What Have I Been Up To?

I haven't been posting much recently, but I have a couple of excuses. I've been hard at work on a couple of projects for a number of months now. One is coming to fruition very soon, while the other will be ongoing for some time.

The latter is an update I've been working on the Point Allocation system. I haven't made any changes to the essence of the system, however there was one thing I was still dissatisfied with. In cases of good offensive players playing in low-level leagues, the league quality adjustment was such that they would wind up with an elite-level offensive rating, and a worst-of-the-worst defensive rating. This is because the quality adjustment applied equally to each player's offensive and defensive points.

Take a forward with 10 offensive points and 0 defensive points, for a total of 10 points allocated before the quality adjustment. The quality adjustment is such that his total value should be 6 points rather than 10. Previously the adjustment might have resulted in the player having 8 offensive points and -2 defensive points. The new adjustment will be more like 6 offensive points and 0 defensive points. I believe this better reflects the reality of the adjustment. A star scorer in the AHL is going to lose more offensive production than defensive when going to the NHL.

This means I've been going through all completed Point Allocation results to revise this adjustment, and of course have been doing up many new league-seasons' results as well. It's a lot of work, it's ongoing and will be for a long time to come.

You'll see the results of the other project within the next month or so. I've written a book entitled On His Own Side of the Puck: The Early History of Hockey Rules. It covers the original rules of organized hockey from the 1870s, where they came from, and how they change in the subsequent decades. It includes the complete text of the rule not only for hockey, but for many other nineteenth century sports as well. Over the next couple of weeks I'll post some excerpts from the book. I'll be selling it through blurb.ca, and should have both print and ebook versions available. No one has ever examined the early rules of hockey in this amount of detail. Stay tuned.

The Probably-Not-Meritorious Men of the 1920s

Note: This time of year could be called the Tax Season Lull around here, since what I do for a living eats seriously into the time I have available for more important pursuits, such as writing about obscure hockey players from history that no one cares about. It should pick up again in May.

To complete our look at potential Hall of Famers from the 1920s, we have the bottom tier. These men were very good players indeed, but although some of them were honoured with inducted, it's difficult to make a case for them based on the results of their careers.

Rank	Player	Pos	GP	TPAK	Score	Hall?
34	ADAMS, Jack	5	849	2.56	72.9	Yes
35	BAILEY, Ace	7	784	2.77	70.9	Yes
36	BURCH, Billy	5	962	2.67	70.5	Yes
37	MUNRO, Dunc	3	688	3.22	70.5	No
X	TRAUB, Percy	3	1025	2.29	65.8	No
X	WILSON, Phat	3	1067	2.51	65.3	Yes
X	TRAPP, Bobby	3	809	2.47	62.5	No
X	HIMES, Norm	57	943	2.52	61.8	No
X	WATSON, Harry	5	462	3.29	61.4	Yes
X	GREEN, Wilf	7	674	2.40	57.0	Yes
X	GREEN, Red	6	666	2.29	56.9	No
X	GOHEEN, Moose	3	578	2.54	54.9	Yes

At the top of the list is Jack Adams, who was a very effective centre in his prime, but didn't have enough good years to really be considered an elite player. Surely his lengthy tenure as GM and coach of the Red Wings did nothing to colour the memories of his abilities as a player.

Ace Bailey's induction is a tragic one, in the sense that he was inducted due to a tragedy. Bailey had one outstanding season in 1928/29, but other than that was good-not-great. His injury probably didn't prevent his meritoriousness, since his offensive production had already dropped considerable before Eddie Shore's hit.

Billy Burch was more famous than his ability suggests he should have been. He rep was embiggened by promoters when the Hamilton Tigers moved to New York, being called the Babe Ruth of Hockey in an effort to draw fans to the games. He was very good, but did not deserve the Hart Trophy he won in 1925, and has not real claim on a spot in the Hall of Fame. Burch's linemate Wilf Green is an even worse selection; he barely even beats out his brother Red in terms of meritoriousness, but his fame as the leader of the Hamilton players strike created name recognition that his play could not.

That leaves us with Phat Wilson, Harry Watson and Moose Goheen. These three are similar in the sense that none of them played at the highest level of the game; only Goheen even played professionally, in the minor leagues from 26/27 to 31/32. They all benefit from this fact, because they never had to play against the very best competition available. Memories of their play can therefore easily be overestimated. Although I'm missing much of Goheen's early career, the numbers we do have don't suggest Hall-of-Fame calibre. Neither do Wilson's; he was the best player in a fairly weak league (Thunder Bay senior league), which grew even weaker when the minor professional leagues become organized in 1926/27.

Harry Watson is a bit different. Although surely inducted for his performance in the 1924 Olympics, Watson was in fact an excellent player, one who could have most likely had a very good NHL career should he have chosen that route. He effectively retired from hockey at age 26, as so many amateur players did, playing only a game or two per season after that. If he had a full-length professional career, he'd be much closer to the "maybe yes" line here, although he lacked the (at least) one really big season most Hall-of-Famers have.

The Maybe-Meritorious Men of the 1920s

Last time we looked at players whose career was centred in the 1920s, and who probably merited election to the Hall of Fame, based on their TPAK results. Today we take a step down, and examine the next tier of players, those who might deserve the honour, but might not.

The list is below. We know the actual Hall of Fame got 19 of the top 21 players "right" - they only missed two of the deserving players from this era. We can see that only three of the 12 players in this tier have been given hockey's highest honour: Frank Fredrickson, Babe Dye and Punch Broadbent.

Rank	Player	Pos	GP	TPAK	Score	Hall?
22	FREDRICKSON, Frank	5	1150	3.15	84.9	Yes
23	ROACH, John Ross	G	1094	3.30	84.6	No
24	GAGNE, Art	7	952	3.36	83.5	No
25	DYE, Babe	7	783	3.42	83.3	Yes
26	HITCHMAN, Lionel	3	822	3.53	83.0	No
27	DUNCAN, Art	3	1130	3.00	80.6	No
28	BROADBENT, Punch	7	1156	2.74	79.3	Yes
29	ABEL, Taffy	3	798	3.53	78.8	No
30	WINKLER, Hal	G	1159	2.88	77.3	No
31	LeDUC, Albert	3	749	3.28	76.1	No
32	CORBEAU, Bert	3	1162	2.67	75.0	No
33	REISE, Leo	3	1008	3.02	74.6	No

I can't argue with the inclusion of Fredrickson and Dye, but I'm not sure about Broadbent. He had one massive season in 1921/22, but other than that he produced solid but un-outstanding years. On the other hand, he did miss three full seasons to the war, in his prime hockey years. Three more seasons of 3.50 TPAK or so would certainly lift him up to the "probably yes" level rather than the "probably no." So it depends on whether you think players should be given credit for hockey they might have played if not for major international conflicts.

It would lead to the sticky situation of his being deemed meritous, while the player directly above him, Art Duncan, would not. Duncan, a defenceman who spent most of his career in Western Canada, is very close to being deserving, to my eyes. But he never had that one huge season that most Hall-of-Famers have. He did lead the PCHA in scoring in 1923/24, but of course he played left wing that season, not defence. As a blueliner he contributed to the offence but was merely good in his own end. I think his career is just not quite good enough for the Hall, and the actual voters have agreed to date.

Just above Duncan on the list is Lionel Hitchman, who I think probably deserves to be called a meritous man. He was a hard-rock defenceman, and his presence this high on the list is a testament to the ability of the Point Allocation system to recognize the excellence of stay-at-home blueliners. Hitchman is credited with only 8.2 offensive points in his NHL career (not a complete zero, but very low), but 68.7 points for his defence.

I would draw the line below Hitchman. Players like Taffy Abel and Battleship LeDuc, both physical defencemen, don't have quite enough to their careers to deserve the honour, though at their best they were very good indeed. Bert Corbeau and Leo Reise, on the other hand, have length to their careers but not depth. Neither were truly among the very best defenceman of their time. Hal Winkler is a personal favourite of mine, but I couldn't honestly recommend him for the Hall either. He too was never an elite player, "merely" an excellent one.

The Meritorious Men of the 1920s

To continue our look at Hall of Fame inductees versus TPAK results (previously discussed: the 1910s, 1900s, and the earliest years), we go on to the 1920s.

