The Back Check

The Back Check
The Back Check

Bill and Riley debate which NHL players belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame and which don't. Episodes every few weeks.

  1. 2023-12-18

    Episode 98: Part 1 of the Class of 1966

    Episode Notes Part 1 of 3 on the Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 1966, featuring Toe Blake: 1934-48; 14 seasons, 12 quality Totals: 235G (7th All Time at his retirement), 294A (2nd All Time at his retirement - Cowley) for  529P (t-2nd All Time at his retirement - Cowley) in 577 Games (18th All Time at his retirement); 52.6 Point Shares (25th All time at his retirement); At his retirement, Blake was 18th All time in Offensive Point Shares Per Game: At his retirement, Blake was T-8th All Time in GPG (14 qualifying players) 2nd All Time in PPG (4 qualifying players - Cowley, Stewart, Syd Howe); Blake doesn’t qualify for the APG leaderboard but if we lower the qualifier so he does (250A), at his retirement, Blake was 2nd All Time in APG (5 qualifying players, Cowley, Boucher, Watson, Syd Howe) Era: Of the 13 skaters to play in at least 492 games (6 modern seasons) between 1934 and 1948, Blake is 1st in Goals (by 31) 1st in GPG 2nd in Assists 2nd in APG 2nd in Points 2nd in PPG 2nd in Offensive Point Shares 5th/4th Forward in Defensive Point Shares (9/8 qualifying Forwards) 5th in Point Shares 2nd in Games Played 82-game average: 34G, 42A for 75P 3-year peak (1942-45): 50-game average of 28G, 39A for 67P Playoffs: 25G (t-3rd All time at his retirement - Richard, Drillon) 37A (1st All Time at his retirement) for 62P (1st All Time at his retirement by 9P) in 58 playoff Games (20th All Time at his retirement) Per Game: At his retirement, Blake was 4th All Time in playoff GPG (Richard, Kennedy, Drillon - 7 qualifying players) 2nd All Time in playoff APG (Lach - 3 qualifying players: Cowley) 1st All Time (by .4) in playoff PPG (2 qualifying players: Apps) Era: Of the 46 skaters to play in at least 41 playoff games between 1934 and 1948, Blake is T-2nd in playoff Goals 2nd in playoff GPG 1st in playoff Assists 1st in playoff APG (by .09) 1st in playoff Points 1st in playoff PPG (by .25) 15th in playoff Games Played Frank Brimsek: 1938-43; 1945-50; 10 seasons, all as a starter Totals: 252W (3rd All Time - 1st American - at his retirement - Broda, Thompson), 182L (5th All Time - 1st American - at his retirement - Worters, Broda, Roach, Thompson), 80T (3rd All Time - 1st American - at his retirement - Broda, Worters; 5th American All Time - Vanbiesbrouck, Miller, Barrasso, Quick); 40 SO (11th All Time - 1st American - at his retirement); 95.4 Point Shares (3rd All Time - 1st American at his retirement - Broda, Thompson) in 31,230 Minutes (3rd All Time - 1st American at his retirement - Broda, Thompson) over 514 Games Averages: 2.70 GAA (12th All Time at his retirement - 17 qualifying players) Era: Of the 14 goalies to play in at least 82 games between 1938 and 1950, Brimsek is 1st in Wins 1st/last in Losses 2nd in Ties 1st/last in Goals Against 6th in GAA 2nd in Shutouts 1st in Minutes 2nd in Point Shares 1st in Games Played Season average: 25-18-8; 4 Shutouts; 9.5 PS 82-game average: 40-29-13; 6 Shutouts; 15.2 PS Playoffs: 32W (2nd All Time at his retirement - Broda, behind by 23), 36L (t-1st/last All Time at his retirement); 2 SO (t-16th All Time at his retirement) in 4395 Minutes (2nd All Time at his retirement - Broda, behind by nearly 1400) over 68 playoff Games (2nd All Time at his retirement - Broda, behind by 23); Averages: 2.54 (t-10th All Time/last among qualifying players at his retirement) Era: Of the six goalies to play in at least 20 playoff games between 1938 and 1950, Brimsek is 2nd in playoff Wins (behind by 19) 1st/last in playoff Losses 1st/last in playoff Goals Against T-4th (2nd last) in playoff GAA t-4th/last in playoff Shutouts 2nd in playoff Minutes (behind by nearly 800 minutes) 2nd in playoff Games Played (behind by 14) Babe Pratt: 1935-47; 12 seasons, 11 quality by DPS Totals: 83G (17th/7th D All Time at his retirement), 210A (2nd/1st D All Time at his retirement - Clapper) for 293P (5th/2nd D All time at his retirement - Clapper, Goodfellow, Hollett, Siebert) in 518 Games (12th/8th D All Time at his reti

