Original Six

Does Roy Conacher Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Roy Conacher scored the second most goals of his era, behind only Maurice Richard. And he also won an Art Ross.

But it took the Hall of fame decades to induct him, and he wasn’t inducted until the late 1990s.

In this episode, we discuss Roy Conacher’s case for the Hall of Fame. Listen here:

Does Claude Provost Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Claude Provost won 9 Stanley Cups – in fact, he has the most Stanley Cups of anyone not already inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

He has better regular season numbers than at least one comparable player who has been inducted (Dick Duff), though his playoff numbers aren’t any good.

Should he be in the Hall of Fame?

Listen to us talk about his case here:

Why is Dick Duff in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Never a top offensive player in the league, Dick Duff was inducted into the Hall of Fame 34 years after retired.

In the latest episode of our podcast, we ask why Dick Duff was inducted at all, why he was inducted when he was, and whether or not his induction sets a dangerous precedent for the Hall of Fame.

Listen here:

Does Rogie Vachon Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Rogie Vachon was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016, almost 35 years after he retired, to some controversy.

To some, he was one of the best goalies on the planet at his peak. To others, his career stats just aren’t good enough.

So, does he belong? Listen to us talk about him here:

Does Jean-Guy Talbot Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Now that Kevin Lowe is in the Hockey Hall of Fame, we decided to look at someone else with a lot of Cups who isn’t in yet: Jean-Guy Talbot.

Listen to us discuss his case here:

Reevaluating the Hart Part 3: Original Six Hart Trophies

In Part 3 of our series, we tackle the NHL’s most famous era, the Original Six, and the MVP trophies awarded therein. There are a few here that are absolutely outrageous.

Lorne Carr

Career

NHL: 1933-46; 13 seasons, 9 quality[1. By Modern standards of PPG]
204G (12th All Time at his retirement), 222A (10th) for 426P (9th) in 580 games (16th); 39.2 PS
Era: Carr is 3rd in Goals, GPG, OPS and Games, 2nd in Assists, APG, Points and PPG, and 7th in PS[2. Of the 7 players to play in at least 550 games between 1933 and 1946]
82-game average: 29G, 31A for 60P
3-year peak:[3. 1942-45] 48-game average of 27G, 31A for 59P
Playoffs: 10G, 9A for 19P in 53 games
Adjusted: 273G, 345A for 618P
Adjusted 82-game average: 39G, 49A for 87P
Traded twice in his prime, and twice at the beginning of his career.[4. Basically he was waived and called back up.]

Continue reading “Lorne Carr”

Dit Clapper’s Career

NHL: 1927-47; 20 seasons, 8 out of 10 quality as a forward (by modern standards of PPG) and at least 8 out of 10 quality as a D (by Defensive Point Shares)
Totals:
- 228G (8th All Time at his retirement),
- 246A (6th) for
- 474P (6th) in
- 833 games (1st) – Clapper held the record for games played until the 1956-57 season
- 94.3 PS (5th)
At his retirement, Clapper was 18th All Time in GPG and PPG, and 20th in APG (minimum 500 games, since Clapper doesn’t meet the qualifiers for APG or PPG)
At his retirement, Clapper was 6th All Time in Offensive Point Shares and 11th All time in Defensive Point Shares
Era: Of the 7 players to play in at least 600 games between 1927 and 1947, Clapper is
- 3rd in Goals, GPG, Points and DPS,
- 2nd in Assists,
- 4th in APG and PPG,
- 1st in OPS, PS and Games
82-game average: 22G, 25A for 47P; 9.2 PS
3-year peak (1929-32): 44-game average of 26G, 16A for 43P (as a forward)
Playoffs: 13G, 17A for 30 points in 82 games
Adjusted: 382G, 508A for 890P
Adjusted 82-game average: 38G, 50A for 88P
Never Traded.

Milt Schmidt’s Career

NHL: 1936-42, 1945-55; 16 seasons, 14 quality
Totals:
- 229G (14th All Time at his retirement),
- 346A (3rd) for
- 575P (4th) in
- 776 games (2nd),
- 63.3 PS (22nd)
- At his retirement, Schmidt was 13th All time in OPS
Per game: At his retirement, Schmidt was
- 25th All Time in GPG
- 7th in APG (out of 8 qualifying players)
- 13th in PPG (out of 13 qualifying players)
Era: Of the 6 players to play it at least 700 games between 1936 and 1955, Schmidt is
- 3rd in Goals, GPG, PPG and PS,
- 1st in Assists, APG and Games,
- 2nd in Points and OPS
82-game average: 25G, 37A for 61P
3-year peak (1939-42): 48-game average of 18G, 28A for 46P
Playoffs:
- 24G,
- 25A for
- 49P in 86 games
Adjusted:
- Hockey-Reference:
  - 305G, 540A for 845P
  - Adjusted 82-game average: 32G, 57A for 89P
  - Schmidt is not on any PG leader-boards
- VsX:
  - 423G
  - 782A
  - 1,030P
  - Schmidt is 18th All Time in VsX Adjusted APG
Never traded.

