Does Allan Stanley Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Allan Stanley played a really long time, won a bunch of Stanley Cups and was briefly considered one of the best D in the NHL.

But his name doesn’t come up very often in discussions of great D of the past.

So, does Allan Stanley belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame? Has he been unjustly forgotten?

Listen here:

Hall of Fame Class of 1981: Allan Stanley, Johnny Bucyk, Frank Mahovlich

Allan Stanley’s Career:

  • NHL: 1948-69, 21 seasons, 20 quality?
  • Totals:
    • 100G (9th/11th D All Time at his retirement),
    • 333A (4th/5th D All Time at his retirement – Harvey, Gadsby, Pilote, Kelly) for 
    • 433P (5th/7th D All Time at his retirement – Gadsby, Harvey, Kelly Pilote, Clapper, Horton),
    • +117* (14th All Time – 6th D at his retirement) in 
    • 1244 Games (4th All Time at his retirement – Howe, Kelly, Gadsby);
    • 103.6 Point Shares (9th All Time at his retirement, 4th/5th D – Harvey, Kelly, Horton, Clancy);
    • Stanley is 25th All Time in Defensive Point Shares (At his retirement, he  was 4th All Time in Defensive Point Shares – Harvey, Pronovost, Horton)
    • At his retirement, Stanley was the 11th D All Time in Offensive Point Shares
  • Per Game: Stanley didn’t score enough to make either the GPG or PPG leader-boards but we lowered the requirements (100G, 400P). At his retirement, among D, Stanley was 
    • 11th (last among all qualifying players) All Time in GPG
    • 6th (last among all qualifying players) All Time in APG
    • 7th (last among all qualifying players) All Time in PPG
  • Era: Of the 12 D* to play in at least 820 games (10 modern seasons) between 1948 and 1969, Stanley is
    • 4th (3rd) in Goals
    • 6th (5th) in GPG
    • 4th in Assists
    • 6th (5th) in APG
    • 6th (5th) in Points
    • 6th (5th) in PPG
    • 4th in Plus/Minus
    • 6th (5th) in Offensive Shares
    • 4th in Defensive Point Shares
    • 4th (3rd) in Point Shares
    • 1st in Games
  • 82-game average: 7G, 22A for 29P, +8* (*1/2 of his career so this isn’t accurate)
  • 3-year peak (1959-62): 70-game average of 10G, 27A for 37P, +18
  • Playoffs:
    • 7G (t-17th/15th D All Time at his retirement),
    • 36A (3rd D All Time at his retirement – Harvey, Pilote) for
    • 43P (5th/4th D All Time at his retirement – Harvey, Pilote, Kelly, Tremblay),
    • +2* (t-24th D All Time at his retirement) in
    • 109 Games (6th D All Time at his retirement)
    • Per Game: Stanley doesn’t qualify for playoff GPG or PPG so we lowered the qualifiers (5G, 40P). At his retirement, among D, Stanley was
      • T-4th (last among qualifying players) in playoff APG – Pilote, Harvey, Tremblay
      • 6th (last among qualifying players) in playoff PPG
  • Adjusted for Era:
    • Hockey-Reference:
      • 114G
      • 395A for
      • 509P
      • Per Game: Stanley doesn’t qualify for AGPG or APPG and isn’t in the Top 25 for AAPG
      • 82-game average: 8G, 26A for 34P (+5P per 82 games)
    • VsX:
      • Goals: doesn’t qualify
      • 536A
      • Points: doesn’t qualify
  • Trades:
    • Traded at 22 into the NHL for Eddie Kullman (nearly 23), Moe Morris (27) and a player to be named later (Buck Davies)
    • Traded at at 28 with Rich Lamoureux (20) and Nick Mickoski (26) to the Hawks for Pete Conacher (22) and Bill Gadsby (27)
    • Traded at 30 to the Bruins for cash
    • Traded at 30 (on the same day) to the Leafs for Jim Morrison (26)
    • Left unprotected at 40 in the “1968 special draft”

Allan Stanley’s Accomplishments:

  • Top 5 in Norris voting twice
  • Top 5 in Calder voting
  • All Star:
    • 2nd Team All Star three times
    • 7 All Star Game appearances
  • Top Player:
    • Top 10 Player (by Point Shares) once (‘61)
    • Top 5 Defenseman (by DPS) twice (‘59, ‘61)
    • Top 10 five times (‘57, ‘58, ‘64)
  • Plus/Minus:
    • Top 5 in Plus/Minus once
    • Top 10 twice
  • VsX Peak: Doesn’t qualify

Allan Stanley’s Great Teams:

  • NHL:
    • Best D (by points) on two Champions (‘63, ‘64 Leafs), one Runner Up (‘50 Rangers) and one Final Four (‘61 Leafs)
    • Top 2 D (by points) on two Runners Up (‘57 Bruins, ‘60 Bruins)
    • Top 4 D (by points) on two Champions (‘62, ‘67 Leafs) and one Runner Up (‘59 Leafs)
    • Role Player (by points) on one Final Four (‘65 Leafs)
    • Injured on one Final Four (‘66 Leafs)

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