In an unsurprising development, the Hall of Fame voters continue to agree with the TPAK results to a greater degree as time goes on, and as they get into players they had the greatest chance of being directly familiar with. In the case of players whose careers were centred in the 1920s (see table below), we find the top 17 players (and 19 of the top 21) have actually been inducted into the Hall of Fame. The only ones that have been missed out are Carson Cooper and Corb Denneny.

Carson "Shovel-Shot" Cooper was a dominant scorer for the Hamilton Tigers of the OHA in the early 1920s, leading his senior league in goals three times and points twice; in 1923/24 he scored 33 goals in 10 games and finished his OHA career with 108 goals in 55 games. Signed by the Boston Bruins in November 1924, it didn't take long for Cooper to make an impact in the NHL. In 1925/26, he finished second in the league in goals, behind only the legendary Nels Stewart, and was third in points. In 1928/29 he was in Detroit (and 32 years old), and though his raw numbers were less impressive (due to the scoring environment of the league at that time), he was third in goals and tied for third in points.

Cooper is found deserving of the Hall because his OHA numbers are not ignored. He had only two NHL seasons among the best scorers, but it must be remembered that he didn't play his first professional game until the age of 27. This means his NHL career was played mostly in the decline phase of his career. Point Allocation, however, doesn't pretend that the NHL is the only league that matters at this time of the game's history. So Cooper's thoroughly impressive OHA production is given the full credit it deserves.

Corb Denneny, lesser-known than his Hall-of-Fame brother Cy, had a 19-year senior/professional career. Though never the best centre in his league, his consistency and longevity are what earns him Hall-of-Fame-level merit here. Being just below the very best for an extended period of time is quite remarkable in itself.

I see every player listed on the table below as deserving of being in the Hall of Fame, based on their TPAK results. And speaking of longevity, check out George Hainsworth's career. He managed 1611 effective games played, which is the equivalent of playing a full 80-game schedule for 20 seasons, plus a bit. Hainsworth played his first senior hockey in the OHA (at the age of 17) in 1912/13, a full 11 years before he would play his first professional game. After 11 seasons of senior-level amateur hockey (all but one of which was played in Berlin, later Kitchener), he began a 14-year major-pro career, retiring at the age of 41. Like Cooper, Hainsworth gets credit for this time in the OHA, which was a high-quality league at the time and cannot simply be ignored because it was not professional.
  

Rank	Player	Pos	GP	TPAK	Score	Hall?
1	MORENZ, Howie	5	1116	4.67	124.8	Yes
2	HAINSWORTH, George	G	1611	3.84	116.9	Yes
3	COOK, Bill	7	1341	4.08	116.7	Yes
4	BOUCHER, Buck	3	1304	4.16	112.9	Yes
5	JOLIAT, Aurel	6	1328	3.86	109.7	Yes
6	NIGHBOR, Frank	5	1286	3.77	109.3	Yes
7	BENEDICT, Clint	G	1319	3.95	108.6	Yes
8	CONACHER, Lionel	3	1177	4.08	105.9	Yes
9	OLIVER, Harry	75	1332	3.58	105.3	Yes
10	CLANCY, King	3	1185	4.04	102.7	Yes
11	MacKAY, Mickey	54	1289	3.53	99.3	Yes
12	DENNENY, Cy	6	1241	3.63	98.0	Yes
13	NOBLE, Reg	35	1382	3.45	96.2	Yes
14	GARDINER, Herb	3	946	3.75	94.7	Yes
15	KEATS, Duke	5	1001	3.57	90.4	Yes
16	SIMPSON, Joe	3	1193	3.42	90.2	Yes
17	DUTTON, Red	3	1282	3.29	90.1	Yes
18	COOPER, Carson	7	1023	3.38	88.5	No
19	DENNENY, Corb	5	1267	3.02	86.9	No
20	HAY, George	6	955	3.50	85.8	Yes
21	CONNELL, Alec	G	776	3.73	85.2	Yes

Herb Jordan

 

Herb Jordan

Quebec's great centre from 1903 to 1909, Herb Jordan was one of the most gifted goal-scorers of his time. Largely forgotten today, Jordan actually has a strong case for the Hall of Fame, when you compare his performance to that of his contemporaries.

In 1903, Jordan was third in goal scored, behind two immortals in Russell Bowie and Frank McGee. In 1904, he was behind only Bowie in goals, but actually scored at a greater rate per game than Bowie did, which was no mean feat when comparing oneself to a player who averaged nearly three goals per game for his career. In 1905, Jordan was again third in goals (behind Bowie and Quebec teammate Joe Power), but second in goals per game. In 1908, he was fourth behind three Hall-of-Famers (Bowie again, Tommy Phillips and Marty Walsh), and in 1909 he was second behind only Walsh. He was never able to lead the league in scoring, but came very close several times.

Jordan was recognized as the most dangerous performer on his team, often attracting double-coverage from the defence: 

The Vics paid special attention to Jordan, and he generally had two men on him to attend to, which blocked many of his shots that would have told. (Quebec Chronicle, 9 Jan 1905)

Jordan gave a singularly pretty exhibition of stick-handling and his shooting was deadly. A particularly clever shot was passed out to him from the side by Chubby Power. Although covered by two men, he managed with that funny poke of his to elude both of them and lifted the puck right into the nets. (Quebec Chronicle, 20 Jan 1908)

He scored so many goals by virtue of having a quick, hard shot, and swiftness in play in general:

Jordan finally relieved the monotony by scoring for Quebec with one of his hard, fast shots. (Quebec Chronicle, 4 Jan 1904)

Now Jordan has it, flies past the cover-point, like a veritable streak, and before the crowd can draw their breath the goaler was wondering if it was an electric bolt that had passed him. (Quebec Chronicle, 22 Feb 1904)

In the centre of the ice Herbie Jordan and Joe Power proved a great pair. Some neat combination was engineered between them and their quickness in passing and shooting fooled Waugh a number of times. (Quebec Chronicle, 6 Feb 1905)

...Herbie Jordan, who from a difficult position on the right wing delivered one of his own characteristic scoops to Hern, who failed to negotiate it... (Quebec Chronicle, 22 Feb 1909)

He apparently possessed a "scoop" shoot, which I suppose to mean that he was adept at lifting the puck off the ice with his shot. This would be a useful skill indeed, as he played right in front of the goalkeeper with regularity:

Herbie Jordan played his usual useful game. He bored right in on the nets, and at times the only was in which the Shamrock defence appeared to be able to stop him was by tripping. (Quebec Chronicle, 8 Feb 1909)

Herbie Jordan, one of the greatest centre ice men in the game to-day, again proved his claims to the honor, his efforts being of the gilt-edged variety. He played right in on the poles and he was robbed of many more scored than those credited to him only by the alertness of the Ottawa goal-keeper. (Quebec Chronicle, 8 Mar 1909)

This isn't just a case of looking at big numbers and surmising the player must have been a great one, even though the Hall of Fame never honoured him. Herb Jordan was recognized as an outstanding hockeyist when he played, and deserves such recognition today: 

Herbie Jordan played his usual dashing game, and his heady work and general unselfishness in passing the puck when he might have tried for goal himself, resulted in many a score for Quebec. (Quebec Chronicle, 20 Feb 1905)

Herbie Jordan once more proved himself the peer on any centre man in the game to-day. Fast, aggressive, clear-headed and unselfish, he was a dangerous man around the poles. Time and time again he fooled the Ottawa defence and had LeSueur at his mercy. (Quebec Chronicle, 6 Jan 1908)

Season	Club	League	Pos	GP	MIN	OP	DP	PP	TPA	TPAK
1903	Quebec Athletics	CAHL	45	80	1600	3.3	-0.4	0.0	2.9	1.81
1904	Quebec Athletics	CAHL	4	80	1600	9.1	-0.2	0.0	8.9	5.56
1905	Quebec Athletics	CAHL	5	71	1420	7.0	0.1	-0.2	6.9	4.86
1906	Quebec Bulldogs	ECAHA	5	64	1280	4.5	0.1	-0.1	4.5	3.52
1907	Quebec Bulldogs	ECAHA	5	40	800	2.6	0.0	0.0	2.6	3.25
1908	Quebec Bulldogs	ECAHA	5	64	1280	6.7	0.2	0.0	6.9	5.39
1909	Quebec Bulldogs	ECHA	5	80	1600	5.3	-0.2	-0.1	5.0	3.13
1910	Renfrew Creamery Kings	NHA	5	43	860	1.8	1.4	0.0	3.2	3.72
1911	Renfrew Creamery Kings	NHA	5	5	100	-0.3	0.1	0.0	-0.2	-2.00
Career				527	10540	40.0	1.1	-0.4	40.7	3.86

Clare McKerrow - a Brief but Dominant Career

We've been spending a good deal of time in the 20th century lately, albeit to early 20th century. But it's time again for something from the 19th, to centre ourselves.

