Best Forward by OPS

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:

Does Newsy Lalonde Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

The question with Newsy isn’t whether or not he belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame but rather, is Newsy Lalonde one of the Greatest of All Time?

Newsy’s dominance of the early NHL is unrivaled but where does he rank all time?

Listen 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 Teemu Selanne Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

In this episode, we ask where does Teemu Selanne rank among NHL Right Wings and among Finnish hockey players?

You can 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:

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.

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

Patrick Kane

Because Kane is active, this post may not be up to date during the season.

Lynn Patrick

Career

NHL: 1934-43; 1945-46; 10 seasons, 8 quality[1. By modern standards of PPG]
145G, 190A (23rd All Time at his retirement) for 335P (22nd) in 455 games; 34.5 PS
Patrick was 11th All Time in APG and 19th in GPG at his retirement[2. If the qualifier is set to 300 games]
Era: Patrick is 7th in Goals and GPG, 8th in Assists and Points, 5th in APG, 6th in PPG, 9th in OPS, 12 in PS and 17th in Games[3. Of the 17 players to play in at least 450 games between 1934 and 1946]
82-game average: 26G, 34A for 61P
3-year peak (1940-43): 48-game average of 25G, 28A for 53P
Playoffs: 10G, 6A for 16P in 44 games
Adjusted: 210G, 324A for 534P
Adjusted 82-game average: 38G, 58A for 96P
Never traded.

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