2nd Team All Star

Does Keith Tkachuk Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Keith Tkachuk (“TAYchuck” according to Don Cherry) is more notorious for his edge and his sneer than he is for his goal-scoring ability.

Was he good enough to be in the Hall of Fame?

We find out. Listen to us debate his case:

Does Eric Lindros Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

How great was Eric Lindros really?

Was he all hype or did he live up to some of it? Is the only thing keeping him from the GOAT conversation his concussion history?

Listen to us talk about Lindros here:

Do the Sedin Twins Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

We decided to treat the Sedin twins as one player, because they are a unique phenomenon in the history of hockey.

Did they do enough in their careers to merit induction as great players, rather than just as a novelty?

Listen here:

Does Paul Kariya Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Kariya’s career was marred by injuries but he was inducted relatively quickly after his retirement compared to a lot of players who have played fewer than 1,000 games.

Was that warranted?

Where does Kariya rank in his era?

Listen here:

Does Jarome Iginla Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Though he’s technically still active, we decided there was no way he was going to improve his case if he ever did manage to make an NHL comeback, so we decided to talk about Jarome Iginla’s Hall of Fame case.

You can listen to the episode here:

Does Jaromir Jagr Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

In this episode of The Back Check, we debate whether or not Jaromir Jagr is one of the greatest Right Wings in the history of the NHL.

Listen to the show here:

Aubrey Dit Clapper

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.

Joe Thornton

Thornton is currently active so this page may not reflect his current statistics.

Milt Schmidt

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.

Art Chapman

Career

NHL: 1930-40; 10 seasons, 5 quality[1. By modern standards of PPG]
62G, 176A (10th All Time at his retirement) for 238A for 438 games; 21.4 PS
At his retirement, Chapman was 3rd All Time in APG[2. Minium 300 games]
Era: Chapman is 18th in Goals, GPG and PS, 2nd in Assists, 1st in APG, 14th in Points and PPG, 16th in OPS, and 13th in Games[3. Of the 20 players to play in at least 400 games between 1930 and 1940]
82-game average: 11G, 33A for 44P
3-year peak (1934-37): 48-game average of 9G, 29A for 39P
Playoffs: 1G, 5A for 6P in 26 games
Adjusted: 106G, 389A for 495P
Adjusted 82-game average: 20G, 73A for 93P
Traded once in his prime, left unprotected at the beginning of his career.

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