Clare McKerrow played rover for the Montreal AAA from 1896 to 1899, only four seasons. But he accomplished more in that short time than most players do in an entire career. In his four years, he finished second, first (tied), second and first in goals per game in Canada's highest league. Take a look at his Point Allocation records:

Season	Club	League	Pos	GP	MIN	OP	DP	PP	TPA	TPAK
1896	Montreal Winged Wheelers	AHAC	4	60	1200	5.9	-0.2	0.0	5.7	4.75
1897	Montreal Winged Wheelers	AHAC	4	80	1600	5.4	1.5	0.0	6.9	4.31
1898	Montreal Winged Wheelers	AHAC	4	80	1600	6.9	1.2	0.0	8.1	5.06
1899	Montreal Winged Wheelers	CAHL	4	46	920	6.4	-0.2	0.0	6.2	6.74
				266	5320	24.6	2.3	0.0	26.9	5.06

He was the best player in the country in 1899 with a 6.74 TPAK, which comes close to hitting the Gretzky-Orr Threshold. He was more than simply a scorer, though he was noted as being an exceptional natural goal-scorer. McKerrow was also noted as a gifted skater and diligent checker. He played his last senior hockey at age 21. It's incredible to imagine what he might have done had he played into his prime athletic years, a two-way force that could have kept the AAA on top of the league for a number of years. As it is he won a Stanley Cup in 1895 (his first appearance in senior hockey was in a Cup game), and another as  coach on the AAA in 1902.

Clare McKerrow is also credited as a mentor to a young Lester Patrick, teaching him about the game, and how to conduct himself as a gentleman. As Patrick proved throughout his career as a player and an executive, he was an unparalleled expert on both topics, so it seems McKerrow was a creditable teacher as well.

It should be noted that the picture above is actually from a lacrosse card, from over a decade after McKerrow played his last senior hockey. The image can also double for a picture of Andrew McKerrow, who played point for the Montreal AAA in 1896 (1.20 TPAK), and who happened to be Clare's twin brother, the first confirmed incidence of twin brothers playing on the same senior-level squad.

Dr. Jerry Laflamme

Dr. William "Jerry" Laflamme, noted dentist and hockeyist, was a fixture in the Ontario Hockey Association senior ranks throughout the 1910s, always serving as his team's captain. He captained the St. Michael's squad to the Allan Cup in 1910 (his first year in senior hockey), and did the same for the Toronto Dentals in 1917. Playing centre for the first half of his career and defence for the second, Laflamme was always noted for his speed, knowledge of the game and leadership.

He led the OHA in goals in 1911/12, playing on a team with Hall-of-Famers Frank Rankin and Frank Foyston. He played for six different senior OHA clubs, which compiled a combined record of 55-19-1 when he was a regular. He was later an NHL referee, and was a coach of the Montreal Maroons for one season.

After his offensive outburst in 1911/12, Laflamme apparently changed his focus to defence (while still playing centre), leaving the goal-scoring to Rankin. He still produced a few goals, but his defensive efforts made his team an outstanding defensive squad, and if there had been a Selke Award at the time, he would surely have been in the running. His Point Allocation numbers in 1912/13 make his look like a blueliner rather than a centre, which he certainly was. He made the switch to defence for real in 1915/16, and continued to put up solid performances.

Laflamme was a fast, skilled player, and very tough to boot; he did not miss games unless he meant to. He excelled at all facets of the game, having no particular weakness. His "hockey sense" was likely his best feature.

He is a dental student, and no centre in Canada understands the scoring game better than “Jerry”. He is fast, as quick as a flash, carries his forwards with him in passing rushes, and is always watchful until something happens. (New York Times, 25 Feb 1910)

For the match tomorrow night the Torontos will be greatly strengthened by the services of Jerry Laflamme at centre. He is conceded to be one of the fastest forwards in the OHA... (Montreal Gazette, 27 Feb 1912)

Jerry Laflamme is made of the real stuff. He started out with a very sore leg...and before the first half ended he fell on [an opponent's] skate and opened a nasty gash over his eye. It took five stitches to close the cut, and Jerry gamely went into the fray in the second half. It failed to slow him up one bit. (Toronto World, 22 Feb 1913)

The second quote above, referring to Laflamme joining the Torontos, comes from a time that several strong offers were made by NHA Toronto teams for his services. Laflamme ultimately did not accept the offer, and did not turn professional. This likely had nothing to do with desires to remain "pure", but instead reflected the fact that "amateur" players often made as much as the pros did at the time.

Had he joined the Toronto Hockey Club, Laflamme would have been a very good NHA player, judging by his Point Allocation results. Not a superstar certainly, but a highly effective man. Toronto didn't make out so badly, of course. Not being able to sign Laflamme, they instead added a teammate of his to play centre the following season in future Hall-of-Famer Frank Foyston. As good as Laflamme was, Foyston was certainly the better man.

Season	Club	League	Pos	GP	MIN	OP	DP	PP	TPA	TPAK
1910	Toronto St. Michaels	OHA	5	80	1600	1.8	2.8	0.0	4.6	2.88
1911	Toronto St. Michaels	OHA	5	80	1600	5.3	-0.3	0.0	5.0	3.13
1912	Toronto Eatons	OHA	4	80	1600	6.2	-0.1	0.0	6.1	3.81
1913	Toronto St. Michaels	OHA	5	80	1600	0.5	4.5	-0.6	4.4	2.75
1914	Toronto St. Michaels	OHA	5	80	1600	3.7	0.3	0.0	4.0	2.50
1915	Toronto St. Michaels	OHA	5	80	1600	1.2	0.6	0.0	1.8	1.13
1916	Toronto Argonauts	OHA	3	72	1800	0.2	3.6	0.0	3.8	2.11
1917	Toronto Dentals	OHA	3	48	1200	0.2	4.4	0.0	4.6	3.83
1918	Toronto Dentals	OHA	3	80	2000	0.7	5.5	0.0	6.2	3.10
1919	Toronto Newmans	OHA	3	80	2000	2.4	-0.2	0.0	2.2	1.10
1920	Toronto Granites	OHA	3	80	2000	0.3	6.8	0.0	7.1	3.55
1921	Toronto Granites	OHA	3	8	200	-0.2	1.0	0.0	0.8	4.00
				848	18800	22.3	28.9	-0.6	50.6	2.69

Vezina v. Benedict

Quick one today. Who was better: Georges Vezina or Client Benedict?

Two very much contemporary goaltenders, both Hall-of-Famers, both rightly considered among the best of their time, or indeed any time. So who was better?

Well, we can have a look at what the Point Allocation system suggests, which certainly isn't the answer, but is an answer. And a good one at that.

