Does Roy Worters Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Roy Worters had the unfortunate luck of playing for the Pirates and the Americans for the vast majority of his career. He never advanced out the semi finals in the NHL playoffs.

But he won a Hart and a Vezina (when it was the Jennings) and was nominated for the Hart three more times. He was also a star goalie in Junior and in an amateur league before his amateur went pro. It’s possible he was a great goalie on bad teams.

Listen to us discuss Roy Worters’ Hall of Fame case here:

Hall of Fame Class of 1969: Roy Worters, Sid Abel, Bryan Hextall, Red Kelly

Roy Worters’ Career:

  • NHL: 1925-37; 12 seasons, 11 as a starter
  • Totals:
    • 171W (7th All Time at his retirement)
    • 230L (1st/Last All Time at his retirement)
    • 82T (1st All Time at his retirement);
    • 67 SO (t-4th All Time at his retirement – Hainsworth, Connell, Chabot);
    • 75.7 Point Shares (5th All Time at his retirement – Hainsworth, Connell; Thompson);
    • 30181 Minutes (2nd All Time at his retirement – Roach) over
    • 484 Games (2nd All Time at his retirement – Roach);
  • Averages:
    • 2.28 GAA (6th All Time at his retirement – 8 qualifying players)
  • Era: Of the 11 goalies to play in at least 164 games (2 modern seasons) between 1925 and 1937, Worters is
    • 7th in Wins
    • 1st/Last in Losses
    • 1st in Ties
    • Last in Goals Against (by over 200)
    • 9th (3rd last) in GAA
    • T-4th in Shutouts
    • 1st in Minutes
    • 4th in Goalie Point Shares
    • 1st in Games
  • Season Average: 14-19-7; 6 SO; 6.3 PS
  • 82-game average: 29-39-14; 11 SO; 12.8 PS
  • Playoffs:
    • 3W (14th All Time at his retirement)
    • 6L (t-8th All Time at his retirement)
    • 1T (t-11th All Time at his retirement);
    • 3 SO (t-9th All Time at his retirement);
    • 690 Minutes (12th All Time at his retirement) in
    • 11 playoff Games;
    •  2.09 GAA (13th All Time – 2nd last out of all qualifying players, doesn’t actually qualify)
    • Era: Of the 13 goalie to play in at least 10 playoff games between 1925 and 1937, Worters is
      • 12th (2nd last) in playoff Wins
      • T-7th in playoff Losses
      • T-9th in playoff Ties
      • 5th in playoff Goals Against
      • 12th (2nd last) in playoff GAA
      • T-9th in playoff Shutouts
      • 11th (3rd last) in playoff Minutes
      • 11th (3rd last) in playoff Games
  • Adjustment for era:
    • 3.12 GAA
    • Worters played too early for the other era adjustments
  • Trades:
    • Traded at 28 to the Americans for Joe Miller (28) and cash
    • Loaned at 29 (for one game) to the Canadiens

Roy Worters’ Accomplishments:

  • Hart (‘29)
  • Top 4 in Hart voting a further three times
  • Vezina (‘31)
  • All Star:
    • 2nd Team All Star twice
  • Top Player:
    • Best Player (by Point Shares) once (‘31)
    • Top 10 three times (‘26, ‘34)
    • Best Goalie (by GPS) once (‘31)
    • Top 5 four times (‘26, ‘28, ‘29)
    • Top 10 twelve times (‘27, ‘30, ‘32, ‘33, ‘34, ‘35, ‘36, ‘37) – t-10th most all time
  • Wins:
    • Leaderboards:
      • Top 5 in Wins twice
      • Top 10 twelve times
  • Ties:
    • Led the league in Ties twice
    • Top 5 eight times (t-8th most all time)
  • Goals:
    • Total Goals Against:
      • Led the league in Goals Against three times (t-3rd most all time – Roach, Crozier)
      • Top 5 six times
      • Top 10 seven times (t-7th most all time)
    • GAA:
      • Leaderboards:
        • Led the league in GAA once
        • Top 5 five times
        • Top 10 twelve times (10th most all time)
      • Average:
        • 1.25 and under once (1 of only 4 goalies ever – Hainsworth, Connell, Thompson)
        • 1.75 and under three times (1 of only 5 goalies ever – Connell, Benedict, Chabot, Hainsworth)
        • 2 and under four times (1 of only 10 goalies ever, 1 of only 8 at his retirement)
        • 2.25 and under five times (1 of only 23 goalies ever, 1 of only 8 at his retirement)
        • 2.5 and under eight times (1 of only 21 goalies ever, 1 of only 5 at his retirement – Hainsworth, Chabot, Thompson, Connell)
  • Shutouts:
    • Leaderboards:
      • Top 5 in Shutouts six times
      • Top 10 twelve times (t-8th most all time)
    • Totals:
      • 10 shutouts twice (1 of only 15 goalies ever, 1 of only 8 at his retirement)
      • 5 shutouts six times (1 of only 24 goalies ever, 1 of only 5 at his retirement – Chabot, Hainsworth, Thompson, Connell)
  • Minutes:
    • Led the league in Minutes twice
    • Top 5 five times
    • Top 10 twelve times (t-10th most ever)
  • Games:
    • Led the league in Games Played five times
    • Top 5 six times
    • Top 10 twelve times (t-10th most ever)
  • Adjusted Peak: Worters played too early for the adjusted peak metrics

Roy Worters’ Great Teams:

  • NHL:
    • Starter (played every game) on one Final Four (‘36 Americans)
  • Amateur:
    • Starter on two USAHA Champions (‘24, ‘25 Yellowjackets)
  • Junior:
    • Starter (probably played every minute) on one Memorial Cup Champion (‘20 Paddlers)

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