99 Facts About 100-Point Scorers: Part 2 – Teams

Historically, the Pittsburgh Penguins have had the most success when it comes to 100-point seasons. They have had more instances of a 100-point player than any other team in history, 31 times in 42 seasons since 1968-69 which should come as no surprise seeing how they have had big-time scorers such as Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and Sidney Crosby, among others, playing for them for extended periods of time. The Edmonton Oilers follow the Penguins with 28 100-point seasons, then the Bruins and Kings with 23 and the Nordiques/Avalanche franchise with 21. 

The Penguins also have the highest number of individual seasons and most unique players to reach the century mark. The highest number of seasons with at least one player with 100 points:

• Penguins: 20 of 42 seasons since 1968-69
• Nordiques/Avalanche: 14 of 31 seasons
• Kings: 14 of 42 seasons
• Bruins: 14 of 42 seasons
• Oilers: 12 of 31 seasons 

The highest total of unique players:

• Penguins: 12
• Bruins: nine
• Flames: eight
• Kings: seven
• Oilers: seven [php snippet=1]

Sixty-two times a team has had multiple 100-point scorers on their team and the Penguins are one of only three teams to have had four in one season. They were the last to accomplish this feat back in 1992-93. The teams with four 100-point scorers are:

• The 1970-71 Bruins: Phil Esposito, Bobby Orr, Johnny Bucyk and Ken Hodge
• The 1982-83 Oilers: Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson and Jari Kurri
• The 1983-84 Oilers: Gretzky, Paul Coffey, Kurri and Messier
• The 1985-86 Oilers: Gretzky, Coffey, Kurri and Anderson
• The 1992-93 Penguins: Mario Lemieux, Kevin Stevens, Rick Tocchet and Ron Francis

Unfortunately, a lot of points do not always translate into success; 27 times a player has reached 100 points on a team that has missed the playoffs. This scenario befalls some players more than others as it has happened to Mario Lemieux five times, Joe Sakic three times and Marcel Dionne and Mark Recchi twice each. Dionne is the only one of the four to miss the playoffs with two separate teams. Here are the highest point totals for a player that missed the playoffs:

• Mario Lemieux: 70-98-168 for the 1987-88 Penguins
• Mario Lemieux: 48-93-141 for the 1985-86 Penguins
• Dennis Maruk: 60-76-136 for the 1981-82 Capitals
• Wayne Gretzky: 38-92-130 for the 1993-94 Kings
• Steve Yzerman: 62-65-127 for the 1993-94 Red Wings 

Even multiple 100-point scorers don’t always help the cause. The 1987-88 Nordiques (Peter Stastny and Michel Goulet), 1989-90 Penguins (Mario Lemieux and Paul Coffey) and 1995-96 Mighty Ducks (Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne) all missed the playoffs with two 100-point scorers. Joe Sakic, however, may have had it the worst, playing on the two worst teams to ever feature a 100-point scorer. He recorded 39-63-102 for 1989-90 Nordiques who went 12-61-7 for only 31 points, 33 behind the next closest team. The next season he put up 48-61-109 as Quebec once again finished last with 46 points. 

Teams featuring multiple 100-point scorers are fairly common, but a 100-point scorer playing for multiple teams is rare. Only six players have ever been traded during a 100-point season:

• Jean Ratelle recorded 36-69-105 between the Rangers and Bruins in 1975-76
• Bernie Nicholls recorded 39-73-112 between the Kings and Rangers in 1989-90
• John Cullen recorded 39-71-110 between the Penguins and Whalers in 1990-91
• Teemu Selanne recorded 40-69-108 between the Jets and Mighty Ducks in 1995-96
• Wayne Gretzky recorded 23-79-102 between the Kings and Blues in 1995-96
• Joe Thornton recorded 29-96-125 between the Bruins and Sharks in 2005-06 

Gretzky is the only player to record 100 points playing for three different franchises. He did it nine times for the Oilers, five times for the Kings and of course playing for the Kings and Blues. There have been 18 other players who did it with two different franchises. 

No completely defunct team has ever had a 100-point player, but of all the relocated franchises currently in existence, three have seen a 100-point player before and after the move. The Hartford Whalers saw five before becoming the Carolina Hurricanes who have had one; the Quebec Nordiques had 16 before moving to Colorado where the Avalanche have had five and the Atlanta Flames had two, then moved to Calgary where there has been eight.

Three others had a player record 100 points before the move, but not after. The Minnesota North Stars had four, the Winnipeg Jets eight and the Atlanta Thrashers had once before moving to Dallas, Phoenix and Winnipeg respectively, where neither have had any since. Atlanta is the only city to see a 100-point scorer with two separate franchises. Bob MacMillan went 37-71-108 and Guy Chouinard went 50-57-107 for the Flames in 1978-79 and Marian Hossa had 43-47-100 for the Thrashers in 2006-07.

What is great about hockey is how diverse the players are, coming from all around the world. While player may not always play internationally for their home country, it is interesting to note where they have come from.

It should come as no surprise Canada has produced the most 100-point players with 73, nor that Gretzky has the most among them with 15. Breaking it up by province, Ontario has produced 35, Quebec – 18, Saskatchewan and British Colombia – five, Alberta – four, Nova Scotia – three, Manitoba – two and Prince Edward Island – one. The total numbers for the rest of the countries are:

• Sweden: 10. Most: Kent Nilsson and Peter Forsberg with two
• United States: nine. Most: Jeremy Roenick with three
  • By state: Massachusetts and Michigan – two, Texas, Missouri, New York, Minnesota and Connecticut – one.
  • Russia: five. Most: Alex Ovechkin with four
  • Slovakia: two. Most: Peter Stastny with seven
  • Finland: two. Most: Jari Kurri with six
  • Czech Republic: one, Jaromir Jagr who did it five times
  • France: one, Paul MacLean who did it once
  • Germany: one, Dany Heatley who did it twice
  • England: one, Ken Hodge who did it twice

The individual cities that have been the birthplace to the most 100-point scorers are Toronto, Ontario (Rick Middleton, Dennis Maruk, Sheve Shutt and Dale Hawerchuk), Ottawa, Ontario (Mike Bullard, Mike Gartner, Denis Potvin and John Ogrodnick) and Ornskoldsvik, Sweden (Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Peter Forsberg and Markus Naslund). Montreal, Quebec is the only other city to produce three (Luc Robitaille, Mike Bossy and Mario Lemieux).

***Stay tuned for “Part 3” where we take a look at all the unique individual player records. And in case you missed it, be sure to look at “Part 1 – Firsts.”

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