Does Henri Richard Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Maurice’s less famous brother is the winningest player in NHL history in terms of Stanley Cups. But, does he have more of a case than just his 11 Stanley Cups?

Listen to us discuss Henri Richard’s Hall of Fame case here:

Hall of Fame Class of 1979: Henri Richard, Howell, Orr

Henri Richard’s Career:

  • NHL: 1955-75, 20 seasons, 19 quality
  • Totals:
    • 358G (15th All Time at his retirement),
    • 688A (7th All Time at his retirement) for
    • 1046P (10th All Time at his retirement),
    • +243* (12th All Time at his retirement) in
    • 1258 Games (11th All Time at his retirement);
    • 98.7 Point Shares (22nd All Time at his retirement);
    • At his retirement, Richard was 18th in Offensive Point Shares
    • Among Forwards, Richard was 6th All Time in Defensive Point Shares
  • Per Game: At his retirement, Richard was
    • T-13th All Time in APG
    • T-24th All Time in PPG
  • Era: Of the 26 skaters to play in at least 984 games (12 modern seasons) between 1955 and 1975, Richard is
    • 11th in Goals
    • 11th in GPG
    • 6th in Assists
    • 5th in APG
    • 9th in Points
    • 9th in PPG
    • 4th in Plus/Minus
    • 9th in Offensive Point Shares
    • 5th (1st/2nd Forward) in Defensive Point Shares
    • 10th in Point Shares
    • 4th in Games
  • 82-game average: 23G, 45A for 68P, +16*
  • 3-year peak (1957-60): 70-game average of 28G, 44A for 71P, +7*
  • Playoffs:
    • 49G (10th All Time at his retirement),
    • 80A (4th All Time at his retirement – ) for
    • 129P (t-4th All Time at his retirement -),
    • +21* in
    • 180 Games (1st All Time at his retirement)
    • Per Game: Not in the Top 25
    • Era: Of the 52 skaters to play in at least 82 playoff games between 1955 and 1975, Richard is
      • 7th in playoff goals
      • 20th in playoff GPG
      • 3rd in playoff assists
      • 19th in playoff APG
      • T-3rd in playoff points
      • 18th in playoff PPG
      • T-9th in playoff plus/minus
      • 1st in Games (by 28)
  • Adjustment for Era:
    • Hockey-Reference:
      • 388G,
      • 743A for
      • 1131P
      • 82-game average: 25G, 48A for 74P (+3P per 82 games)
      • Per Game: Not in the Top 25; however, if the qualifier is raised to 1230 games (15 seasons), Richard is
        • 24th All Time in Adjusted APG
    • VsX:
      • 498G
      • 990A (20th All Time)
      • 1254P
      • Per Game: Not in the Top 25; however, if the qualifier is raised to 820 games, Richard is
        • 18th All Time in VsX Adjusted APG;
        • If the qualifier is raised to 1230 games, Richard is
          • 25th All Time in VsX Adjusted GPG
          • 8th All Time in VsX Adjusted APG
          • 12th All Time in VsX Adjusted PPG
  • Trades: Never traded

Henri Richard’s Accomplishments:

  • Top 5 in Hart voting twice
  • Top 5 in Calder voting
  • Masterton (‘74)
  • All Star:
    • 1st Team All Star once
    • 2nd Team All Star three times
    • 10 All Star Game appearances
  • Top Player:
    • Top 10 Player (by PS) three times (‘58, ‘60, ‘63)
    • Top 5 Offensive Player (by OPS) twice (‘58, ‘60)
    • Top 10 seven times (‘57, ‘61, ‘63, ‘65, ‘67)
  • Goals:
    • Leader-boards:
      • Top 5 in Goals once
      • Top 10 twice
    • GPG leader-boards:
      • Top 5 in GPG once
      • Top 10 four times
    • Single-season totals:
      • 30 goals once
      • 25 goals twice
      • 20 goals nine times (1 of only 21 players at his retirement)
  • Assists:
    • Leader-boards:
      • Led the league in Assists twice
      • Top 5 three times
      • Top 10 seven times
    • APG leader-boards:
      • Led the league in APG twice – t-9th most ever
      • Top 10 eight times
    • Single-season totals:
      • 50 assists twice
      • 40 four times
  • Points:
    • Leader-boards:
      • Top 5 in Points three times
      • Top 10 seven times
    • PPG leader-boards:
      • Top 5 in PPG twice
      • Top 10 eigh times
    • Single-season totals:
      • 80 points once
      • 70 points three times
      • 60 points five times
      • 50 points fourteen times (1 of only 7 players ever a retirement)
  • Plus Minus:
    • Top 10 twice
  • VsX Peak:
    • Best 7 Seasons:
      • Goals: 115th All Time
      • Assists: 36th All Time
      • Points: 68th All Time
    • Best 10 Seasons:
      • Goals: 99th All Time
      • Assists: 37th All Time
      • Points: 68th All Time

Henri Richard’s Great Teams:

  • NHL:
    • Best Forward (co-led playoffs in points) on one Champion (‘60 Canadiens)
    • Top 3 Forward (by points) on one Champion (‘65 Canadiens), one Runner Up (‘67 Canadiens) and two Final Fours (‘61, ‘63 Canadiens)
    • Top 6 Forward (by points) on seven Champions (‘56, ‘57, ‘58, ‘59, ‘68, ‘71, ‘73 Canadiens)
    • Top 9 Forward (by points) on two Champions (‘66, ‘69 Canadiens) and two Final Fours (‘64, ‘75 Canadiens)

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