Georges Vezina

Season	Club	League	Pos	GP	MIN	OP	DP	PP	TPA	TPAK
1911	Montreal Canadiens	NHA	G	80	4785	0.0	19.1	-0.1	19.0	3.97
1912	Montreal Canadiens	NHA	G	80	4800	0.0	20.3	-0.1	20.2	4.21
1913	Montreal Canadiens	NHA	G	80	4800	0.0	19.5	-0.1	19.4	4.04
1914	Montreal Canadiens	NHA	G	80	4788	0.0	20.1	-0.1	20.0	4.18
1915	Montreal Canadiens	NHA	G	80	4789	0.0	16.1	-0.1	16.0	3.34
1916	Montreal Canadiens	NHA	G	80	4800	0.0	20.9	0.0	20.9	4.35
1917	Montreal Canadiens	NHA	G	80	4800	0.0	19.4	0.0	19.4	4.04
1918	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	20.3	0.0	20.3	4.23
1919	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	18.0	0.0	18.0	3.75
1920	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	18.2	0.0	18.2	3.79
1921	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	21.1	0.0	21.1	4.40
1922	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	20.1	0.0	20.1	4.19
1923	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	22.2	0.0	22.2	4.63
1924	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	21.9	0.0	21.9	4.56
1925	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	20.6	0.0	20.6	4.29
1926	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	G	1	44	0.0	0.4	0.0	0.4	9.09
				1201	72006	0	298.2	-0.5	297.7	4.13

Clint Benedict

Season	Club	League	Pos	GP	MIN	OP	DP	PP	TPA	TPAK
1912	Ottawa New Edinburghs	IPAHU	G	80	4778	0.0	16.2	-0.2	16.0	3.35
1913	Ottawa Senators	NHA	G	15	854	0.0	4.4	0.0	4.4	5.15
1914	Ottawa Senators	NHA	G	31	1825	0.0	6.0	0.0	6.0	3.29
1915	Ottawa Senators	NHA	G	79	4713	0.0	19.8	0.0	19.8	4.20
1916	Ottawa Senators	NHA	G	79	4735	0.0	19.4	0.0	19.4	4.10
1917	Ottawa Senators	NHA	G	73	4329	0.0	22.4	0.0	22.4	5.17
1918	Ottawa Senators	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	16.3	0.0	16.3	3.40
1919	Ottawa Senators	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	20.3	0.0	20.3	4.23
1920	Ottawa Senators	NHL	G	80	4793	0.0	23.5	-0.1	23.4	4.88
1921	Ottawa Senators	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	23.1	0.0	23.1	4.81
1922	Ottawa Senators	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	22.5	0.0	22.5	4.69
1923	Ottawa Senators	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	24.3	0.0	24.3	5.06
1924	Ottawa Senators	NHL	G	74	4410	0.0	21.5	0.0	21.5	4.88
1925	Montreal Maroons	NHL	G	80	4795	0.0	10.5	0.0	10.5	2.19
1926	Montreal Maroons	NHL	G	80	4800	0.0	18.6	0.0	18.6	3.88
1927	Montreal Maroons	NHL	G	79	4697	0.0	20.0	0.0	20.0	4.26
1928	Montreal Maroons	NHL	G	79	4730	0.0	14.3	0.0	14.3	3.02
1929	Montreal Maroons	NHL	G	67	4015	0.0	7.3	0.0	7.3	1.82
1930	Montreal Maroons	NHL	G	23	1332	0	1.3	0	1.3	0.98
				1319	78806	0	311.7	-0.3	311.4	3.95

Oh dear, that didn't help much did it? Vezina has a better career average (though that might be due to missing stats for his pre-Montreal days), but Benedict had better best seasons. Vezina was strikingly consistent, which is quite a tribute given the shoddy defences he often played behind in his early years. Benedict generally benefited from better teams in front of him, but was still remarkable in his own right.

If I had to choose, I'd probably go with Vezina, since you would know exactly what you were going to get. Benedict could often be better, but sometime noticeably worse as well. Hard to complain about either of them.

Gretzorr in the past

We've pretty well established a TPAK value of around 7.00 as the Gretkzy/Orr threshold, the type of number that only one of the absolute best players of all time can reach. You can't really fluke a season that good, and you have to be in the upper stratosphere of historic hockey talent to produce at such a level on a regular basis, someone like Wayne Gretzky or Bobby Orr.

All this talk about recent players is leaving a bad taste in my mouth, though. Let's look at some golden oldies. Are there any players who produced at a Gretzorr level in the early years of hockey history? Here are the best seasons, as measured by TPAK, up to 1927/28.

Player	Season	Club	League	Pos	GP	MIN	OP	DP	PP	TPA	TPAK
BOWIE, Russell	1901	Montreal Victorias	CAHL	4	70	1400	11.4	-0.2	0.0	11.2	8.00
BOWIE, Russell	1903	Montreal Victorias	CAHL	4	70	1400	10.6	-0.2	-0.1	10.3	7.36
ROUTH, Havilland	1895	Montreal Winged Wheelers	AHAC	4	80	1600	12.0	-0.3	0.0	11.7	7.31
HOOPER, Art	1902	Montreal Winged Wheelers	CAHL	4	80	1600	11.3	-0.1	0.0	11.2	7.00
TRIHEY, Harry	1899	Montreal Shamrocks	CAHL	5	70	1400	9.6	-0.2	0.0	9.4	6.71
MALONE, Joe	1913	Quebec Bulldogs	NHA	5	80	1600	10.0	0.9	-0.4	10.5	6.56
BOWIE, Russell	1905	Montreal Victorias	CAHL	4	80	1600	10.8	-0.2	-0.2	10.4	6.50
SMITH, Harry	1908	Pittsburgh Bankers	WPHL	5	67	1340	10.0	-1.4	0.0	8.6	6.42
MORENZ, Howie	1928	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	5	78	1560	9.6	0.8	-0.4	10.0	6.41
RUSSELL, Ernie	1907	Montreal Wanderers	ECAHA	5	72	1440	10.0	-0.3	-0.5	9.2	6.39
McGOLDRICK, Joe	1886	Montreal Crystals	MHT	9	80	1600	11.0	-0.8	0.0	10.2	6.38
TAYLOR, Fred	1918	Vancouver Millionaires	PCHA	4	80	1600	8.9	1.3	0.0	10.2	6.38
SMITH, Tommy	1913	Quebec Bulldogs	NHA	7	76	1520	8.9	1.0	-0.3	9.6	6.32
BRADLEY, Reg	1892	Ottawa Generals	AHAC	7	80	1600	9.4	0.7	0.0	10.1	6.31
McDOUGALL, Bob	1896	Montreal Victorias	AHAC	7	60	1200	7.0	0.5	0.0	7.5	6.25
PHILLIPS, Tommy	1907	Kenora Thistles	MHL	6	80	1600	11.5	-0.9	-0.7	9.9	6.19
NIGHBOR, Frank	1917	Ottawa Senators	NHA	5	76	1520	7.6	2.0	-0.3	9.3	6.12
BOWIE, Russell	1900	Montreal Victorias	CAHL	4	70	1400	9.1	-0.5	0.0	8.5	6.07
SMITH, Tommy	1914	Quebec Bulldogs	NHA	6	80	1600	9.0	1.1	-0.4	9.7	6.06
SMITH, Harry	1906	Ottawa Senators	ECAHA	6	64	1280	8.5	-0.2	-0.6	7.7	6.02
McNAUGHTON, Archie	1890	Montreal Winged Wheelers	AHAC	4	80	1600	9.6	0.0	0.0	9.6	6.00
CAMPBELL, Jack	1888	Montreal Victorias	AHAC	2	80	2000	9.1	2.8	0.0	11.9	5.95
McDOUGALL, Bob	1897	Montreal Victorias	AHAC	7	80	1600	9.0	0.4	0.0	9.4	5.88

The appearance of Russell "Dubby" Bowie at the top of the list should come as little surprise to any versed in hockey history. The Montreal Vics superstar rover, who played senior hockey from 1898/99 to 1909/10, is arguably the greatest natural goal-scorer of all time. But the five-time "major-league" goal-scoring champ is underrated today - people may realize he was pretty great, but not how great he really was.

Not only does he possess the top two seasons up to 1927/28, his best season (1900/01) is almost surely the greatest single-season performance ever. He's credited with a TPAK of 8.00, but this is just an arbitrary figure. Knowing that Wayne Gretzky's performances are around 7.00, there's no way anyone could be too far above that, even in a relatively short season such as this (eight games, though bear in mind Bowie was playing 60 minutes per game). The actual calculations have Bowie with a TPAK of close to 9, but I rejiggered it to 8.00 to be more reasonable.

Bowie led the Canadian Amateur Hockey League (CAHL) in 1900/01 with 24 goals, despite his missing one of his team's eight matches. The next-best player had 10 goals. Hall-of-Fame forwards like Harry Trihey, Art Farrell, Rat Westwick, Bruce Stuart and Blair Russel could manage no more than 10 goals, yet Bowie put in 24. Bowie scored more goals than the entire Quebec hockey club did. Like Gretzky and Orr at their best, Bowie was playing the game at a different level.

Havilland Routh and Art Hooper also pass the Gretzky-Orr threshold, but only for a single season each.  Bowie possessing three of the top seven seasons here demonstrates that his appearance at the top of the list is no fluke. He had three seasons that were better than anything Howie Morenz or Cyclone Taylor ever did. It doesn't matter how great you believe Russell Bowie was; you're probably still underrating him.

