Brad Park was always a bridesmaid – few people have been nominated so many times for major awards and never won one. In addition, Park was in three Stanley Cup finals and never won.
So Brad Park had some bad luck. And it’s possible that he was the second best defenseman of his era – at least based on Norris trophy nominations.
So, where does Brad Park rank all time?
Listen to us talk about Brad Park’s Hall of Fame career here:
Brad Park’s Career:
- NHL: 1968-85; 17 seasons, 16 quality
- Totals:
- 213G (18th D All Time, 3rd at his retirement),
- 683A for (12th D All Time, 1st at his retirement)
- 896P (13th D All Time, 3rd at his retirement),
- +363 (17th All Time, 5th D at his retirement)
- 1113 Games (8th D All Time at his retirement);
- 143.5 Point Shares (14th D All Time, 2nd at his retirement);
- Park is 17th All Time in Defensive Point Shares (6th at his retirement) and 12th D All Time in Offensive Point Shares (3rd D at his retirement)
- Per Game: Among D, Park is
- 14th All Time in GPG (4th at his retirement)
- 8th All Time in APG (6th at his retirement)
- 9th All Time in PPG (3rd at his retirement)
- Draft: Drafted 2nd overall in 1966, in his draft class Park is
- 2nd in Goals
- 1st in Assists (by 355)
- 1st in Points (by 343)
- 1st in Plus/Minus (by 168)
- 1st in Point Shares (by 80.2)
- 1st in Games (by 219)
- Era: Of the 11 D to play in at least 820 games between 1968 and 1985, Park is
- 2nd in Goals
- 2nd in GPG (2 qualifying players)
- 1st in Assists
- 3rd in APG
- 2nd in Points
- 2nd in PPG (6 qualifying players)
- 4th in Plus/Minus
- 2nd in Offensive Point Shares
- 2nd in Defensive Point Shares
- 1st in Point Shares
- 1st in Games
- 82-game average: 16G, 50A for 66P, +27; 10.6 PS
- 3-year peak (1971-74): 78-game average of 22G, 57A for 79P, +44; 13.2
- No possession stats
- Playoffs:
- 35G (7th D All Time, 2nd at his retirement),
- 90A (12th D All Time, 2nd at his retirement) for
- 125P (9th D All Time, 2nd at his retirement),
- +24 (22nd D All Time at his retirement) in
- 161 Games (23rd D All Time, 2nd at his retirement)
- Per Game: Among D, Park is
- 7th All Time in playoff GPG (4th at his retirement)
- 15th All Time in playoff APG (12th at his retirement)
- 10th All Time in playoff PPG (6th at his retirement)
- Era: Of the 15 D to play in at least 82 playoff games between 1968 and 1985, Park is
- 2nd in playoff Goals
- 2nd in playoff GPG (3 qualifying players)
- 2nd in playoff Assists
- 2nd in playoff APG (8 qualifying players)
- 2nd in playoff Points
- 2nd in playoff PPG
- 9th in playoff Plus/Minus
- 2nd in playoff Games
- Adjusted:
- Hockey-Reference:
- 185G,
- 603A (15th D All Time) for
- 788P (19th D All Time)
- 82-game average: 14G, 44A for 58P (-8P per 82 games)
- Per Game: Among D,
- 20th All Time in Adjusted GPG
- 15th All Time in Adjusted APG
- 14th All Time in Adjusted PPG
- VsX:
- Goals: doesn’t qualify
- 728A
- 804P
- Per Game: we haven’t calculated VsX Per Game for just D
- Hockey-Reference:
- Trades:
- Traded at 27 with Jean Ratelle (35) and Joe Zanussi (28) to Boston for Phil Esposito (33) and Carol Vadnais (30)
Brad Park’s Accomplishments:
- Top 5 in Hart voting five times
- Top 5 in Norris voting nine times (including eight Top 2 finishes)
- Masterton (‘84)
- All Star:
- 1st Team All Star five times
- 2nd Team All Star twice
- Top Player:
- Top 5 Player (by PS) by twice (‘72, ‘74)
- Top 10 Player three times (‘78)
- Top 5 Defensive Player (by DPS) once (‘78)
- Top 10 Defensive Player three times (‘71, ‘72)
- Top 10 Offensive Player (by OPS) once (‘74)
- Goals:
- 25 goals once (1 of only 24 D, 14 at his retirement)
- 20 goals three times (1 of only 20 D ever, 9 at his retirement)
- 15 goals four times (1 of only 16 ever at his retirement)
- Assists:
- Leader-boards:
- Top 10 in Assists three times
- APG leader-boards:
- Top 5 in APG once
- Top 10 four times
- Totals:
- 50 assists five times (1 of only 14 D ever, 4 at his retirement – Potvin, Orr, Salming)
- 40 assists ten times (1 of only 8 D ever, most ever at his retirement)
- Leader-boards:
- Points:
- Leader-boards:
- Top 10 in Points once
- Totals:
- 80 points once (1 of only 19 D ever, 9 at his retirement)
- 70 points three times (1 of only 17 D ever, 6 at his retirement)
- 60 points five times (1 of only 20 D ever, 7 at his retirement)
- 50 points ten times (1 of only 10 D ever, 2nd ever at his retirement – Potvin)
- Leader-boards:
- Plus/Minus:
- Top 5 in Plus/Minus twice
- Top 10 twice
- VsX Peak:
- Best 7 Seasons:
- Goals: doesn’t qualify
- Assists: 110th All Time
- Points: doesn’t qualify
- Best 10 Seasons:
- Goals: doesn’t qualify
- Assists: 92nd All Time
- Points: 238th All Time
- Best 7 Seasons:
Brad Park’s Great Teams:
- NHL:
- Best Player (by points) on one Runner Up (‘78 Bruins)
- Best D (by points) on two Runners Up (‘72 Rangers, ‘77 Bruins) and three Final Fours (‘73, ‘74 Rangers, ‘76 Bruins)
- Top 2 D (by points) on three Final Fours (‘71 Rangers, ‘79, ‘83 Bruins)
- Summit Series:
- Best D (by points) on one Champion (‘72 Canada)