    54 min
  2. 2023-11-20

    Episode 97: Hall of Fame Class of 1967

    Episode Notes Turk Broda: 1936-43, 1945-52; 14 seasons, 11 as a starter, 1 as a 1A Totals: 304W (1st All Time at his retirement - held the record from 1950 to 1958) 222L (2nd All Time at his retirement) 102T (19th All time, 1st All Time at his retirement - held the record from 1949 to 1955); 61 SO (6th All Time at his retirement); 120.4 PS (1st All Time at his retirement - held the record from 1950 to 1956) in 38,182 Minutes (1st All Time at his retirement - held the record from 1950 to 1955) over 629 Games (1st All Time at his retirement - held the record from 1950 to 1955) Averages: 2.53 GAA (11th All Time at his retirement) Era: Of the 11 goalies to play in at least 164 games (2 modern seasons) between 1936 and 1952, Broda is 1st in Wins (by over 50) 1st/last in Losses 1st in Ties (by over 20) 1st/last in Goals Against 4th in GAA 1st in Shutouts by over 20 1st in Minutes (by nearly 7,000) 1st in Games (by 115) Season average: 22-16-7; 4 SO; 8.6 GPS 82-game average: 40-29-13; 8 SO; 15.7 GPS Playoffs: 60W (17th All Time, 1st All Time at his retirement by nearly double - held the record from 1947 until 1969) 39L (1st All Time at his retirement) 13 SO (9th All Time, 1st All Time at his retirement by 44% - held the record from 1950 through 1969) in 6,387 Minutes (19th All Time, 1st All Time at his retirement by nearly 2,000 - held the record from 1943 until 1970) over 101 Games (20th All Time, 1st All Time a this retirement by 49% - held the record from 1943 until 1968); 7th All Time at his retirement Era: Of the 9 goalies to play in at least 20 playoff games between 1936 and 1952, Broda is 1st in playoff Wins (by nearly double) 1st in playoff Losses The only goalie to record a Tie 1st/Last in playoff Goals Against 3rd in playoff GAA (with 3 ½ times as many GP as 1st place and over four times the GP of 2nd) 1st in playoff Shutouts (by nearly double 2nd) 1st in playoff Minutes (by nearly 2000) 1st in playoff Games (by 49%) Adjustment for Era: 2.68 Adjusted GAA (22nd All Time) Trades: Traded just before his 22nd birthday by Detroit to Toronto for cash - our Greatest Maple Leaf Trade of All Time Neil Colville: 1935-42 (as Centre), 1944-49 (as D); 12 seasons, five seasons quality as a forward and a further three as a D by modern standards of PPG/DPS Totals: 100G, 166A for 266P in 465 Games; 36.8 Point Shares; Per Game: Coville obviously doesn’t qualify for any leaderboards, but if the qualifiers are lowered so he does, at his retirement Coville was not on any leaderboards; however at his departure for WWII, he was T-7th All Time in APG T-13th All Time in PPG Era:  Of the 38 skaters to play in at least 246 games (3 modern seasons) between 1935 and 1942, Colville is 10th in Goals 7th in GPG 7th in Assists t-3rd in APG 10th in Points T-4th in PPG T-8th in Offensive Point Shares 18th (9th/6th Forward) in Defensive Point Shares 13th in Point Shares 29th in Games Of the 16 D to play in at least 164 games (2 modern seasons) between 1944 and 1949, Colville is 11th in Goals T-10th in GPG 13th in Assists T-8th in APG T-13th (3rd last) in Points T-10th in PPG 12th in Offensive Point Shares 14th (3rd last) in Defensive Point Shares 14th (3rd last) in Point Shares 13th in Games 82-game average: 18G, 30A for 47P 3-year peak: As a forward (1938-41): 48-game average of 17G, 22A for 39P As a D (1945-48): 60-game average of 5G, 11A for 16P Playoffs: 7G, 19A (t-13th All Time at his retirement, t-4th All Time at his departure for WWII - Apps, Syd Howe, Boucher) for 26P (t-12th All time at his departure for WWII) in 45 Games Per Game: Colville doesn’t meet any PG requirements (obviously), but if they are lowered so that he does, at his departure for WWII, Coville was 2nd All Time in playoff APG (Cowley - ahead by .09) T-8th All Time in playoff PPG Era: Among the 74 skaters to play in at least 20 playoff games between 1935 and 1942, Colville is T-27th in playoff Goals T-36th in playoff GPG T-3rd in playoff Assists 5th in playoff APG 6th in pla