1970/71 Point Allocation

Last time we looked at the 1985/86 NHL Point Allocation results, in order to examine the upper limits of player performance. Wayne Greztky's 215-point season came in at a TPAK of 7.00. Now let's see how good Bobby Orr's +124 season, in 1970/71. Unsurprisingly, he was the best in the league that season:

Player	Club	Pos	GP	MIN	OP	DP	PP	TPA	TPAK
ORR, Bobby	BOS	3	80	2000	8.6	6.5	-0.3	14.8	7.40
PLANTE, Jacques	TOR	G	57	3362	0.0	22.5	0.0	22.5	6.69
WHITE, Bill	CHI	3	69	1725	1.4	9.2	-0.2	10.4	6.03
ESPOSITO, Phil	BOS	5	80	1600	7.8	1.1	-0.3	8.6	5.38
BUCYK, John	BOS	6	80	1600	7.7	0.9	0.0	8.6	5.38
PLAGER, Bob	STL	3	72	1800	1.2	8.8	-0.4	9.6	5.33
KEON, Dave	TOR	5	78	1560	5.8	2.4	0.0	8.2	5.26
ROBERTS, Jimmy	STL	3	74	1850	1.9	8.1	-0.3	9.7	5.24
BELIVEAU, Jean	MTL	5	72	1440	6.9	0.8	-0.2	7.5	5.21
COURNOYER, Yvan	MTL	7	67	1340	6.1	0.7	-0.1	6.7	5.00
HULL, Bobby	CHI	6	80	1600	6.0	2.0	-0.1	7.9	4.94
TREMBLAY, J-C	MTL	3	78	1950	4.2	5.5	-0.1	9.6	4.92
SELING, Rod	NYR	3	70	1750	1.7	7.0	-0.1	8.6	4.91
MAGNUSON, Keith	CHI	3	78	1950	1.2	8.8	-0.7	9.3	4.77
SMITH, Dallas	BOS	3	75	1875	2.7	6.5	-0.3	8.9	4.75
CHEEVERS, Gerry	BOS	G	58	3465	0.0	16.2	0.0	16.2	4.67
ANGOTTI, Lou	CHI	5	67	1340	2.1	4.3	-0.2	6.2	4.63
PARK, Brad	NYR	3	70	1750	3.0	5.5	-0.4	8.1	4.63
NEILSON, Jim	NYR	3	79	1975	1.7	7.7	-0.3	9.1	4.61
SANDERSON, Derek	BOS	5	73	1460	4.5	2.8	-0.6	6.7	4.59
WESTFALL, Ed	BOS	7	80	1600	4.0	3.4	-0.2	7.2	4.50
HODGE, Ken	BOS	7	80	1600	6.6	0.9	-0.5	7.0	4.38
ULLMAN, Norm	TOR	5	75	1500	5.5	1.1	-0.1	6.5	4.33
STAPLETON, Pat	CHI	3	78	1950	2.7	5.7	-0.1	8.3	4.26
RATELLE, Jean	NYR	5	80	1600	5.5	1.4	-0.1	6.8	4.25
MIKITA, Stan	CHI	5	76	1520	4.7	1.7	-0.3	6.1	4.01

Orr and Gretzky, in their primes, probably put up 7.00 TPAK seasons as a matter of course, while other players can only dream of approaching that number once in their careers. We could call this the Gretzky-Orr Threshold, or maybe Gretzorr (which sounds like a hockey-themed Masters of the Universe villain, so maybe we shouldn't call it that). Let's stick with the Gretzky-Orr Threshold, and use it to see which historical players had this type of singular performance.

1985/86 Point Allocation

With any new valuation system, it's important to establish baselines that allow people to interpret the results. It's all fine and good to say Joe Power had a 4.81 TPAK season, but unless you know how good that is, it's basically meaningless. One way to help modern hockey fans to understand the results of historical seasons is to show the equivalent numbers for more recent years.

The Point Allocation results for the 1967/68 NHL season have already been published here, and I'm going to show a couple more seasons, specifically to discuss the upper bounds of performance. What better place to examine that than Wayne Gretzky's 215-point season? So let's look at 1985/86.

First, here are the results of the Edmonton Oilers, who recorded 119 points on the strength of scoring 72 more goals (close to a full goal per game) than the second-best offence in the league. It's no surprise that Gretzky is on top. It should also be no surprise that his TPAK score of 7.00 is the highest we've seen so far. A rate of 6.00 is the level of the superstar; beating that by a full point (standings point, not scoring point) per 1,000 minutes puts you in the absolute upper stratosphere of hockey performance.

Player	Pos	GP	MIN	OP	DP	PP	TPA	TPAK
GRETZKY, Wayne	5	80	1600	9.2	2.1	-0.1	11.2	7.00
COFFEY, Paul	3	79	1975	7.7	4.4	-0.3	11.8	5.97
KURRI, Jari	7	78	1560	6.6	1.6	-0.1	8.1	5.19
MESSIER, Mark	5	63	1260	5.3	1.4	-0.2	6.5	5.16
ANDERSON, Glenn	7	72	1440	6.1	1.1	-0.3	6.9	4.79
MOOG, Andy	G	64	3796	0.0	13.4	0.0	13.4	3.52
FUHR, Grant	G	52	3112	0.0	11.8	0.0	11.8	3.29
NAPIER, Mark	6	80	1600	4.7	0.5	0.0	5.2	3.25
HUNTER, Dave	6	62	1240	3.0	1.1	-0.3	3.8	3.06
MacTAVISH, Craig	5	74	1480	3.3	1.4	-0.3	4.4	2.97
FOGOLIN, Lee	3	80	2000	2.1	4.1	-0.6	5.6	2.80
GREGG, Randy	3	64	1600	1.4	3.0	-0.1	4.3	2.69
SMITH, Steve	3	55	1375	2.3	1.9	-0.7	3.5	2.55
HUDDY, Charlie	3	76	1900	1.7	3.2	-0.2	4.7	2.47
KRUSHELNYSKI, Mike	6	54	1080	2.3	0.4	-0.1	2.6	2.41
LUMLEY, Dave	7	46	920	1.8	0.5	-0.2	2.1	2.28
SUMMANEN, Raimo	6	73	1460	2.7	0.4	-0.2	2.9	1.99
LOWE, Kevin	3	74	1850	0.8	3.3	-0.5	3.6	1.95
McCLELLAND, Kevin	5	79	1580	3.4	0.7	-1.3	2.8	1.77
TIKKANEN, Esa	7	35	700	0.9	0.2	-0.2	0.9	1.29
JACKSON, Don	3	45	1125	0.5	1.2	-0.5	1.2	1.07
McSORLEY, Marty	7	59	1180	1.7	0.4	-1.0	1.1	0.93
SEMENKO, Dave	6	69	1380	0.2	0.5	-0.8	-0.1	-0.07

And now, the league leaders in TPAK for 1985/86. Gretzky's Number One, of course, but the Number Two in this case is surprisingly close:

