-AJ- Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Often, when people try to compare players from different eras, they run into issues of drastic changes in the play styles. Everyone knows that the 80’s were times of a run-and-gun style of hockey, whereas today’s hockey emphasizes much more defensive measures. So the question is, how do we compare these eras? Frankly, it’s not possible to do it perfectly. That said, it is possible to get a bit of an estimation using a little bit of math. I have taken 23 of the most significant skater (not goalie) seasons in NHL history and adjusted them for today’s offense. It’s very interesting to see how many of the numbers change depending on the era. For those interested, this is the formula I used: (League-wide-Goals-per-game in 2014-15/League-wide-Goals-per-game in selected season) x Stat desired = stat in today’s numbers As an example Bernie Geoffrion’s 50 goals in 1960-61. (2.73/3.0) x 50 = 37.09 goals Interesting things that I noted: - Joe Malone’s Era was mega high offense, but his 82 game stats still translate to 99 goals in a season - Ace Bailey led the league in 1928-29, which was the lowest scoring year in league history. His stats in today’s goals/game project to well over a point per game. - The 40’s was an offensive era and Richard’s 50-in-50 turns into 37-in-50 with today’s offense. - Contrary to popular belief, the 50’s was actually a defensive era, as seen by the 2.4 goals/game from ’52-’53. Gordie Howe still powered through this and was almost the 2nd player to score 50 goals in a season. His numbers project incredibly high in today’s era. - Due to the high-octane offense of the 80’s, Gretzky’s 92 goals are shrunk down to 65 and his 215 points are shrunk down to 148. Interestingly enough, his 212 point year projects higher, as offense wasn’t as high that year. - Gretzky’s 205 point year was arguably his best, as he did it in just 74 games. - Interestingly enough, the best points-per-game year belongs to Lemieux, not Gretzky. Lemieux’s 160 points in 60 games in ’92-’93 translates to 165 points in 82 games with today’s offense. - Joe Thornton’s incredible 2005-06 season is still the best of the post-lockout era, even when adjusted for offense levels. Stats retrieved from hockey-reference.com Any thing you guys found interesting? Any significant seasons that I missed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gretzky to Lemieux Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Gretzky is still the GOAT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BanTSN Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Joe Malone scores close to 100 goals today, but Gretzky and Lemieux of course score less today than they did originally? I see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-AJ- Posted July 10, 2015 Author Share Posted July 10, 2015 Joe Malone scores close to 100 goals today, but Gretzky and Lemieux of course score less today than they did originally? I see. Pro-rated to 82 games. Joe Malone scored at 2.2 goals per game when he did it in 1917-18. 44 goals in 20 games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFrame14 Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Good work op. Thanks. Gretzky still a.beast at 65 goals and 148 pts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
messier's_elbow Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Gretzkys the best all time and Lemieux is a close second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HC20.0 Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Interesting study. So if Ovie played in Gretzky's era, he could very well have tied, if not broken the 92 goal mark, since Gretz would have gotten 65, and Ovie has hit 65. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanuck Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Did you factor in composite sticks vs butter knives strapped to their feet for skates? Or whiskey and cigarettes at intermission vs performance enhancing drugs? Just kidding, interesting analysis. Thanks for taking the time to do that, but honestly imo, eras can't and shouldn't be compared - it causes timeless memories to be tarnished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jägermeister Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Joe Malone scores close to 100 goals today, but Gretzky and Lemieux of course score less today than they did originally? I see. Math is hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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