    51 min
  3. 2023-10-16

    Episode 96: Hall of Fame Class of 1968

    Episode Notes Bill Cowley’s Career: NHL: 1934-47; 13 years, 11 quality by modern standards of PPG Totals: 195G (16th All Time at his retirement), 354A (1st All Time at his retirement, by 62, i.e. 21% more than 2nd - held the record from 1943-44 to 1950-51) for 549P (1st All Time at his retirement - held the record from 1946-47 to 1950-51) in 549 Games (t-25th All Time at his retirement); 57.1 Point Shares (20th All Time at his retirement) At his retirement, Cowley was 12th All Time in Offensive Point Shares Per Game: At his retirement, Cowley was 1st All Time in APG (only qualifying player) 1st All Time in PPG (only four qualifying player) If the goals qualifier is lowered so he qualifies (150), and the assists (250) and points qualifiers (400) are lowered so other players qualify, at his retirement Cowley was T-17th All Time in GPG 1st All Time in APG (5 qualifying players, ahead of Blake by .13) 1st All Time in PPG (12 qualifying players) Era: Of the 40 skaters to play in at least 492 games (6 modern seasons) between 1934 and 1947, Cowley is 11th in Goals T-7th in GPG 1st in Assists (by 62) 1st in APG (by .13) 1st in Points 1st in PPG 10th in Offensive Point Shares 31st in Defensive Point Shares (20th Forward) 16th in Point Shares T-25th in Games Played 82-game average: 30G, 52A for 82P 3-year peak (1942-45): 50-game average of 32G, 48A for 80P Playoffs: 12G (t-31st All Time at his retirement), 34A (2nd All Time at his retirement - Blake) for 46P (3rd All Time at his retirement - Blake, Maurice Richard) in 64 playoff Games (11th At his retirement) Per Game: At his retirement Cowley was 3rd All time in playoff APG (nearly 50% of the leader) - Lach, Blake Cowley doesn’t qualify for the playoff GPG and PPG leaderboards, if we lower the qualifiers for goals (10) and points (30) and if we lower the qualifiers so that others qualify for GPG (20), at his retirement Cowley was T-46th All Time (3rd last among qualifying players) in playoff GPG Still 3rd All Time in playoff APG T-8th All time in playoff PPG Era: Of the 44 skaters to play in at least 41 playoff games between 1934 and 1947, Cowley is T-16th in playoff Goals T-22nd in playoff GPG 2nd in playoff Assists 2nd in playoff APG (behind by .11) 2nd in playoff Points (behind by 16) T-5th in playoff PPG 6th in playoff Games Adjusted for Era: Hockey-Reference: 252G, 555A for 807P 82-game average: 38G, 83A for 121P Per Game:  2nd All Time in Adjusted APG (Gretzky) 6th All Time in Adjusted PPG VsX: 365G 820A 982P Per Game: t-22nd All Time in VsX Adjusted GPG 3rd All Time in VsX Adjusted APG (Joe Primeau, Boucher) 4th All Time in VsX Adjusted PPG (Bryan Hextall, Charlie Conacher, Bill Cook) If the qualifier is set to 410 Games, Cowley is t-21st All Time in VsX Adjusted APG 2nd All Time in VsX Adjusted APG (Boucher) Still 4th All Time in VsX Adjusted PPG Trades: Never traded but acquired by Boston in the St. Louis dispersal draft Bill Cowley’s Accomplishments: Hart (‘41, ‘43) Top 5 in Hart voting a further two times Art Ross* (‘41) Back Check MVP (‘41, ‘43) Back Check Best Player (‘41, ‘43, ‘44) All Star: 1st Team All Star four times 2nd Team All Star once Top Player: Top 5 Player (by Point Shares) once (‘41) Top 10 twice (‘43) Best Offensive Player (by OPS) once (‘41) Top 5  four times (‘39, ‘43, ‘44, ‘45) Top 10 eight times (‘37, ‘38, ‘40) Goals: Leaderboards: Top 5 in Goals once Top 10 four times GPG leaderboards: Top 5 in GPG once Top 10 three times Single-season totals: 30 goals once 25 goals three times (1 of only 13 skaters ever at his retirement) Assists: Leaderboards: Set the single-season Assists record (broke the previous record by 10) and held it for three seasons Led the league in Assists three times (t-3rd most all time - Gretzky, Orr) Top 5 six times Top 10 eight times APG leaderboards: Set the single-season APG record (broke the previous record by .14) in 1938-39, broke his own record in 1940-41, broke it again in 1943-44 a

