Andy Bathgate won the Hart (though we don’t agree) and he was arguably the 2nd best regular season RW of his era (if you don’t count the years he overlapped with Richard).
But his playoff numbers are not great and the only Cup he won he had quite a diminished role.
So, does Andy Bathgate belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?
Listen here:
Andy Bathgate’s Career:
- NHL: 1952-71; 17 seasons, 15 quality
- Totals:
- 349G (11th All Time at his retirement),
- 624A (4th All Time at his retirement – Howe, Delvecchio, Beliveau) for
- 973P (6th All Time at his retirement),
- -60* in
- 1069 Games (19th All Time at his retirement);
- 91.8 Point Shares (23rd All Time at his retirement);
- At his retirement, Bathgate was 12th All Time in Offensive Point Shares
- Per Game: At his retirement, Bathgate was
- 7th All Time in APG
- 12th All Time in PPG
- Era: Of the 16 skaters to play in at least 1066 games (13 modern seasons) between 1952 and 1971, Bathgate is
- 4th in Goals
- 4th in GPG
- 4th in Assists
- 3rd in APG
- 5th in Points
- 3rd in PPG
- 13th in Plus/Minus
- 5th in Offensive Point Shares
- Last in Defensive Point Shares
- 6th in Point Shares
- 15th (2nd last) in Games
- 82-game average: 27G, 48A for 75P, -5
- 3-year peak (1956-59): 70-game average of 33G, 50A for 83P
- Playoffs:
- 21G,
- 14A for
- 35P,
- -7* in
- 54 Games
- Per Game: At his retirement, Bathgate was
- 12th All Time in playoff PPG
- Era: Of the 110 skaters to play in at least 41 playoff games between 1952 and 1971, Bathgate is
- 22nd in playoff Goals
- 11th in playoff GPG
- 64th in playoff Assists
- 58th in playoff APG (doesn’t remotely qualify for the leaderboard)
- 41st in playoff Points
- 27th in playoff PPG (doesn’t remotely qualify for the leaderboard)
- 88th in Plus/Minus
- ???
- Adjusted for Era:
- Hockey-Reference:
- 394G,
- 719A for
- 1113P
- Adjusted 82-game average: 30G, 55A for 85P (+10P per 82 games)
- Per Game: Not in the Top 25; however, if the qualifier is raised to 820 games, Bathgate is
- 19th All Time in Adjusted APG
- VsX:
- 508G,
- 957A
- 1226P
- Per Game: Not in the Top 25; however, if the qualifier is raised to 820 games, Bathgate is
- 23rd All Time in VsX Adjusted GPG
- 6th All Time in VsX Adjusted APG
- 12th All Time in VsX Adjusted PPG
- Hockey-Reference:
- Trades:
- Traded at 22 with Vic Howe (25) into the NHL for Eric Pogue and Glen Sonmor (25)
- Traded at 31 with Don McKenney (29) to the Leafs for Arnie Brown (22), Bill Collins (20), Dick Duff (28), Bob Nevin (25) and Rod Seiling (19) – our 5 Worst Maple Leafs Trade of All Time with a gigantic asterisk
- Traded at 32 with Billy Harris (29) and Gary Jarrett (22) to the Red Wings for Aut Erickson (27), Larry Jeffrey (24), Eddie Joyal (25), Lowell MacDonald (23) and Marcel Pronovost (34)
- Left unprotected in an expansion draft at 35
- Loaned to a minor league (so, waived?) twice at 36
- WHA: 1974-75, 1 season attempted comeback
- Totals:
- 1G,
- 6A for
- 7P in
- 11 Games
- Totals:
Andy Bathgate’s Accomplishments:
- Hart (‘59)
- Top 5 in Hart voting a further three times
- All Star:
- 1st Team All Star twice
- 2nd Team All Star twice
- 8 All Star Game appearances
- Top Player:
- Top 10 Player (by PS) six times (‘57, ‘58, ‘59, ‘61, ‘’62, ‘63)
- Top 5 Offensive Player (by OPS) six times (‘57, ‘58, ‘59, ‘61, ‘62, ‘63)
- Top 10 nine times (‘56, ‘60, ‘64)
- Goals:
- Leader-boards:
- Top 5 in Goals three times
- Top 10 seven times
- GPG leader-boards:
- Top 5 in GPG three times
- Top 10 seven times
- Single-season totals:
- 40 goals once (1 of only 20 players ever at his retirement)
- 35 goals twice (1 of only 15 players ever at his retirement)
- 30 goals three times (1 of only 19 players ever at his retirement)
- 25 goals seven times (1 of only 10 players ever at his retirement)
- 20 goals nine times (1 of only 15 players ever at his retirement)
- Leader-boards:
- Assists:
- Leader-boards:
- Led the league in Assists twice
- Top 5 nine times (t-4th most ever – Howe, Gretzky, Oates)
- APG leader-boards:
- Led the league in APG once
- Top 5 eight times (t-9th most ever)
- Top 10 ten times (t-10th most ever)
- Single-season totals:
- 50 assists three times (1 of only 3 players ever at his retirement – Howe, Beliveau)
- 40 assists nine times (1 of only 4 players ever at his retirement – Howe, Beliveau, Mikita)
- Leader-boards:
- Points:
- Leader-boards:
- Led the league in Points once
- Top 5 nine times (t-3rd most ever – Howe, Gretzky)
- PPG leader-boards:
- Led the league in PPG once
- Top 5 six times
- Top 10 nine times
- Leader-boards:
- Single-season leader-boards:
- 80 points three times (1 of only 6 players ever at his retirement)
- 70 points eight times (1 of only 5 players ever at his retirement – Howe, Mikita, Beliveau, Hull)
- 60 points nine times of (1 of only 7 players ever at his retirement)
- 50 points ten times (1 of only 12 players ever at his retirement)
- VsX Peak:
- Best 7 Seasons:
- 39th All Time in Goals
- 12th All Time in Assists
- 16th All Time in Points
- Best 10 Seasons:
- 36th All Time in Goals
- 10th All Time in Assists
- 13th All Time in Points
- Best 7 Seasons:
Andy Bathgate’s Great Teams:
- Best Player (by points) one one Final Four (‘58 Rangers)
- Top 3 Forward (by points) on one Final Four (‘56 Rangers)
- Top 6 Forward (co-led playoffs in goals) on one Runner Up (‘66 Red Wings)
- Top 6 Forward (by points) on one Champion (‘64 Leafs) and two Final Fours (‘57, ‘62 Rangers)
- Top 9 Forward (by points) on one Final Four (‘65 Leafs)