Does Lester Patrick Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame as a Player?

To say Lester Patrick played in the NHL is a bit of an exaggeration – he played two games over two seasons in his mid 40s while he was the coach of the Rangers. His career as a player was mostly spent in the PCHA (which he co-founded).

Lester Patrick is one of the major figures in the early history of hockey. His role as a builder is so important you could argue there were few others as important.

But how about his career as a player? Was he a Hall of Famer?

We discuss that in our latest episode:

Lester Patrick’s stats:

Career:

• NHL: 
  • 1926-27; 2 seasons, neither quality
  • 0P in 1 game
  • Playoffs (goalie): 1-0, 1.71 GAA
• PCHA:
  • 1911-22; 11 seasons, 8? Quality
  • 72G (17th? All Time), 55A (8th?) for 127P (11th?) in 142 games (13th?)
  • If the qualifier is 120 games (5 seasons, based upon the length of the final season), Patrick is 9th All Time in GPG, 5th in APG and 8th in PPG (approximately)
  • 24-game average: 12G, 9A for 21P
  • Didn’t calculate a 3-year peak because it’s too hard
  • Playoffs: 1A for 1P in 2 games
• NHA:
  • 1909-10, 1 quality season
  • 24G for 24P in 12 games
  • No playoffs at the time
• WHL:
  • 1925-26, 1 quality season
  • 5G, 8A for 13P in 23 games
  • Playoffs: 0P in 2 games
• Amateur and Semi Pro:
  • ECAHA:
    • 1905-06; 2 seasons, both quality
    • 28G for 28P in 18 games
    • Playoffs: 3G for 3P in 2P
  • CAHL: 
    • 1904-05; 1 quality season
    • 4G for 4P in 8 games

Accomplishments:

• NHL: No accomplishments
• PCHA: 
  • Top 5 in Goals once or maybe twice, Top 10 four times
  • Top 5 in GPG once or maybe twice, Top 10 four times
  • Top 5 in Assists twice, Top 10 probably three times
  • Top 5 in APG once or twice, Top 10 probably three times
  • Top 5 in Points twice, Top 10 four times
  • Top 5 in PPG twice, Top 10 four times
• NHA:
  • Top 5 in Goals, GPG, Points and PPG in his only season
• WHL: No accomplishments
• Amateur: not enough information

Great Teams:

• NHL:
  • Backup goalie and coach of one Stanley Cup Champion (‘28 Rangers)
• PCHA:
  • Best D? On one PCHA Campion Stanley Cup Runner Up (‘14 Aristocrats) and one PCHA Runner Up (‘18 Metropolitans)
• WHL:
  • Coach and unknown playing role on one WHL Runner Up (‘26 Cougars) [one year after he coached them to a Stanley Cup, which is super weird]
• Amateur:
  • ECAHA:
    • Unknown role (best d? Best rover?) on two Stanley Cup Champions (‘06, ‘07 Wanderers)
  • MNHA:
    • Unknown role on failed Stanley Cup challenger (‘04 Brandon Wheat Cities)