    39 min
  4. 2023-09-18

    Episode 95: Hall of Fame Class of 1970

    Episode Notes Babe Dye: 1921-1931; 11 seasons, 8 quality Totals: 201G (3rd All Time at his retirement - Denneny, Morenz), 47A for 248P (4th - Denneny, Morenz, Noble) in 271 games (13th); 46.6 PS (10th) At his retirement, Dye was 5th All Time in Offensive Point Shares (Morenz, Nels Stewart, Joliat, Denneny) Per Game: Dye is 4th All Time in GPG (Bossy, Lemieux, Denneny) Dye doesn’t qualify for the APG or PPG leader-boards. However, if the qualifier is set at 82 games Dye was 9th All Time in PPG at his retirement 82-game average of 61G, 14A for 75P 3-year peak (1920-23): 24-game average of 31G, 8A for 39P Playoffs:  2G for  2P in  10 games Per Game: Dye scored 2 points in 10 games so there is no point Era: Of the 77 skaters who played in at least 10 playoff games between 1919 and 1931, Dye is T-34th in playoff Goals T-21st in obviously GPG (a joke, obviously) T-last in playoff Assists (obviously) T-51st in playoff Points T-68th in playoff Games T-47th in playoff PPG Gadsby: 1946-66; 21 seasons, 16 quality (by DPS) Totals: 130G (11th/3rd D All Time at his retirement - Clancy, Hollett), 438A (7th All Time, 2nd/1st D, at his retirement - Kelly) for 568P (16th All Time, 3rd/1st D, at his retirement - Kelly, Schmidt???) -62* in 1248 Games (3rd All Time, 2nd/1st D, at his retirement - Howe, Kelly); 100.3 Point Shares (9th All Time, 4th/3rd D, at his retirement - Kelly, Harvey, Clancy); At his retirement, Gadsby was 12th All Time in Defensive Point Shares At his retirement, among D, Gadsby was t-4th/t-1st in Offensive Point Shares (Kelly, Clapper, Schmidt???) Per Game: T-25th All Time in APG at his retirement (last among qualifying players) 4th/2nd D All Time in PPG at his retirement (Schmidt, Kelly, Harvey; last among qualifying players); Gadsby doesn’t qualifying for GPG, but if the qualifier is lowered enough so he qualifies (125G), among D, he was 11th/3rd All Time in GPG (last among qualifying players - Hollett, Clancy) Era: Of the 11 D* to play in at least 820 Games (10 modern seasons) between 1946 and 1966, Gadsby is 3rd in Goals 3rd in GPG (doesn’t actually qualify, less than half of 1st) 2nd in Assists 3rd in APG 2nd in Points 4th in PPG 8th in Plus/Minus 2nd in Offensive Point Shares 8th in Defensive Point Shares 3rd in Point Shares 2nd in Games 82-game average: 8G, 29A for 38P, -4*; 6.6 PS 3-year peak (1955-58): 70-game average of 10G, 38A for 64P; 7.9 PS Playoffs: 4G, 23A (8th/6th D All Time at his retirement) for 27P (13th/9th D All Time at his retirement); +5* (7th D All Time at his retirement) in 67 Games (18th/15th D at his retirement) Per Game: 6th/5th D in APG All Time at his retirement (Pilote, Harvey, Tremblay, Stanley); Gadsby doesn’t qualify for the playoff GPG and PPG leaderboards, but if we lower the qualifiers (absurdly) so he does (4G, 25P), at his retirement, among D, he was Last in playoffs GPG 12th/9th in playoffs PPG Era: Of the 34 D* to play in at least 41 playoff games between 1946-66, Gadsby is t-15th/12th in playoff Goals T-13th in playoff GPG 6th/5th in playoff Assists 7th in playoff APG 8th/6th in playoff Points 9th in playoff PPG T-5th in playoff Plus/Minus 12th in Games Johnson: 1947-48, 1950-65; 16 seasons, 14 quality Totals: 51G, 213A (13th D All Time at his retirement) for 264P (21st D All Time at his retirement), +56* (24th All Time at his retirement, 11th D) in  978 Games (8th All Time at his retirement, 6th D) 81.6 Point Shares (17th All Time at his retirement, 9th D); At his retirement, Johnson was 2nd All Time in Defensive Point Shares (Harvey) Per Game: Johnson doesn’t qualify for the per game leaderboards but if we lowered the qualifiers so that he does (50G, 200A, 250P), among D at his retirement, Johnson was T-13t/10th (last) All Time in APG 21st/17th (last) All Time in PPG Era: Of the 10 D* to play in at least 820 games (10 modern seasons) between 1950 and 1965, Johnson is 9th (2nd last) in Goals 9th (2nd last) in GPG 8th (3rd last) in Assists T-7th (3rd last) in A

