Does Marcel Pronovost Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Marcel Pronovost played a long time, had some Norris nominations and won multiple Stanley Cups.

But was he ever the #1 D on his team? We don’t have ice time so we don’t know. On some of the Cup winners he was on, there are 8 Hall of Famers. Should we be inducting middle 6 and 2nd pair players of Cup winners?

In this episode, we discuss Marcel Provnost’s complicated case for the Hall of Fame:

Marcel Pronovost’s Career:

• NHL: 1950-70, 20 seasons, 18 quality
• Totals:
  • 88G (t-16th/21st D All Time at his retirement),
  • 257A (7th/10th D All Time at his retirement)
  • 345P, (7th/11th D All Time at his retirement),
  • +39* (25th D All Time at his retirement) in
  • 1206 Games (7th All Time, 4th D –  Gadsby, Stanley, Howell – at his retirement);
  • 101.5 Point Shares (11th All Time at his retirement);
  • At his retirement, Pronovost was 3rd All Time in Defensive Point Shares (Horton, Harvey) and was the 17th/21st D All Time in Offensive Point Shares
• Per Game: Pronovost doesn’t qualify for any PG leader-boards but if we lower the qualifiers enough (to 80G, 250A and 300P), at his retirement among D, Pronovost was
  • t-24th/t-29th (last among qualifying players) All Time in GPG
  • 8th/11th (last among qualifying players) All Time in APG
  • 9th/13th (2nd last among qualifying players) All Time in PPG
• Era: Of the 10 (12) D who played in at least 820 games between 1950 and 1970, Pronovost is
  • 4th (6th) in Goals
  • 6th (8th) in GPG (doesn’t actually qualify)
  • 7th (9th) in Assists
  • 10th (12th, last) in APG (doesn’t actually qualify)
  • 7th (9th) in Points
  • 7th (9th) in PPG (doesn’t qualify)
  • 7th (8th) in Plus/Minus
  • 6th (8th) in Offensive Point Shares
  • 2nd in Defensive Point Shares
  • 3rd (4th) in Point Shares
  • 2nd in Games
• 82-game average: 6G, 17A for 24P, +3*
• 3-year peak (1952-55): 70-game average of 8G, 20A for 28P
• Playoffs:
  • 8G (t-11th/15th D All Time),
  • 23A (t-8th/11th D All Time) for
  • 31P (8th/11th D All Time),
  • -1* in
  • 134 Games (3rd/4th D All Time – Kelly, Talbot, Harvey)
  • Per Game: Pronovost does not qualify for the PG leaderboards, but if we lower the qualifiers (5G, 20A, 30P), among D at his retirement, he was
    • t-12/14th in playoff APG
    • 10th/12th in playoff PPG
  • Era: Of the 10 (11) D to play in at least 82 playoff games between 1950 and 1970, Pronovost is
    • T-3rd (4th) in playoffs Goals
    • T-4th (5th) in playoff GPG
    • 7th (8th) in playoff Assists
    • 7th (8th) in playoff APG
    • 6th (7th) in playoff Points
    • 7th (8th) in playoff PPG
    • 9th (2nd/3rd last) in playoff Plus/Minus
    • 3rd (4th) in playoff Games
• Adjusted for Era:
  • Hockey Reference:
    • 100G
    • 311A
    • 411P
    • Per Game: Obviously doesn’t qualify
    • Adjusted 82-game average: 8G, 21A for 28P (+4P per 82 games)
  • VsX: Doesn’t qualify
• Trades:
  • Traded at 34 with Aut Erickson (27), Larry Jeffrey (24), Eddie Joyal (25), Lowell MacDonald (23) to the Leafs for Andy Bathgate (32), Billy Harris (29) and Gary Jarrett (22)

Marcel Pronovost’s Accomplishments:

• Top 5 in Norris voting five times
• All Star:
  • 1st Team All Star twice
  • 2nd Team All Star twice
  • 11 All Star Game appearances
• Top Player:
  • Top 10 Player (by Point Shares) three times (‘52, ‘53, ‘55)
  • Best Defensive Player (by DPS) once (‘52)
  •  Top 5 five times (‘53, ‘55, ‘56, ‘57)
  • Top 10 six times (‘65)
• Plus/Minus:
  • Top 10 in Plus/Minus once

Marcel Pronovost’s Great Teams:

• NHL:
  • Best D (by points) on one Runner Up (‘61 Red Wings) and two Final Fours (‘60, ‘65 Red Wings)
  • Top 2 D (by points) on two Champions (‘54, ‘55 Red Wings) and one Runner Up (‘63 Red Wings)
  • Top 4 D (by points) on two Champions (‘52 Red Wings, ‘67 Leafs), two Runners Up (‘56, ‘64 Red Wings) and one Final Four (‘58 Red Wings)
  • Role Player (by points) on one Champion (‘50 Red wings) and four Final Fours (‘51, ‘53, ‘57 Red Wings, ‘66 Leafs)