Milt Schmidt’s Accomplishments

Hart (’51)
Top 5 in Hart voting a further four times (’40, ’47, ’50, ’52)
Back Check Best Player (’40)
Back Check MVP (’40)
Top Player:
- Top 5 Player (by Point Shares) once (’40),
- Top 10 twice (’47)
- Best Offensive Player (by Offensive Point Shares) once (’40),
- Top 5 thrice (’47, ’51)
Goals:
- Leader-boards:
  - Top 5 in Goals once,
  - Top 10 three times
- GPG leader-boards:
  - Top 5 in GPG once,
  - Top 10 four times
- Single-season totals:
  - 25 goals once, 20
  - goals four times
Assists:
- Leader-boards:
  - Led the league in Assists once,
  - Top 5 four times
- APG leader-boards:
  - Led the league in APG once,
  - Top 5 four times
Points:
- Leader-boards:
  - Led the league in Points once,
  - Top 5 thrice,
  - Top 10 five times
- PPG leader-boards:
  - Top 5 in PPG thrice,
  - Top 10 five times
- Single-season totals:
  - 60 points twice (1 of only 12 players to do so at his retirement)
  - 50 points four times (1 of only 13 players at his retirement)
All Star:
- 1st Team All Star thrice,
- 2nd Team once
- 4 All Star Games
VsX:
- Best 7 Seasons:
  - Goals: 123rd All Time
  - Assists: 43rd All Time
  - Points: 56th All Time
- Best 10 Seasons:
  - Goals: 113th All Time
  - Assists: 51st All Time
  - Points: 68th All Time

Great Teams

NHL:
- Best Player (by points) on one Runner Up (’46 Bruins) and two Final Fours (’47, ’48 Bruins),
- Best Skater (led playoffs in points) on one Champion (’41 Bruins),
- Top 6 Forward (by points) on one Champion (’39 Bruins), one Runner Up (’53 Bruins) and three Final Fours (’49, ’52, ’54 Bruins),
- Top 9 Forward (by points) on one Final Four (’51 Bruins),
- Role Player (by points) on two Final Fours (’38, ’40 Bruins)
Senior:
- Best Player (by points) on one Allan Cup Champion (’42 RCAF Flyers)

Schmidt didn’t deserve his Hart the one year he won it, but might have deserved it another year. And he wasn’t as offensively dominant as long as some of the greats of his era. And, despite some strong playoffs, he also had many weak playoffs. But I can’t shake the feeling he belongs.

Max Bentley

Max Bentley’s Career

NHL: 1940-43; 1945-54; 12 seasons, 11 quality
Totals:
- 245G (7th All Time at his retirement),
- 299A (5th) for
- 544P (5th) in
- 646 games (14th),
- 56.6 PS
- At his retirement, Bentley was 19th All Time in Offensive Point Shares
Per Game: At his retirement, Bentley was
- 10th All time in GPG, and
- 9th in APG and GPG
Era: Of the 10 players to play in at least 600 games between 1940 and 1954, Bentley is
- 3rd in Goals, GPG and Points,
- 2nd in Assists and APG,
- 4th in PPG and OPS,
- 6th in PS and
- 5th in Games
82-game average: 31G, 38A for 69P
3-year peak (1942-47): 50-game average of 28G, 38A for 67P
Playoffs: 18G, 27A for 45P in 51 games
Adjusted:
- Hockey Reference:
  - 298G, 436A for 734P
  - Adjusted 82-game average: 38G, 55A for 93P
  - Per Game: Not in the Top 25
  - VsX:
    - 417G
    - 622A
    - 876P
    - Per Game:
      - 23rd All Time in VsX Adjusted APG
      - 23rd All Time in VsX Adjusted PPG
Trades:
- Traded at 27 with Cy Thomas (21) to Toronto for Gus Bodnar (24), Bud Poile (23), Gaye Stewart (24), Ernie Dickens (26) and Bob Goldham (25) – our 31st worst Maple Leafs Trade of All Time, sort of
- Traded at 33 for cash

Category: Original Six