    56 min
  5. 2023-08-20

    Episode 94: Hall of Fame Class of 1969

    Episode Notes Sid Abel: 1938-43, 1946-54; 14 seasons, 9 quality Totals: 188G, 284A (t-8th All Time at his retirement) for 472P (17th All Time at his retirement) in 612 Games (20th All Time at his retirement); 49.4 Point Shares; Per Game: Abel doesn’t quality for the PG leaderboards but, if the qualifiers are lowered so that he does (175G, 275A, 450P), at his retirement Abel was T-6th All Time in APG (10 qualifying players) 13th All Time in PPG (18 qualifying players) Era: Of the 15 skaters to play in at least 574 games (7 modern seasons) between 1938 and 1954, Abel is 10th in Goals T-8th in GPG (doesn’t actually qualify) 4th in Assists T-2nd in APG (doesn’t actually qualify) 8th in Points T-7th in PPG (doesn’t actually qualify) 8th in Offensive Point Shares 8th in Defensive Point Shares (6th Forward) 9th in Point Shares 10th in Games 82-game average: 25G, 38A for 63P 3-year peak (1948-51): 70-game average of 30G, 35A for 65P Bryan Hextall: 1936-44, 1945-48; 11 seasons, 8 quality Totals: 187G (19th All Time at his retirement), 180A for 367P (23rd All Time at his retirement) in 449 Games; 36.5 Point Shares; Per Game: Hextall doesn’t qualify for the PG leaderboards but if we lower the qualifiers so that he does (175G, 175A, 350P), at his retirement, Hextall was T-9th All Time in GPG (21 qualifying players) 18th All Time in APG (37 qualifying players) T-9th All Time in PPG (24 qualifying players) Era: Of the 21 skaters to play in at least 410 games (5 modern seasons) between 1936 and 1948, Hextall is 3rd in Goals T-2nd in GPG 9th in Assists 9th in APG 8th in Points T-5th in PPG 4th in Offensive Point Shares 21st (last) in Defensive Point Shares 11th in Point Shares 14th in Games 82-game average: 34G, 33A for 67P 3-year peak (1941-44): 50-game average of 24G, 33A for 57P Playoffs: 8G, 9A for 17P in 37 Games Red Kelly: 1947-67; 20 seasons, all quality Totals: 281G (11th All Time at his retirement) , 542A (4th All Time at his retirement - Howe, Bathgate, Beliveau) for 823P (7th All Time at his retirement), +50* in 1316 Games (2nd All Time at his retirement - Howe); 146.3 Point Shares (2nd All Time at his retirement - Howe); At his retirement, Kelly was 8th All time in Offensive Point Shares 3rd All Time in Defensive Point Shares (Harvey, Pronovost); At his trade from Detroit to Toronto, when he switched to centre, among D, Kelly was approximately: 3rd/1st All Time in Goals (Clapper, Schmidt) 4th/3rd All Time in Assists (Schmidt, Harvey, Gadsby) 2nd/1st All Time in Points (Schmidt) 2nd/1st All Time in Offensive Point Shares (Clapper) 3rd All Time in Defensive Point Shares (Harvey, Bouchard) 1st All Time in Point Shares (by over 12 PS) 1st All Time in Games Per Game: At his retirement, Kelly was T-22nd All Time in APG At his trade from Detroit to Toronto, when he switched to centre, among D, Kelly was approximately: 4th/3rd in APG (Schmidt, Harvey, Gadsby); Kelly didn’t yet qualify for Goals and Points but if we lower the qualifiers (to 150G, 450A) so he does, Kelly was 4th/1st All Time in GPG (Noble, Schmidt, Clapper) 3rd/1st All Time in PPG (Schmidt, Clapper) Era: Of the 14 D to play in at least 574 games (7 modern seasons) between 1947 and 1960, Kelly is 1st in Goals (by 73) 1st in GPG 2nd in Assists 3rd in APG 1st in Points (by 75) 1st in PPG 1st in Offensive Point Shares (by over 17) 2nd in Defensive Point Shares 1st in Point Shares (by nearly 19) 1st in Games Of the 49 skaters to play at least 410 games (5 modern seasons) between 1959 and 1967, Kelly is T-21st in Goals T-26th in GPG 13th in Assists 13th in APG 15th in Points T-16th in PPG 23rd in Plus/Minus 17th in Offensive Point Shares 14th (1st or 2nd Forward) in Defensive Point Shares 24th in Point Shares 82-game average: 17G, 34A for 52P, +3*; 9.1 PS 3-year peak: As D (1950-53): 70-game average of 18G, 32A for 50P; 12.2 PS As C (1960-63): 70-game average of 23G, 43A for 63P; +24 Playoffs: 33G (9th All Time at his retirement) 59A (t-5th All Time at his ret