Player	Club	Pos	GP	MIN	OP	DP	PP	TPA	TPAK
GRETZKY, Wayne	EDM	5	80	1600	9.2	2.1	-0.1	11.2	7.00
HOWE, Mark	PHI	3	77	1925	4.9	8.2	-0.1	13.0	6.75
COFFEY, Paul	EDM	3	79	1975	7.7	4.4	-0.3	11.8	5.97
ROBINSON, Larry	MTL	3	78	1950	4.0	7.0	-0.1	10.9	5.59
McCRIMMON, Brad	PHI	3	80	2000	2.8	8.4	-0.3	10.9	5.45
KURRI, Jari	EDM	7	78	1560	6.6	1.6	-0.1	8.1	5.19
MESSIER, Mark	EDM	5	63	1260	5.3	1.4	-0.2	6.5	5.16
BOURQUE, Ray	BOS	3	74	1850	3.6	6.0	-0.2	9.4	5.08
HRUDEY, Kelly	NYI	G	61	3652	0.0	18.1	0.0	18.1	4.94
BOSSY, Mike	NYI	7	80	1600	6.2	1.5	0.0	7.7	4.81
ANDERSON, Glenn	EDM	7	72	1440	6.1	1.1	-0.3	6.9	4.79
HAJT, Bill	BUF	3	58	1450	0.9	5.9	-0.1	6.7	4.62
LEMIEUX, Mario	PIT	5	79	1580	6.1	1.1	-0.1	7.1	4.49
POTVIN, Denis	NYI	3	74	1850	3.6	5.0	-0.3	8.3	4.49
WAMSLEY, Rick	STL	G	60	3586	0.0	15.8	0.0	15.8	4.40
CHELIOS, Chris	MTL	3	41	1025	1.8	2.9	-0.2	4.5	4.39
MURRAY, Troy	CHI	5	80	1600	5.4	1.9	-0.3	7.0	4.38
MURPHY, Larry	WAS	3	78	1950	3.8	4.9	-0.2	8.5	4.36
LANGWAY, Rod	WAS	3	71	1775	0.7	7.2	-0.2	7.7	4.34
FROESE, Bob	PHI	G	65	3887	0.0	16.9	0.0	16.9	4.34
NASLUND, Mats	MTL	6	80	1600	5.5	1.4	0.0	6.9	4.31
RAMAGE, Rob	STL	3	77	1925	3.0	5.6	-0.4	8.2	4.26
LOOB, Hakam	CGY	7	68	1360	4.5	1.4	-0.1	5.8	4.26
FRANCIS, Ron	HAR	5	53	1060	3.5	1.1	-0.1	4.5	4.25
SAVARD, Denis	CHI	5	80	1600	6.4	0.8	-0.4	6.8	4.25
PROPP, Brian	PHI	6	72	1440	3.9	2.3	-0.1	6.1	4.24
HAWORTH, Alan	WAS	5	71	1420	4.7	1.5	-0.2	6.0	4.23
QUENNEVILLE, Joel	HAR	3	71	1775	1.5	6.4	-0.4	7.5	4.23
GUSTAFSSON, Bengt-Ake	WAS	5	70	1400	3.7	2.3	-0.1	5.9	4.21
CHRISTIAN, Dave	WAS	7	80	1600	4.0	2.7	0.0	6.7	4.19
MALARCHUK, Clint	QUE	G	64	3786	0.0	15.9	-0.1	15.8	4.18
MacINNIS, Al	CGY	3	77	1925	4.2	4.0	-0.2	8.0	4.16
POULIN, Dave	PHI	5	79	1580	3.3	3.4	-0.2	6.5	4.11
BABYCH, Dave	HAR	3	81	2025	3.2	5.2	-0.1	8.3	4.10
TROTTIER, Bryan	NYI	5	78	1560	4.5	2.2	-0.3	6.4	4.10
SINISALO, Ilkka	PHI	7	74	1480	4.2	1.9	-0.1	6.0	4.05
STASTNY, Peter	QUE	5	76	1520	5.3	1.0	-0.2	6.1	4.01
STEVENS, Scott	WAS	3	73	1825	2.5	5.3	-0.5	7.3	4.00
PATRICK, James	NYR	3	75	1875	2.5	5.4	-0.4	7.5	4.00
LUDWIG, Craig	MTL	3	69	1725	0.0	7.1	-0.2	6.9	4.00
DINEEN, Kevin	HAR	7	57	1140	3.8	1.1	-0.4	4.5	3.95
CARBONNEAU, Guy	MTL	5	80	1600	2.7	3.8	-0.2	6.3	3.94
BEAUPRE, Don	MIN	G	73	4378	0.0	17.3	-0.1	17.2	3.93
MOLLER, Randy	QUE	3	69	1725	1.1	6.1	-0.5	6.7	3.88
MIDDLETON, Rick	BOS	7	49	980	2.1	1.7	0.0	3.8	3.88
LINSEMAN, Ken	BOS	5	64	1280	3.7	1.5	-0.3	4.9	3.83
MANTHA, Moe	PIT	3	78	1950	3.3	4.4	-0.3	7.4	3.79
FRASER, Curt	CHI	6	61	1220	4.4	0.6	-0.4	4.6	3.77
TIPPETT, Dave	HAR	6	80	1600	1.9	4.2	-0.1	6.0	3.75

Mark Howe is certainly an underappreciated player, but I don't think anyone realizes how good he really was. Now, although Howe is only 0.25 TPAK behind Gretzky in this season, you do have to remember it's only one season. Gretzky was putting up seasons like this all the time at this point in his career, while this was clearly Howe's best. He scored over a point per game while being the top defenceman for a dominant defensive team. In the six seasons from 1981/82 to 1986/87, the league leader in plus-minus was an Oiler (Gretzky four times and Charlie Huddy once); only Mark Howe was able to take spot for another team in 1985/86.

Howe was a First-Team All-Star, but it seems he deserved the Norris Trophy as well, over Coffey.

Tommy Smith - All-Rounder

Like his brother Harry, Tommy Smith was a hockey mercenary. He had played exactly one season of high-level senior hockey in his hometown of Ottawa before going to Pittsburgh to play for pay. He played for seven different clubs in the next seven seasons, before finally settling down (mostly) in Quebec for a few years, where he had his greatest success in terms of the Stanley Cup.

Although Joe Malone is today the best-known player on the great Bulldog teams of the 1910s, there seems little doubt to me that Smith was actually their best player. As it happens, Malone was four years' Smith's junior, and as such was able to hang around long enough to produce in the NHL, rather than the NHA, and as such is known to even some less-than-hardcore fans as the man who scored 2.2 goals per game in the current league's inaugural season. No disrespect intended to Malone, of course, who was a great player in his own right. But Smith doesn't get the respect today that he deserves.

Tommy Smith scored buckets of goals, wherever he went. have a look at his Point Allocation results. He scored in Ottawa, he scored in Pittsburgh, he scored in Brantford, he scored in Galt, he scored in Moncton, he scored in Toronto, and he especially scored in Quebec. He led three separate leagues in goals (the Federal Amateur Hockey League, the Ontario Professional Hockey League, and the National Hockey Association twice), missed leading the Maritime Professional Hockey Association by one goal in 1911/12, and would surely have also led the Western Pennsylvania league in 1908/09 had the team he was playing for not folded halfway through the schedule (his goals-per-game was over twice that of the man who actually led the league, and only his brother Harry was close on a per-game basis).

Season	Club	League	Pos	GP	MIN	OP	DP	PP	TPA	TPAK
1906	Ottawa Victorias	FAHL	7	80	1600	7.2	-1.0	-0.6	5.6	3.50
1906	Ottawa Senators	ECAHA	6	24	480	1.9	0.3	-0.2	2.0	4.17
1907	Pittsburgh HC	IHL	4	77	1540	3.5	1.1	-0.4	4.2	2.73
1908	Pittsburgh Lyceums	WPHL	5	80	1600	8.9	-1.5	0.0	7.4	4.63
1909	Brantford Indians	OPHL	5	65	1300	7.0	-0.1	-0.6	6.3	4.85
1909	Pittsburgh Lyceums	WPHL	5	32	640	4.7	-0.3	0.0	4.4	6.88
1909	Haileybury Miners	TPHL	6	10	200	0.8	-0.1	-0.1	0.6	3.00
1910	Brantford Indians	OPHL	5	8	160	-0.3	0.0	0.0	-0.3	-1.88
1911	Galt Redshirts	OPHL	5	80	1600	7.8	-0.4	0.0	7.4	4.63
1912	Moncton Victorias	MPHA	5	80	1600	6.1	-0.3	-0.6	5.2	3.25
1913	Quebec Bulldogs	NHA	7	76	1520	8.9	1.0	-0.3	9.6	6.32
1914	Quebec Bulldogs	NHA	6	80	1600	9.0	1.1	-0.4	9.7	6.06
1915	Quebec Bulldogs	NHA	5	36	720	4.5	0.1	-0.4	4.2	5.83
1915	Toronto Shamrocks	NHA	6	40	800	3.7	0.4	-0.2	3.9	4.88
1916	Quebec Bulldogs	NHA	5	73	1460	4.8	1.2	-0.5	5.5	3.77
1917	Montreal Canadiens	NHA	5	56	1120	1.2	1.8	-0.6	2.4	2.14
1920	Quebec Bulldogs	NHL	5	33	660	-1.1	0.6	-0.2	-0.7	-1.06
Career				930	18600	78.6	3.9	-5.1	77.4	4.16

Offensively, Smith was a beast, there's no doubt about it. Any time you produce a TPAK of over 6, you're in very rarified air, one of the very best players of all time. But it seems Tommy Smith was not just about filling the opponent's net.

