Frank Mahovlich was considered the second best LW of the 1960s. (The first is arguably the Greatest of All Time.) But outside of Leafs fans, how well is he remembered?
He was likely more dominant in certain areas than you think but, in part because he never scored more than 49 goals or 96 points, and had some poor playoffs, it seems like he’s not as highly regarded now as he was in his prime. Also, like most LWs, his numbers wouldn’t look as good if he was a centre or RW.
Mahovlich obviously belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame (see his resume below) but, in this episode, we wonder where he ranks among the greatest Left Wings of all time.
Listen:
Frank Mahovlich’s Career:
- NHL:
- 1956-74, 18 seasons, 17 quality
- Totals:
- 533G (4th All Time at his departure to the WHA – Howe, Hull, Richard),
- 570A (10th All Time at his departure) for
- 1103P (8th All Time at his departure),
- +266 (4th All Time at his departure – Orr, Esposito, Mikita) in
- 1181 Games (17th All Time at his departure);
- 121.7 PS (10th All Time at his departure);
- At his departure, Mahovlich was 6th All Time in Offensive Point Shares;
- Among Forwards, Mahovlich was 8th* All Time in Defensive Point Shares
- Per game: At his retirement, Mahovlich was
- T-14th All Time in GPG (4th LW)
- 23rd All Time in APG (2nd LW)
- T-12th All Time in PPG (3rd LW)
- Era: Of the 12 skaters to play in at least 1066 games (13 modern seasons) between 1956 and 1974, Mahovlich is
- 1st in Goals (by 61 Goals)
- 1st in GPG (by 0.08)
- 5th in Assists
- 5th in APG
- 3rd in Points
- T-1st in PPG
- 1st in Plus/Minus
- 1st in Offensive Point Shares
- 4th in Defensive Point Shares (1st Forward)
- 1st in Point Shares
- 5th in Games
- 82-game average: 37G, 39A for 76P, +18
- 3-year peak (1971-74): 78-game average of 39G, 55A for 93P, +35
- Playoffs:
- 51G (7th All Time at his retirement),
- 67A (t-6th All Time at his retirement) for
- 118P (t-7th All Time at his retirement),
- -25 in
- 137 Games (t-6th All Time at his retirement);
- Per Game: At his retirement, Mahovlich was
- T-17th All Time in playoff GPG
- T-16th All Time in playoff APG
- T-12th All Time in playoff PPG
- Era: Of the 42 skaters to play in at least 82 playoff games between 1956 and 1974, Mahovlich is
- 4th in playoff Goals
- T-9th in playoff GPG
- T-4th in playoff Assists
- T-8th in playoff APG
- 4th in playoff Points
- 8th in playoff PPG
- Last in Plus/Minus
- 3rd in playoff Games
- Adjustment for Era:
- Hockey-Reference:
- 550G
- 596A for
- 1146P
- Adjusted 82-game average: 38G, 41A for 80P (+4P per 82 games)
- Per Game: Not in the Top 25; however if the qualifier is set to 820 games, Mahovlich is
- T-21st All Time in Adjusted GPG
- VsX:
- 689G (12th All Time)
- 794A
- 1260P
- Per Game: Not in the Top 25; however, if the qualifier is set to 820 games, Mahovlich is
- 9th All Time in VsX Adjusted GPG
- 19th All Time in VsX Adjusted PPG;
- Hockey-Reference:
- Trades:
- Traded at 30 with Carl Brewer (29), Pete Stemkowski (24) and Garry Unger (20) to the Red Wings for Doug Barrie, Paul Henderson, Floyd Smith and Norm Ullman – our 23rd Best Maple Leafs Trade All Time
- Traded at 33 to the Canadiens for Guy Charron (nearly 22), Bill Collins (28) and Mickey Redmond (23)