    1h 33m
  6. 2023-07-16

    Episode 93: Hall of Fame Class of 1971

    Episode Notes Gordon Roberts: 1909-16; 7 seasons, 6 quality Totals: 124G (7th All Time), 25A (t-6th All Time) for 149P (7th All Time) in 107 Games (9th All Time) Per Game (minimum 82 games): 6th All Time in GPG 3rd All Time in APG (Sprague Cleghorn, Malone) 3rd All Time in PPG (Pitre, Hyland) 24-game average: 28G, 6A for 33P 3-year peak (1913-16): 24-game average of 31G, 10A for 51P Playoffs: 0P in 2 Games Busher Jackson: 1929-44; 15 seasons, 12 quality (by modern PPG standards) Totals: 241G (5th All Time at his retirement - Stewart, Morenz, Joliat, Denneny), 234A (4th All Time at his retirement - Cowley, Boucher, Syd Howe) for 475P (3rd All Time at his retirement - Stewart, Morenz) in 633 Games (6th); 61.5 PS (15th) At his retirement, Jackson was 9th All Time in Offensive Point Shares Per Game: At his retirement, Jackson was 8th in GPG; Jackson doesn’t quality for APG or PPG, but if we lower the qualifiers so he does, at his retirement he was T-5th All Time in APG (Cowley, Watson, Boucher, Syd Howe) 3rd All Time in PPG (Morenz, Stewart; only 5 players and only 1 actually qualifies) Era: Of the 11 skaters to play in at least 492 games (6 modern seasons) between 1929 and 1944, Jackson is 1st in Goals 2nd in Assists 1st in Points 2nd in Offensive Point Shares (sort of 1st Forward) 7th in Defensive Point Shares 2nd in Point Shares (sort of 1st Forward) 3rd in Games 82-game average: 31G, 30A for 62P 3-year peak (1931-34): 48-game average of 27G, 21A for 48P Terry Sawchuk: 1949-70; 21 seasons, 15 as a starter, 3 as a 1A, 3 as a backup Totals: 445W (8th All Time, 1st at his death, by over 50 - Sawchuk was the career leader from 1962 through 2000), 336L (8th All Time 1st at his death), 171T (1st All Time); 103 SO (2nd All Time - Brodeur - 1st at his death - Sawchuk was the career leader from 1964 through 2007); 179 Point Shares (12th All Time, 4th Goalie - Luongo, Brodeur, Roy - 1st at his death - Sawchuk was the career leader from 1961 through 2001); -51.5* Goals Saved Above Average (75th All Time out of 78 total goalies) in 57,156 Minutes over 971 Games Averages:  2.50 GAA (t-13th All Time at his death) .907* Save Percentage (9th All Time at his death) Era: Of the 19 goalies to play in at least 205 games between 1949 and 1970, Sawchuk is 1st in Wins (by over 50) 1st/last in Losses 1st in Ties 1st/last in Goals Against 11th in Save Percentage T-3rd in GAA 4th in Saves 4th in Shots Against 15th in GSAA 1st in Shutouts (by 21) 1st in Minutes by (nearly 6000) 1st in Goalie Point Shares 1st in Games (by nearly 100) Season average: 21-16-8; 5 SO; 8.5 GPS 82-game average: 36-28-14; 9 SO; 15.1 GPS Cooney Weiland: 1928-39; 11 seasons, 7 quality by modern standards of PPG Totals: 173G (12th All Time at his retirement), 162A (12th All Time at his retirement) for 335P (11th All Time at his retirement) in 509 Games (20th All Time at his retirement); 54.6 Point Shares (16th All Time at his retirement); At his retirement, Weiland was 14th All Time in Offensive Point Shares At his retirement, Weiland was the t-18th Forward All Time in Defensive Point Shares Per Game: Weiland doesn’t qualify for any Per Game leader-boards, but if we lower the qualifiers so he does (150G, 150A, 300P), at his retirement, Weiland was 12th All Time in GPG at his retirement T-11th All Time in APG at his retirement 10th All Time in PPG at his retirement Era: Of the 33 skaters to play in at least 410 games (5 modern seasons) between 1928 and 1939, Weiland is 5th in Goals 5th in GPG 8th in Assists T-10th in APG 5th in Points 5th in PPG 5th in Offensive Point Shares T-9th in Defensive Point Shares 5th in Point Shares 1st in Games Played 82-game average: 28G, 26A for 54P 3-year peak (1929-32): 44-game average of 27G, 19A for 46P Find out more at https://the-back-check.pinecast.co