Tommy Smith was good both on attack and defence and is one of the best all around players on the team. (Quebec Chronicle, 2 Jan 1913)

[Tommy] Smith, unlike his brother Harry, is a speed merchant and is always in the thick of the fray. (Quebec Chronicle, 20 Jan 1913)

Here Smith is noted for his speed and two-way play, and for always being involved in the action. However, that opinion was not unanimous:

[Tommy] Smith, while he loafs almost all the time, never fails to be on the job for a pass, and his shooting is a feature of the forward line. (Toronto Star, 9 Feb 9 1914)

Tommy [Smith] was always ready to join in any Quebec rush if some one else would carry the puck three-quarters of the way up the rink to where he was usually loafing. (Toronto Star, 12 Feb 1914)

A player who "loafs off-side" is basically what we'd call a "floater" today. When the puck was in his own zone he would wait up the ice for his mates to retrieve it and start a rush. Hobey Baker was a loafer, as were many of the best offensive players at this time. But how do we reconcile the differing opinions of the Quebec and Toronto writers? One says he's good defensive and is involved in the play, while the other dismisses him as a floater.

To a certain degree we can attribute the Quebec opinion to homerism; however, in the same respect we can attribute the Toronto opinion to anti-homerism, if you will, or beating up on opposing players while dressing up your own. So the truth is likely somewhere in the middle.

My interpretation is that Smith had some defensive skill, but did not use it all the time, as a tactical decision. He was most valuable on offence, so did not spend too much energy on defence. However, both when in Quebec and Moncton, at least, he was noted for always being in the thick of it. I interpret that to mean that while he did not necessarily backcheck, he was an aggressive forechecker.

Smith was quite a durable player - he never missed a significant number of games due to injury; it took typhoid fever to knock him out for most of the 1909/10 season. He was also apparently excellent at taking faceoffs, something not often noted at the time, despite playing wing when he was teamed with Malone.

Paddy Moran - the Wandering Goalie

I wrote about Paddy Moran in the last post, and promised to give him a proper profile. Here it is.

Patrick Joseph Alexander "Paddy' Moran was born in Quebec City on March 11, 1877. By 1900 he was playing intermediate hockey, the level just below senior, with the Quebec Crescents. In the 1901/02 season he began his long career with the Quebec Athletics/Bulldogs, playing with them until 1916/17, with the exception of a single season. As discussed last time, Moran is a Hall-of-Famer with some numbers that are, at times, decidedly unimpressive.

However, when we look at his Point Allocation results, we can see that his numbers can quite reasonably be made to fit a Hall-of-Fame career, and that's what we do. Whenever possible, we assume that contemporary accounts and those who witnessed a player's play at a high level are correct in their assessments of that player's ability. If we had to break, rather than bend, the Point Allocation system to make Moran look like a high-quality netminder, that would be one thing, but although he certainly had a few down seasons, he certainly produced some very good years:

Season	Club	League	Pos	GP	MIN	OP	DP	PP	TPA	TPAK
1901	Quebec Athletics	CAHL	G	71	4224	0.0	3.5	0.0	3.5	0.83
1902	Quebec Athletics	CAHL	G	80	4800	0.0	10.8	0.0	10.8	2.25
1903	Quebec Athletics	CAHL	G	80	4766	0.0	3.7	-0.3	3.4	0.71
1904	Quebec Athletics	CAHL	G	80	4800	0.0	16.7	0.0	16.7	3.48
1905	Quebec Athletics	CAHL	G	80	4800	0.0	18.7	0.0	18.7	3.90
1906	Quebec Bulldogs	ECAHA	G	80	4777	0.0	12.2	0.0	12.2	2.55
1907	Quebec Bulldogs	ECAHA	G	48	2862	0.0	-0.8	0.0	-0.8	-0.28
1908	Quebec Bulldogs	ECAHA	G	80	4776	0.0	17.5	-0.2	17.3	3.62
1909	Quebec Bulldogs	ECHA	G	80	4800	0.0	14.2	0.0	14.2	2.96
1910	Haileybury Miners	NHA	G	67	4007	0.0	10.5	0.0	10.5	2.62
1910	Montreal All-Montreals	CHA	G	14	800	0.0	1.8	0.0	1.8	2.25
1910	Montreal Allis-Chambers	MMHL	G	8	480	0.0	0.5	0.0	0.5	1.04
1911	Quebec Bulldogs	NHA	G	80	4800	0.0	12.1	0.0	12.1	2.52
1912	Quebec Bulldogs	NHA	G	80	4778	0.0	21.4	-0.2	21.2	4.44
1913	Quebec Bulldogs	NHA	G	80	4800	0.0	23.0	0.0	23.0	4.79
1914	Quebec Bulldogs	NHA	G	80	4800	0.0	21.5	0.0	21.5	4.48
1915	Quebec Bulldogs	NHA	G	80	4800	0.0	16.8	0.0	16.8	3.50
1916	Quebec Bulldogs	NHA	G	74	4419	0.0	18.0	0.0	18.0	4.07
1917	Quebec Bulldogs	NHA	G	21	1248	0.0	2.2	0.0	2.2	1.76
Career				1263	75537	0.0	224.3	-0.7	223.6	2.96

But here at Hockey Historysis, we're interested in more than just numbers and results. It's fine to say that Moran was an outstanding goaltenders. The question is: why? What made him unique?

First, Moran was not afraid to use his stick for more than just playing the puck. According to Without Fear: Hockey's 50 greatest goaltenders (Chicago: Triumph Books, 2002), Moran was very aggressive in defending the goal area, gladly using his stick to dissuade opponents from getting too close, his play being described as attempts to "slash [opposing players'] heads off with lightning strokes of his blade." Legends of Hockey agrees, noting that "Moran played in the days prior to a goal crease being painted in front of the net and guarded his area like a stray dog with a bone. His quick stick was used for more than just deflecting shots and opposition players soon developed a healthy respect for Paddy's self-created 'crease.'" 

But Moran's playing style was notable for more than his willingness to use his stick on his opponents. He was also noted for leaving the goal area, and even rushing opposing players to prevent scoring chances: 

Moran in goal was really wonderful. Time and again he stopped what seemed impossible shots, and not only stopped the shots, but stopped those terrible rushes for which the Victoria players are noted...The way Moran met some of the individual rushes of a maroon shirted player, with one of his own rushes, was a caution and Paddy wasn't always underneath. (Quebec Chronicle, 4 Feb 1904)

For Quebec, Moran gave an exception exhibition of goal-keeping. He was steady and sure, and he saved many a possible score. On one occasion, he gave a really sensational display, when he ran out and blocked two Shamrock men who had got inside the defence and were apparently bound to deliver the goods. (Quebec Chronicle, 14 Feb 1908)

We need to reconcile some of Moran's poor performances, especially early in his career, with his contemporary reputation of being an outstanding netminder:

The irrepressible Paddy Moran, in goals, gave an exhibition that was worth the whole price of admissions to witness. Paddy has acquired a well-deserved reputation for performing sensational stunts, and last evening he treated the crowd to a number that were well-worth seeing and he saved the situation on several occasions by his quick-wit in realizing the situation. (Quebec Chronicle, 7 Jan 1909)

You might think that perhaps Moran was too reckless in his wanderings. Although many times he might be able to intercept an incoming attacker, being too far away from his posts could leave him out of position as well. This play certainly didn't always work out for him:

In endeavoring to save a score Moran made a spectacular rush out of goals and fell on the puck, necessitating a face right in front of Quebec's poles, Ward batting the rubber in and giving the visitors their second tally. (Quebec Chronicle, 7 Jan 1909)

So perhaps he just reigned in his proclivity for rushing the attackers himself later in his career, and that's what allowed him and his team to capture league championships in 1912 and 1913. But I don't think so; even in those championship years he was still leaving his posts with regularity:

The hero of the match was undoubtedly Paddy Moran, who never played a better game in his life than he did last night. Time after time when the visitors' forwards had penetrated the Quebec defence Paddy sailed out and robbed them. (Quebec Chronicle, 6 Feb 1913)

So I think with Moran, you had to take the bad with the good. Surely he did put himself out of position at times when he left the goals. However, I think this tendency also gives us a clue as to why he was as good as he was. Check out this quote from 1908:

“Paddy” Moran...is almost impregnable against a shot from fair range...and the Vics only rolled up a big score by taking the rubber disc right to the mouth of the cage. (Quebec Chronicle, 13 Jan 1908)

So we have a goalie who is especially good at handling longer-range shots, and who is known for charging out of the crease. To me, this indicates a goaltender who cut down the angles better than anyone of his time. I suspect that was Moran's biggest advantage: his natural aggressiveness resulted not only in his being able to block the attackers himself, but give them less room to shoot at should they get a shot away before he got to them. Modern goalies can be aggressive by coming out of their nets to cut down a shooter's angle, and I suspect Moran did the same. He didn't just leave his post to challenge the shooter directly, he did so to make their shot more difficult as well.