- WHA:
- 1974-78, 4 seasons, 3 quality
- Totals:
- 89G,
- 143A for
- 232P,
- -14 in
- 237 Games
- Per Game: Mahovlich is not in the Top 25
- Era: Cannot calculate
- 82-game average: 31G, 49A for 80P, -5
- 3-year peak (1974-77): 81-game average of 31G, 68A for 100P, -4
- Playoffs:
- 4G,
- 1A for
- 5P,
- +2 in
- 9 Games
- Per game: Obviously not in the Top 25
- Era: Can’t calculate
- Trades:
- Traded at 36 to Toronto for unknown compensation
Frank Mahovlich’s Accomplishments:
- NHL:
- Top 5 in Hart voting twice
- Calder (‘58)
- All Star:
- 1st Team All Star three times (5th most by an LW – Hull, Ovechkin, Robitaille)
- 2nd Team All Star six times (t-3rd most total by an LW – Hull, Ovechkin)
- 15 All Star Game appearances
- Top Player:
- Top 5 Player (by PS) once (‘61)
- Top 10 five times (‘62, ‘63, ‘69, ‘72)
- Top 5 Offensive Player (by OPS) five times (‘61, ‘62, ‘63, ‘70, ‘72)
- Top 10 eight times (‘66, ‘69, ‘73)
- Goals:
- Leader-boards:
- Top 5 in Goals six times
- Top 10 eigh times
- GPG leader-boards:
- Top 5 in GPG six times
- Top 10 eight times
- Single-season totals:
- 45 goals twice (1 of only 8 players ever at his departure to the WHA)
- 40 goals three times (1 of only 8 players ever at his departure)
- 35 goals six times (1 of only 5 players ever at his departure – Hull, Howe, Esposito, Richard)
- 30 goals ten times (1 of only 3 players ever at his departure – Howe, Hull)
- 25 goals twelve times (1 of only 6 players ever at his departure)
- 20 goals fifteen times (1 of only 3 players ever at his departure – Howe, Ullman)
- Leader-boards:
- Assists:
- Leader-boards:
- Top 10 in Assists three times
- APG leader-boards:
- Top 10 in APG twice
- Single-season totals:
- 50 assists twice (1 of only 23 players ever at his departure)
- 40 assists four times (1 of only 20 players ever at his departure)
- Leader-boards:
- Points:
- Leader-boards:
- Top 5 in Points three times
- Top 10 seven times
- PPG leader-boards:
- Top 5 in PPG twice
- Top 10 six times
- Single-season totals:
- 90 points twice (1 of only 10 players ever at his departure)
- 80 points four times (1 of only 8 players ever at his departure)
- 70 points nine times (1 of 5 players ever at his departure – Howe, Mikita, Hull, Beliveau)
- 50 points thirteen times (1 of 9 players at his departure)
- Leader-boards:
- Plus/Minus:
- Top 5 in Plus/Minus once
- Top 10 four times
- WHA:
- Goals:
- 35 goals once
- 30 goals twice
- Assists:
- 50 assists once
- 40 assists twice
- Points:
- 80 points twice
- Goals:
Frank Mahovlich’s Great Teams:
- NHL:
- Best Player (set the single-playoff record in goals, tied the single-playoff record in points) on one Champion (‘71 Canadiens) but did not win MVP
- Best Skater (led the playoffs in assists) on one Champion (‘64 Leafs)
- Top 3 Forward (by points) on two Champions (‘62, ‘73 Canadiens) and one Final Four (‘59 Leafs)
- Top 6 Forward (by points) on one Champion (‘67 Leafs) and two Final Fours (‘61, ‘65)
- Top 9 Forward (by points) on one Runner Up (‘60 Leafs) and one Final Four (‘66 Leafs)
- Role Player (by points) on one Champion (‘63 Leafs)
- WHA: No playoff success
- Summit Series:
- Role Player (by points, played 6/8 games) on one Champion (‘72 Canada) and one Runner Up (‘74 Canada)