    1h 20m
  7. 2023-05-29

    Hall of Fame Class of 1972 Part 2

    Episode Notes Jean Beliveau:  1950-51, 1952-71; 20 seasons, 18 quality Totals: 507G (4th All Time at his retirement - Howe, Hull, Richard), 712A (3rd All Time at his retirement - Howe, Delvecchio) for 1219P (2nd All Time at his retirement - Howe), +117 (t-21st All Time at his retirement) in 1125 games (16th All Time at his retirement); 138.1 PS (3rd All Time at his retirement - Howe, Kelly); Beliveau is 24th All Time in Offensive Point Shares, 2nd All Time at his retirement (Howe) At his retirement, among Forwards, Beliveau was 7th/3rd All Time in Defensive Point Shares (Howe, Delvecchio) Per Game: At his retirement, Beliveau was T-13th All Time in GPG 4th All Time in APG (Mikita, Esposito, Cowley) 4th All Time in PPG (Esposito, Hull, Mikita) Era: Of the 18 skaters to play in at least 1066 Games (13 modern seasons) between 1950 and 1971, Beliveau is 2nd in Goals (behind by nearly 200) 2nd in GPG 3rd in Assists T-1st in APG 2nd in Points (behind by over 400) 2nd in PPG 4th in Plus/Minus 2nd in Offensive Point Shares (behind by over 50) 3rd (pure) Forward in Defensive Point Shares 2nd in Point Shares (behind by nearly 60) 82-game average: 37G, 52A for 89P, +9* 3-year peak (1958-61): 70-game average of 40G, 52A for 92P, +11* Gordie Howe: 1946-71; 1979-80; 26 seasons, 25 quality Totals: 801G (2nd All Time – Gretzky - 1st All Time at his initial retirement by 232; Howe was the career leader in goals from 1963-64 through 1993-94), 1049A (10th All Time – 1st All Time at his initial retirement by 300; Howe was the career leader in assists from 1957-58 through 1987-88) for 1850P (4th – Gretzky, Jagr, Messier - 1st All Time at his initial retirement by nearly 600; Howe was the career leader in points from 1959-60 through 1989-90); +160* (14th All Time at his initial retirement) in 1767 Games (2nd All Time - Marleau - 1st All Time at his retirement by 300; Howe was the career leader in Games Played from 1961-62 through 2019-20) 217.1 PS (4th All Time - Gretzky, Bourque, Luongo - 1st All Time at his retirement by nearly 69; Howe was the career leader from 1960-61 to 1994-95); Howe is 2nd All Time in Offensive Point Shares (Gretzky) - he was 1st All Time at his initial retirement by nearly 69 and was the career leader from 1958-59 until 1993-94 Howe is the 15th/13th Forward All Time in Defensive Point Shares - at his initial retirement he was 3rd/1st All Time Per Game: At his initial retirement in 1971, Howe was 11th All Time in GPG t-5th in APG (Mikita, Esposito, Cowley, Beliveau) 5th in PPG (Esposito, Hull, Mikita, Beliveau; Howe was the career leader in PPG from 1953-54 through 1958-59) Era: Of the 13 skaters to play in at least 1148 games (14 modern seasons) between 1946 and 1971, Howe is 1st in Goals (by 369) 1st in GPG (by 0.17) 1st in Assists (by 300) 1st in APG 1st in Points (669) 1st in PPG (by 0.25) 2nd in Plus/Minus 1st in Offensive Point Shares (by more than double his teammate) 8th (2nd/1st Forward) in Defensive Point Shares 1st in Point Shares (by 68.7) 82-game average: 37G, 48A for 86P, +7*; 8.7 PS 3-year peak (1950-53): 70-game average of 46G, 43A for 89P Find out more at https://the-back-check.pinecast.co