Good Players on Bad Teams

One of the things Point Allocation gives us is a limit on how much value can attributed to the players on a particular team, based on how successful that team was. Looking at only an individual players, without considering the team results and the contributions of all the other players on the team, can lead to one or many of the players on a team being overrated.

To illustrate, let's for a moment discuss Paddy Moran, the Hall-of-Fame goaltender for Quebec City who played senior hockey from 1902 to 1917, and who will be profiled here in the next little bit. He was a great player (assuming the Hall of Fame voters got it right) who generally played for pretty bad teams. His career senior-level W-L-T record was only 99-107-2. Even though he generally played in leagues with only four to six teams, being below .500 doesn't scream Hall of Fame.

Not only were his Quebec clubs typically mediocre, they were also typically below average defensively. If you're a poor defensive squad despite having a great (or at least very good) netminder, that means your skaters must be pretty poor. The logic is inescapable.

Take the 1908/09 ECHA season as an example. Of the four teams involved, Quebec allowed the most goals. The Wanderers (with Riley Hern in net) had a 5.03 GAA, Ottawa (with Percy LeSueur) was 5.19, the Shamrocks (Bill Baker) were 8.58 and the Bulldogs with Moran allowed 8.83 goals per 60 minutes. As such Quebec gets credit for relatively few defensive points, since they allowed so many goals. Moran, being a Hall of Fame goaltender, gets the lion's share of these.

The two Quebec defencemen were Art Leader and Joe Power, who both had respectable defensive reputations. So they get some points as well, though not as much as you might assign them were you looking at them in isolation. There's basically nothing left for the forwards (Herb Jordan, Chubby Power, Joe Malone and Jack McDonald), regardless of their defensive reputations.

As it happens, of those four only McDonald has anything resembling a solid defensive rep. In this team's case, I think that has as much to do with style and tactics as lack of ability (which will be addressed when discussing Moran and Jordan). But if you didn't start with the team results and work down, you'd want to reward Paddy Moran, and Joe Power, and McDonald and Joe Malone (another Hall of Famer) and would end up giving too much credit for defence on a team that was not very good at preventing goals.

Being Fair to Players From Earlier Eras

Here are two facts about hockey history that are essentially self-evident:

1. Objectively speaking, as far as we can be objective, the average quality of high-level hockey players has increased since organized hockey began; and

2. Since organized hockey began, old-timey players have talked about how players in their day were better.

How do reconcile these two contradictory statements? That's easy; only the first is true, while the second is the result of human cognitive biases. But that's not why I'm bringing this up. I really just want to discuss the first point, as it applies to the Point Allocation system.

This is important because one of the objectives of the system, one of the main reasons for its very existence, is to allow players from different eras to be compared to each other on something resembling equal footing. Some might ask the question, "Should we even be doing this? If modern players are objectively better than historical ones, why would we put the historical ones on the same footing? Shouldn't they be ranked lower than modern players?"

My answer to that is no, they should not. Why not? Because we have to consider the reasons that modern players are better. It's all about the context. Modern players are better for a variety of reasons: better training, better equipment, better coaching, better almost everything. These are all facts. But they don't matter. Historical players did not have access to these advantages. Why in the world would we punish them for not having things that didn't exist in their day?

The best we can do is analyze each player in the context in which he actually played. Anything else is unfair to one or more groups of players. It's almost certainly true that some players, if they were transported from their own era to another, would be either better or worse off in the new playing context. But that's irrelevant, and any such consideration would ultimately be guesswork. All we can do is recognize the context the player actually played in, and evaluate him based on that.

This means that according to the Point Allocation results, the very best players in an era will be valued at approximately the same level as the very best players in any other era. Doing otherwise would be inherently unfair. Players have no control over the conditions of the game at the time they played. Why in the world would we include those in the evaluations?

Percy Traub - the Value of the Stay at Home Defenceman

Percy Traub, a blueliner who played mostly with Regina in the 1920s, is an excellent example of a player whose value can really be revealed by the historical Point Allocation system.

We know he was a very able defender. For example, when the Regina Leader was naming its 1923 All-Star team for the 1922/23 WCHL season, it named Bullet Joe Simpson as the league's best overall right defenceman (due to his offensive ability), but notes that "[t]here is none better than [Traub] at the art of checking and intercepting..." (11 Jan 1923). His obituary in the 8 May 1948 edition of the Edmonton Journal said:

Back in the early 1920's when the Western Canada Professional Hockey League was in its fullest flower and fragancy [sic], “Puss” Traub was one of the circuit's outstanding defencemen with Regina Caps...Traub was the steady rock at the Regina blue line. Never a showy player – he couldn't carry the puck like Joe Simpson, Red Dutton or Harry Cameron for example – Traub nevertheless was a standout in most games in which he played because of his checking. He could “lay the body” and it was seldom a forward got past him without being tagged in some degree...It's seldom they come as rugged and durable as the late Percy Traub.

So Traub was a steady, hard-hitting, stay-at-home defenceman, which we know has a great deal of value to a hockey team, now as then. But if we look at his traditional stats, we see that in 262 major-league games, he recorded 21 goals and 22 assists, along with 451 minutes in penalties. Nothing noteworthy. His Point Allocation, results, however, help to reveal his true value:

Season	Club	League	Pos	Age	GP	MIN	OP	DP	PP	TPA	TPAK
1916	Regina Victorias	SSHL	1	19	48	1200	-1.1	5.2	-0.2	3.9	3.25
1917	Regina 217th Battalion	SHL	3	20	80	2000	-1.9	-0.9	-0.7	-3.5	-1.75
1918	Regina Depot	RMHL	3	21	80	2000	-2.1	2.6	-1.0	-0.5	-0.25
1919	Regina Victorias	SIHL	3	22	56	1400	-0.7	6.3	-0.1	5.5	3.93
1920	Regina Victorias	SSHL	3	23	80	2000	-0.8	8.9	-0.4	7.7	3.85
1921	Regina Victorias	SSHL	3	24	75	1875	0.9	5.9	-0.3	6.5	3.47
1922	Regina Capitals	WCHL	3	25	80	2000	0.6	5.9	-0.3	6.2	3.10
1923	Regina Capitals	WCHL	3	26	69	1725	0.9	5.0	-0.3	5.6	3.25
1924	Regina Capitals	WCHL	3	27	72	1800	1.0	6.8	-0.6	7.2	4.00
1925	Regina Capitals	WCHL	3	28	74	1850	1.2	6.0	-0.7	6.5	3.51
1926	Portland Rosebuds	WHL	3	29	75	1875	0.4	3.3	-0.9	2.8	1.49
1927	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL	3	30	76	1900	-0.1	3.1	-1.1	1.9	1.00
1928	Detroit Cougars	NHL	3	31	80	2000	-0.2	5.4	-0.7	4.5	2.25
1929	Detroit Cougars	NHL	3	32	80	2000	-0.9	5.6	-0.4	4.3	2.15
Career					1025	25625	-2.8	69.1	-7.7	58.6	2.29

There you have it: Traub was just below replacement level on offence, but was all kinds of good in his own end, especially during his peak years. His utter lack of scoring ability prevents him from ever being one of the very best blueliners in the game at any time, but he had very real value that is not captured by traditional stats. One of the purposes of Point Allocation is to reveal the value of players below the level of the Hall-of-Famers, and Traub is a nice example of that.