99 Facts About 100-Point Scorers: Part 3 – Players

Before getting into the third part of this series, congratulations are in order for Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin, who went 50-59-109 this season to be the NHL’s only 100-point scorer. His was the 270th 100-point season in NHL history and not only is he now one season behind Washington Capitals sniper Alex Ovechkin for most by a Russian player, but he continues Pittsburgh’s dominance in reaching this milestone. The Penguins have now had 21 seasons featuring a 100-point scorer since the feat was first accomplished, increasing their lead over Quebec/Colorado, Los Angeles and Boston to seven and his is the 32nd in franchise history as the Pens now have four more than Edmonton in their history.

Meanwhile Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning joins the list of elite players to have just missed the mark as his 60 goals are the third-highest total in a season in which a player failed to reach the century mark just behind Lanny McDonald (66-32-98 in 1982-83) and Reggie Leach (61-30-91 in 1975-76). There’s not too much to worry about though as Stamkos only recently turned 22 and has an insane amount of the skill and the determination needed to reach the milestone.

Now onto part three.

Breaking 100-point players down by position, 51 are centers, 30 are right wings, 19 are left wings and five are defensemen. Of all the players to reach the 100 point plateau, Wayne Gretzky has done it the most with 15, followed by Mario Lemieux with 10, Marcel Dionne with eight and Mike Bossy and Peter Stastny with seven each. Of players with at least 10 seasons played, Gretzky has the highest percentage of his seasons finishing with 100 points with 75 percent (15 of 20), followed by Bossy with 70 percent (seven of 10), Lemieux with 58.9 percent (10 of 17), Bobby Orr with 50 percent (six of 12) and Peter Stastny with 46.7 percent (seven of 15). 

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As discussed in part one, the 100-point barrier is not easy to reach and some have just barely reached the mark. The players whose career high is exactly 100 points are:

• Rick MacLeish – 50-50-100 in 1972-73
• Rene Robert – 40-60-100 in 1974-75
• Blaine Stoughton – 56-44-100 in 1979-80
• John Tonelli – 42-58-100
• Eric Staal – 45-55-100
• Marian Hossa – 43-57-100 in 2006-07

Gretzky and Lemieux are the only players to reach 100 points in less than half a season. Their fastest to reach 100 points are:

• 34 games, Gretzky in 1983-84 (he finished with 87-118-205)
• 35 games, Gretzky in 1984-85 (73-135-208)
• 36 games, Lemieux in 1988-89 (85-114-199)
• 38 games, Gretzky in 1981-82 (92-120-212)
• 38 games, Lemieux in 1992-93 (69-91-160)
• 38 games, Lemieux in 1995-96 (69-92-161)
• 39 games, Gretzky in 1985-86 (52-163-215)

The fewest games for all other players are:

• 48 games, Jari Kurri in 1984-85 (he finished with 71-64-135)
• 48 games, Bernie Nicholls in 1988-89 (70-80-150)
• 50 games, Steve Yzerman in 1988-89 (65-90-155)
• 51 games, Phil Esposito in 1970-71 (76-76-152)
• 52 games, Jaromir Jagr in 1995-96 (62-87-149)
• 53 games, Esposito in 1973-74 (68-77-145)
• 53 games, Marcel Dionne in 1979-80 (53-84-137)

Of the 105 players to hit the century mark, 58 have done it multiple times; 42 with multiple-season streaks. The players with the longest streaks are Gretzky with 13 consecutive seasons, Mike Bossy, Guy Lafleur, Bobby Orr, Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman and Peter Stastny with six each and Marcel Dionne, Phil Esposito, Dale Hawerchuk, Jari Kurri and Bryan Trottier with five each. Only six players have had multiple streaks: Lemieux had three while Denis Savard, Mark Messier, Adam Oates, Paul Coffey and Sidney Crosby have had two each.

The remaining 47 have only reached the mark once. The highest point totals for reaching 100 points once are Dennis Maruk, 60-76-136 in 1981-82; Johnny Bucyk, 51-65-116 in 1970-71; Rob Brown 49-66-115 in 1988-89; Eric Lindros, 47-68-115 in 1995-96; Mats Sundin, 47-67-114 in 1992-93 and Bobby Smith, 43-71-114 in 1981-82.

