (’26 Senators),
  • Top 3? Forward (by points) on one Stanley Cup Champion when there was no NHL playoff (’20 Senators),
  • Top 6 Forward (by points) and assistant coach on one Stanley Cup/NHL Champion (’29 Bruins),
  • Top 6 Forward (by points) on one Final Four (’28 Senators)