Does Bobby Smith Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Bobby Smith was a star for the North Stars and then the Habs. But he has pretty mediocre offensive numbers given when he played. But then he has remarkably high playoff point totals.

So does he belong or not?

Listen to us talk about Bobby Smith here:

Bobby Smith’s Career:

  • 1978-93; 15 seasons, 13 quality
  • 357G, 679A for 1036P, -8 in 1077 games; 75.1 PS
  • Draft: Smith was drafted 1st overall in 1978; in his draft class he’s
    • 1st in Goals
    • 1st in Assists
    • 1st in Points
    • 58th in Plus/Minus
    • 3rd in Games
    • 1st in Point Shares
  • Era: Of the 21 players to play in at least 984 games (12 seasons) between 1978 and 1993, Smith is
    • 7th in Goals
    • 8th in GPG
    • 5th in Assists and APG
    • 7th in Points
    • 8th in PPG
    • 17th (5th last) in Plus/Minus
    • 8th in Offensive Point Shares
    • 15th (7th forward) in Defensive Point Shares
    • 12th in Point Shares
  • 82-game average: 27G, 52A for 79P, -1
  • 3-year peak (1979-82): 80-game average of 36G, 70A for 106P, +10
  • No possession stats
  • Playoffs: 
    • 64G (23rd All Time, 12th at his retirement), 
    • 96A (10th All time at his retirement) for 
    • 160P (22nd All Time, 10th at his retirement), 
    • -17 in 
    • 184 games (5th All Time at his retirement)
  • Adjusted:
    • Hockey Reference:
      • 285G, 554A for 839P
      • 82-game average: 22G, 42A for 64P
      • Obviously not on any Per Game leader-boards
    • VsX:
      • Goals: doesn’t qualify
      • 629A
      • 812P
      • Smith is not in the Top 25 for any VsX PG leaderboards
  • Trades:
    • Traded (at 25) for Keith Acton (25), Mark Napier (26) and a 3rd round pick (Ken Hodge Jr.)
    • Traded (at 32) for a 4th round pick (nobody)

Bobby Smith’s Accomplishments:

  • Calder (‘79)
  • Top 10 offensive player (by OPS) once (‘82)
  • Goals:
    • Single-season totals:
      • 40 goals once
      • 30 goals four times
      • 25 goals nine times
      • 20 goals ten times
  • Assists:
    • Top 10 in Assists twice
    • Top 5 in APG once, Top 10 three times
    • Single-seasons totals
      • 70 assists once
      • 60 assists three times
      • 50 assists seven times
      • 40 assists eleven times
  • Points:
    • Top 10 once
    • Top 10 in PPG twice
    • Season-season totals:
      • 110 points once
      • 90 points three times
      • 80 points six times
      • 70 points ten times
      • 50 points eleven times
  • All Star:
  • 4 All Star Game appearances
  • VsX Adjustment:
    • Best 7 Seasons:
      • Goals: N/A
      • Assists: 132nd All Time
      • Points: 199th All Time
    • Best 10 Seasons:
      • Goals: N/A
      • Assists: 110th All Time
      • Points: 162nd All Time

Bobby Smith’s Great Teams:

  • NHL:
    • Best Forward (by points) on one Runner Up (‘89 Habs)
    • Top 3 Forward (by points) on one Champion (‘86 Habs), one Runner Up (‘81 Stars) and two Final Fours (‘80 Stars, ‘87 Habs)
    • Top 6 Forward (by points) on one Runner Up (‘91 Stars) and one Final Four (‘84 Habs)
  • World Juniors:
    • Top 6? Forward (by points) on one Bronze (‘78 Canada)

One thought on “Does Bobby Smith Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”

  1. As a player only, maybe not. But as a all-round hockey guy, you’ve got to consider his ownership of a minor league team, general managership of an NHL team, and his whole life devotion to hockey. My vote is for him to get into the HOF.

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