    1h 20m
  8. 2023-04-24

    Episode 91: Hall of Fame Class of 1972 Part 1

    Episode Notes The Hall of Fame Class of 1972 is so big - featuring 3 All Time Greats - we had to split it up into two episodes. In Part 1: Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion: 1950-64, 1966-68; 16 seasons, 14 quality Totals: 393G (3rd All Time at his first retirement - Howe, Richard), 429A (12th All Time at his first retirement) for 822P (5th All Time at his first retirement - Howe, Richard, Lindsay, Beliveau), +39* in 883 Games; 97.5 Point Shares (12th All Time at his first retirement); At his 1st retirement, Geoffrion was  12th All time in Offensive Point Shares 21st Forward All Time in Defensive Point Shares Per Game: At his first retirement, Geoffrion was T-8th All Time in GPG 9th All Time in APG T-5th All Time in PPG (Beliveau, Howe, Bathgate, Cowley) Era: Of the 19 skaters to play in at least 738 games between 1950 and 1964, Geoffrion is 2nd in Goals (behind Howe by 125) 2nd in GPG (6 qualifying players) 6th in Assists T-2nd in APG (7 qualifying players) 2nd in Points (behind by Howe by 355) 2nd in PPG (5 qualifying players) 6th in Plus/Minus 14th in Games 2nd in Offensive Point Shares (behind Howe by 44.9) 3rd Forward in Defensive Point Shares 4th in Point Shares 14th in Games 82-game average: 37G, 40A for 76P, +4* 3-year peak (1958-61): 70-game average of 39G, 50A for 89P, +5 Harry "Hap" Holmes: 1917-18, 1926-28; 4 seasons, 3 as a starter Totals: 39W (9th All Time at his retirement) 54L (6th All Time at his retirement) 10T (7th All Time at his retirement); 17 Shutouts (8th All Time at his retirement) in 6409 Minutes (7th All Time at his retirement) over 103 Games (7th All Time at his retirement); 15.7 Point Shares (10th All Time at his retirement) Average: 2.47 GAA (11th All Time at his retirement - doesn’t actually qualify for the leader-board) Era: not really applicable because his four seasons are spread out over 11 years Season average: 10-14-3; 4 SO in 26 Games; 3.9 PS 82-game average: 31-43-8; 14 SO; 12.5 PS Reginald "Hooley" Smith: 1924-41; 17 seasons, 10 quality (by modern PPG standards) Totals: 200G (10th All Time at his retirement),  225A (2nd All Time at his retirement - Boucher) for  425P (4th All Time at his retirement - Stewart, Morenz, Joliat) in  715 games (1st All Time at his retirement and he was the career leader in games played from the 1939-40 season to the 1942-43 season)  65.3 PS (12th); 7th All Time in Offensive Point Shares at his retirement 10th Forward* All Time in Defensive Point Shares at his retirement Per Game: At his retirement, Smith was 10th All Time in GPG (last among qualifying players); Smith doesn’t qualify for either AGP or PPG leader-boards, but if we lower the qualifiers so that he does, at his retirement, he was 3rd All Time in APG (Boucher, Morenz - last among qualifying players, and none actually qualify) 5th All Time in PPG (Morenz, Stewart, Boucher, Joliat - last among qualifying players, only Morenz actually qualifies) Era: Of the 10 skaters to play in at least 574 Games (7 modern seasons), Smith is 4th in Goals 4th in GPG 1st in Assists 1st in APG (doesn’t actually qualify) 2nd in Points 4th in PPG (doesn’t actually qualify) 3rd in Offensive Point Shares 4th in Defensive Point Shares 4th in Point Shares 82-game average: 23G, 25A for 48P 3-year peak (1931-34): 48-game average of 17G, 26A for 43P Stay tuned for Part 2! Find out more at https://the-back-check.pinecast.co

    1h 23m

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Bill and Riley debate which NHL players belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame and which don't. Episodes every few weeks.

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