Players recoding 100 points are usually just as adept at scoring as well as playmaking, although that isn’t always the case. The fewest goals to reach 100 points are:

• Brian Leetch – 22-80-102 in 1991-92
• Joe Thornton – 22-92-114 in 2006-07
• Wayne Gretzky – 23-79-102 in 1996-96
• Adam Oates – 23-79-102 in 1989-90
• Ron Francis – 24-76-100 in 1992-93
• Craig Janney – 24-82-106 in 1992-93

On the other hand, a player has reached 100 points with more goals than assists 34 times. The fewest assists in a 100-point season are:

• Brett Hull – 70-39-109 in 1991-92
• Brett Hull – 72-41-113 in 1989-90
• Blaine Stoughton – 56-44-100 in 1979-80
• Brett Hull – 86-45-105 in 1990-91
• Steve Shutt – 60-45-105 in 1976-77
• Charlie Simmer – 56-45-101 in 1979-80

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is the youngest to ever reach the plateau, recording his 100th point when he was 18 years, 253 days old. He is one of five players to ever reach 100 points as a teenager and the only one to do it twice. The other four are Wayne Gretzky (51-86-137 in 1979-80), Dale Hawerchuk (45-58-103 in 1981-82), Mario Lemieux (43-57-100 in 1984-85) and Jimmy Carson (55-52-107 in 1987-88).

Similarly, Peter Stastny, Dale Hawerchuk, Mario Lemieux, Teemu Selanne, Joe Juneau, Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby are the only rookies to accomplish the feat. Wayne Gretzky and Mike Rogers also reached the 100-point plateau in their first NHL season, but weren’t considered rookies due to time spent in the WHA.

On the other side of the spectrum, the oldest players are Gordie Howe, 41 (44-59-103 in 1968-69); Joe Sakic, 37 (36-64-100 in 2006-07); Johnny Bucyk, 36 (51-65-116 in 1970-71); Wayne Gretzky, 35 (23-79-102 in 1995-96) and Jean Ratelle, 35 (36-69-105 in 1975-76). They were all at least 10 years older than the average age, which is 25.68. The most common ages are 27 (accomplished 34 times), 26 (31 times) and 25 (30 times).

One would assume recording 100 points would guarantee a positive plus-minus rating, but it isn’t always the case. In fact, 29 different players have combined for 46 seasons of 100 points and a negative rating. The worst plus-minus ratings in a season with 100 points are:

• Joe Sakic – 29-63-102, minus-40 in 1989-90
• Mario Lemieux – 43-57-100, minus-35 in 1984-85
• Michel Goulet – 48-58-106, minus-31 in 1987-88
• Dale Hawerchuk – 46-59-105, minus-27 in 1985-86
• Brett Hull – 54-47-101, minus 27 in 1992-93

The century mark can be reached in penalty minutes as well as points and a select few have reached both plateaus in a season. Twenty-six players have combined for 35 seasons of 100 points and 100 PIM with seven players doing it multiple times. Oddly enough, two defensemen, Bobby Orr and Paul Coffey, have done it the most at three times each while Bobby Clarke, Dave Taylor, Mark Messier, Kevin Stevens and Doug Gilmour have done it twice. The most PIM for a player reaching 100 points are:

• Kevin Stevens – 254 PIM, 54-69-123 in 1991-92
• Rick Tocchet – 252 PIM, 48-61-109 in 1992-93
• Brendan Shanahan – 211 PIM, 52-50-102 in 1993-94
• Paul Coffey – 193 PIM, 30-83-113 in 1988-89
• Kevin Stevens – 177 PIM, 55-56-111 in 1992-93

Lastly, here are some final, random facts about 100-point scorers:

• The seasons with the most 100-point scorers are 1992-93 – 21, ’84-85 – 16 and ’81-82, ’85-86 and ’89-90 with 13 each.
• The last Original Six franchise to have a 100-point player was the Toronto Maple Leafs, when Darryl Sittler went 41-59-100 in 1975-76.
• Most common first names: Bob/Bobby (Clarke, Hull, MacMillan, Orr and Smith), Mike/Michel (Goulet, Bossy, Bullard, Gartner and Rogers), John/Johnny (Bucyk, Cullen, Ogrodnick and Tonelli) and Joe (Thornton, Sakic, Mullen and Juneau)
• Only father and son – the Hulls; Bobby, once and Brett, four times
• Only brothers – the Sedins; Henrik in 2009-10 and Daniel in 2010-11
• Shortest players – 5-foot-6 Theo Fleury, 5-foot-7 Mats Naslund, 5-foot-8 Denis Maruk and Martin St. Louis, 5-foot-9 Mike Rogers, Marcel Dionne, Hakan Loob and Joe Mullen
• Tallest players – 6-foot-5 Pete Mahovlich and Mats Sundin and 6-foot-4 Mike Smith, Eric Lindros, Joe Thornton, Eric Staal, Mario Lemieux, Vincent Lecavalier and Dany Heatley
• Bobby Orr, Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky are the only three players who could have reached 100 points without scoring a single goal
• Lowest career point total for a player reaching 100 points: Jacques Richard finished with 160-187-347 including 52-51-103 in 1980-81
• 100-point scorers with the lowest career point-per-game average: Jacques Richard (.624), Joe Juneau (.691), Vic Hadfield (.711) Brent Sutter (.746) and Bob MacMillan (.766)

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