Does Edward Reg Noble Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Reg Noble’s biggest claim to fame is that he set the NHL career record in games played and, when he retired he was way ahead of the next player.

Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? We talk about him here:

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Career

  • NHL: 1917-33; 16 seasons, 8 quality as a forward and probably at least 4 as a defenceman (i.e. 12 total)
  • 168G (7th All Time at his retirement), 106A (6th) for 274P (6th) in 510 games (1st – Noble was well first by well over a season’s worth of games when he retired); 35.2 PS (23rd)
  • Noble briefly held the career record for assists twice, in 1924-25 and again in 1929-30
  • At his retirement, Noble was 15th All Time in GPG, 17th in APG (1st All Time after the first NHL season) and 14th in PPG (minimum 300 games, as Noble didn’t score enough to make the Hockey Reference per game leader boards).
  • 82-game average: 27G, 17A for 44P
  • 3-year peak (1917-20): 24-game average of 25G, 9A for 34P
  • Playoffs: 2G, 2A for 4P in 18 games
  • Adjusted: 255G, 459A for 804P
  • Adjusted 82-game average: 41G, 74A for 129P
  • If the qualifier is set to 300 games, Noble is 14th All Time in Adjusted PPG
  • Traded once in his prime, twice after:
    • Traded for $8,000
    • Traded for $7,500
    • Traded for John Gallagher, who was roughly 14 years younger.
  • NHA:
    • 2 seasons, 1 quality
    • 11G, 5A for 16 P in 20 games
    • It’s possible, though very unlikely, that Noble is 10th All Time in APG, if the qualifier is low enough.

Accomplishments

  • Top 5 Player (by PS) once (’19)
  • Top 5 Offensive Player (by OPS) twice (’18, ’20), Top 10 six times (’21, ’22, ’23, ’24)
  • Top 5 Defensive Player (by DPS) once (’26)
  • Top 5 in Goals three times, Top 10 six times
  • Top 5 in GPG twice, Top 10 six times
  • Set the single season record in Assists in the first NHL season, Top 5 three times, Top 10 nine times
  • Let the single season record in APG in the first NHL season (surpassed the next year), Top 5 twice, Top 10 four times
  • Top 5 in Points once, Top 10 seven times
  • Top 5 in PPG once, Top 10 seven times.

Great Teams

  • NHL:
    • Top 3 Forward (by points) on two NHL Stanley Cup Champions (’18 Arenas, ’22 St. Patricks) and one NHL Runner Up (’21 St. Patricks)
    • Best D? (by points) on one NHL Stanley Cup Champion (‘26 Maroons)
  • NHA:
    • Unknown role (by points) on one NHA Stanley Cup Runner Up (’17 Canadiens)


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