Does Mark Howe Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

When Mark Howe was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame there was some controversy: They inducted who???

But Mark Howe was one of the elite NHL defensemen of the 1980s. Before that, he was one of the best forwards in the WHA.

We talk about Mark How’s case in our latest episode. Listen here:

Mark Howe’s stats:

Career:

• NHL: 1979-95; 16 seasons, 13? quality (by DPS)
• 197G, 545A (5th American D All Time) for 742P, +400 (12th All Time, 1st American) in 929 games; 111.9 PS
• Draft: Howe was drafted 25th overall in 1974, in his draft class he is:
  • 12th in Goals
  • 2nd in Assists
  • 4th in Points
  • 2nd in Plus/Minus while
  • 9th in Games Played
• Era: Of the 38 D who played in at least 750 games between 1979 and 1995, Howe is
  • 7th in Goals, Offensive Point Shares and Point Shares
  • 6th in GPG
  • 9th in Assists
  • 8th in APG, Points, PPG and Defensive Point Shares
  • 3rd in Plus/Minus while
  • 28th in Games Played
• 82-game average: 17G, 48A for 66P, +35; 9.9 PS
• 3-year peak (1984-87): 82-game average of 21G, 52A for 73P, +73; 13.1 PS
• No possession stats available, which makes me sad
• Playoffs: 10G, 51A for 61P, +42 (25th All Time) in 101 games
• Adjusted: 160G, 450A for 610P
• Adjusted 82-game average: 14G, 40A for 54P
• Trades:
  • Traded at 27 with a 3rd round pick (Derrick Smith) for Ken Linseman (24), Greg Adams (not that Greg Adams, 22), a 1st round pick (David Jensen) and a 3rd (guy who never played in the NHL)
• WHA:
  • 1973-79; 6 seasons, all quality by PPG
  • 208G (10th All Time), 296A (10th) for 504P (8th), +154 in 426 games
  • Howe is 9th All Time in GPG and PPG
  • 82-game average: 40G, 57A for 97P, +27
  • 3-year peak (1976-79): 82-game average of 38G, 72A for 110P, +34
  • Playoffs: 41G, 51A for 92P, +1 in 75 games.

Accomplishments:

• Top 5 in Hart voting twice
• Top 5 in Norris voting four times
• Top 5 Player (by PS) once (‘86), Top 10 three times (‘83, ‘87)
• Best Defensive Player (by DPS) once (‘87), Top five four times (‘83, ‘85, ‘86)
• Scored 20 goals twice, 15 goals six times
• Tallied 50 assists twice, 40 assists seven times
• Scored 80 points twice, 60 points five times, 50 points nine times
• Led the league in Plus/Minus once, Top 5 twice, Top 10 four times
• 1st Team All Star three times
• 4 All Star Game appearances
• WHA:
  • Kaplan (‘74)
  • Scored 40 goals once, 35 goals four times, 30 goals five times, 20 goals every season he was in the league
  • Tallied 60 assists twice, 50 assists three times, 40 assists five times
  • Scored 100 points once, 90 points twice, 70 points every season he was in the league (never played a full season)
  • Top 10 in Goals twice
  • Top 10 in GPG once
  • Top 5 in Assists once, Top 10 twice
  • Top 5 in APG twice, Top 10 three times
  • Top 5 in Points once, Top 10 twice
  • Top 5 in PPG once, Top 10 three times
  • 1st Team All Star once, 2nd Team twice.

Great Teams:

• NHL:
  • Best D (by points) on one Runner Up (‘85 Flyers) and one Final Four (‘89 Flyers)
  • Top 2? D (by points but led playoffs in Plus/Minus) on one Runner Up (‘87 Flyers)
• WHA:
  • Best Player (by points) on one Champion (‘75 Aeros)
  • Best Player? (by points-tied) on one Runner Up (‘76 Aeros)
  • Top 3 Forward (by points) on one Champion (‘74 Aeros), one Runner Up (‘78 Whalers) and one Final Four (‘77 Aeros) – Note: Possibly Best D (by points) on ‘77 Aeros and ‘78 Whalers, record is not entirely clear, wikipedia says D but hockey reference says BOTH
• Olympics:
  • Role Player (by points) on one Runner Up (‘72 USA)
• Canada Cup:
  • Best D??? (by points) on one Final Four (‘81 USA)
• Summit Series:
  • Top 6 Forward (by points) on one Runner Up (‘74 Canada)