Harry Oliver was a WCHL star who mostly didn’t have the same kind of success in the NHL, except during the 1927 playoffs when he led the Bruins to a Stanley Cup.
When we discuss Harry Oliver’s Hall of Fame case, the big thing we struggle with is, was he a big enough star in the WCHL?
Listen to us talk about it here:
Harry Oliver’s Career:
- NHL: 1926-37; 11 seasons, 5 quality by modern standards of PPG
- Totals:
- 127G,
- 85 A for
- 212P;
- 39.1 Point Shares in
- 465 Games;
- At his retirement, Harry Oliver was
- 22nd All Time in Offensive Point Shares
- T-25th Forward All Time in Defensive Point Shares
- Per Game: Oliver does not qualify for any PG leaderboards but if we lower the qualifiers so he does (125G/75A/200P), at his retirement he still doesn’t make the Top 25
- Era: Of 30 skaters to play in at least 410 games (5 modern seasons) between 1926 and 1937, Oliver is
- 15th in Goals
- 15th in GPG
- 22nd in Assists
- T-22nd in APG
- 17th in Points
- 18th in PPG
- 14th in Offensive Point Shares
- T-13th Forward in Defensive Point Shares
- 18th in Point Shares
- T-15th in Games
- 82-game average: 22G, 15A for 38P
- 3-year peak (1928-31): 44-game average of 17G, 9A for 25P
- Playoffs:
- 10G (t-15th ALL Time at his retirement),
- 6A (t-30th All Time at his retirement) for
- 16P (t-20th All Time at his retirement) in
- 36 Games
- Per Game: Harry Oliver doesn’t qualify for any playoff PG leaderboards, but if they’re lowered, at his retirement Oliver was
- T-14th All Time (t-2nd last among qualifying players) in playoff GPG
- T-16th All Time in playoff APG
- 20th All Time in playoff PPG
- Era: Of the 77 skaters to play in at least 20 playoff games between 1926-37, Oliver is
- T-12th in playoff Goals
- T-14th in playoff GPG
- 28th in playoff Assists
- T-32nd in playoff APG
- 17th in playoff Points
- T-19th in playoff PPG
- 24th in playoff Games
- Trades:
- Traded at 27 into the NHL for cash
- Traded at 36 to the Americans for cash
- Adjustment for Era:
- Hockey-Reference:
- 241G,
- 294A for
- 535P
- Adjusted 82-game average: 42G, 52A for 94P (+56P per 82 games)
- VsX: Doesn’t qualify
- Hockey-Reference:
- Totals:
- WCHL: 1921-26; 5 seasons, all quality
- Totals:
- 90G (3rd All Time – Keats, Hay),
- 48A (t-4th All Time – Keats, Bill Cook, Art Gagne) for
- 138P (5th All Time – Keats, Hay, Cook, Gagne) in
- 130 Games (t-4th All Time – Ty Arbour, Keats, Stanley)
- Per Game:
- T-5th All Time in GPG (Keats, Hay, Cook, MacKay)
- T-4th All Time in APG (Keats, Cook, Gagne)
- 5th All Time in PPG (Keats, Cook, Hay, Gagne)
- 30-game average: 21G, 11A for 32P
- Playoffs:
- 3G,
- 2A for
- 5P in
- 11 Games
- Totals:
Harry Oliver’s Accomplishments:
- NHL:
- Top Player:
- Top 10 Player (by PS) once (‘29)
- Top 5 Offensive Player (by OPS) once (‘29)
- Top 10 twice (‘27)
- Goals:
- Leaderboards:
- Top 5 in Goals twice
- GPG Leaderboards:
- Top 5 in GPG once
- Top 10 twice
- Leaderboards:
- Points:
- Top 10 in Points twice
- Top Player:
- WCHL:
- Goals:
- Leaderboards:
- Top 5 in Goals three times
- Top 10 probably five times
- GPG leaderboards:
- Top 5 in GPG three times
- Top 10 probably five times
- Single-season totals:
- 25 goals once
- 20 goals three times
- Leaderboards:
- Assists:
- Leaderboards:
- Probably led the league in Assists once
- Top 5 three times
- Top 10 four or five times
- APG leaderboards:
- Probably led the league in APG once
- Top 5 three times
- Top 10 four or five times
- Leaderboards:
- Points:
- Leaderboards:
- Top 5 in Points three times
- Top 10 five times
- PPG leaderboards:
- Led the league in PPG once
- Top 5 three times
- Top 10 five times
- Leaderboards:
- Goals:
Harry Oliver’s Great Teams:
- NHL:
- Best Skater (led playoffs in points) on one Runner Up (‘27 Bruins) and one Final Four (‘28 Bruins)
- Top 3 or 6 Forward (by points) on one Champion (‘29 Bruins) and one Final Four (‘36 Americans)
- Top 6 Forward (by points) on one Runner Up (‘30 Bruins)
- Unknown role (didn’t score) on two Final Fours (‘31, ‘33 Bruins)
- WCHL:
- Unknown role (1 PPG in WCHL playoffs but didn’t score in SCF) on one WCHL Champion/ Stanley Cup Runner Up (‘24 Tigers)
- Amateur:
- Unclear role on one Allan Cup Runner Up (‘19 Fishermen)