Etched in Stone: The Top 20 Most Unbreakable Records in NHL History
Bleacher Report
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In any professional sport, records can be fabricated or broken in each and every game. A stroke of luck, burst of talent or couple of lucky bounces could lead to a record being broken before you realize that you just witnessed history.
Focusing on the NHL, records can be pretty tough to break, as a result of the fact that the league has been around since 1917, over 90 years. Since that's such a lengthy time span, there are no records that are "easy" to break. The easy records have already been torn down and replaced by a more difficult marker.
It's always exciting watching a record be dethroned, especially if you get to witness it firsthand.
However, some records are essentially etched in stone, set to live forever in the record-holder's name. They're just too incredible to ever be seen again.
Now, approaching this article, there have got to be a few things that you were thinking. You likely considered who holds these records, what they are, and how old they are. You may have even been wondering if your buddy would bet you 20 bucks that Gretzky owns at least three of them.
In the words of the NHL's latest slogan, "questions will become answers." Here are the top 20 NHL records that will likely never be broken.
Honourable Mention: Terry Sawchuk: Most Career Ties by a Goaltender
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In reality, this record is actually the most unbreakable out of them all, but for all the wrong reasons.
Due to the fact that ties have been eliminated from NHL play, Terry Sawchuck's record of 172 career ties as a goaltender should stand for eternity. That is, unless the league re-introduces the tie function for a lengthened amount of time.
Putting this record at No. 1 felt like a letdown because it's so obviously unbreakable. On the other hand, putting it anywhere else in the list felt like a lie, for the same reason stated above. Therefore, it has been given the "honourable mention" status, because technically it is a record, but since it physically can't be broken, it's kind of cheating.
Sawchuk played in the NHL from 1949 until 1970, suiting up for the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers. He tallied more than half of his ties (65) in his first stint with the Detroit Red Wings, which lasted from the 1949-50 season until the 1953-54 season.
20. Bill Mikkelson: Worst Plus/Minus in a Single Season
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This is just incredible. Incredibly bad, that is.
Somehow, Bill Mikkelson finished the 1974-75 season with a glaring plus/minus of minus-82. How a player manages to finish a season with a plus/minus of minus-82 astonishes me to the point of insanity. It seems unbelievable, impossible even. What makes it even worse is that he only appeared in 59 games all year.
Mikkelson played 147 career NHL games, amassing a startling plus/minus of minus-147. For those of you who have had too much to drink or are mathematically dumb, that equals out to an average of minus-one per game. Quite the defenseman, eh?
After 1974-75, Mikkelson would only play one more NHL game in his career. Good riddance.
19. Mario Lemieux: Most Goals Scored in Different Ways
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Lemieux scored five goals in one game in five different ways. He notched a short-handed, power-play, even-strength, penalty shot and empty-net goal all within 60 minutes.
Pretty impressive, if you ask me.
This record isn't exactly impossible to break, but it would be pretty darn tough.
18. Dave Williams: Most Career Penalty Minutes
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Williams posted 3,966 penalty minutes. That's more than two-and-a-half days spent sitting in the sin bin.
NHL players just don't play the same penalty-filled game they used to. The next closest active player to Williams is Ian Laperriere, and he "only" has 1,956 minutes. I can't see this record ever being broken.
17. Bobby Orr: Most Points by a Defenseman in a Single Season
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Bobby Orr posted 139 points in the 1970-71 NHL season. What's different about that record is the player closest behind Orr was only a point away. Paul Coffey put up 138 points in 1985-86.
The reason this is still considered an "unbreakable record" is that Bobby Orr and Paul Coffey were extremely special players. Only five defensemen in NHL history could even break the 100-point mark (Orr, Coffey, Al MacInnis, Brian Leetch, Denis Potvin).
It's worth noting that Orr broke that mark six times in his shortened career, and Coffey reached the plateau five times.
16. Bobby Orr: Highest Plus/Minus in a Single Season
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Orr posted a plus-124 in the 1970-71 season, which is coincidentally the same season that he set the record for most points by a defenseman.
I can't see this record ever being beaten, because Orr played in a very high-scoring era, which can equal in a very high—or very low—plus/minus. That fact combined with his incredible skill level resulted in a plus-124.
The highest appearance from the 2000s on the leaderboard for highest plus/minus is a plus-52, coming in at 95th place. Peter Forsberg recorded it in 2002-03.
15. Martin Brodeur: Most Career Wins by a Goaltender
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Brodeur hasn't retired yet, so this record will just keep getting higher and higher. It currently sits at 606, and Brodeur is just starting to hit the downside of his career. Look for the number to rise slightly.
Patrick Roy (551) and Ed Belfour (484) are the second- and third-place goalies. Chris Osgood (396) and Nikolai Khabibulin (307) are the closest active goaltenders, but you can barely call them active as they are both 37 and have younger goalies moving in on their turf as starters.
It's safe to say that nobody will ever eclipse Brodeur's mark.
14. Doug Jarvis: Most Consecutive Games
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Doug Jarvis earned the nickname "Iron Man" due to the 964 consecutive games that he played in the NHL. He played every game from the 1975-76 season to the 1984-85 season, and kept the streak going partially into '86.
Nowadays it's often hard to find a player that plays every game in a single season.
13. Gordie Howe: Oldest Player
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52 years and 11 days.
That's how old Gordie Howe was when he retired from NHL action. They don't call him Mr. Hockey for nothing.
Considering that today, players rarely play past the age of 40, I don't think Howe's record will ever be touched. Simply imagining a 50-year-old playing in the modern-day NHL is brutal. It would be nearly impossible for him to keep up with the pace of its newer, faster game.
Not even Chris Chelios could do it.
Unless we find a way to halt the aging process, Howe will hold this record forever.
12. Wayne Gretzky: Most Assists in a Single Season
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And so marks the first appearance of Wayne Gretzky on this list. Keep track of how many more times he appears.
Gretzky tallied 163 assists in 1985-86 on an 80-game schedule. For comparison's sake, the next closest player who isn't Gretzky on that list is Mario Lemieux. Lemieux, widely considered to be Wayne's only competition for the title of "Best Player In History," comes in a tie for eighth with Gretzky at 114.
11. Bill Mosienko: Fastest Hat Trick by a Single Person
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Bill Mosienko scored three goals in 21 seconds on March 23, 1952.
I can't see that record ever being touched, simply because I don't think that anyone else will have the same amount of good fortune Mosienko did. The feat of scoring three goals in 21 seconds is probably made up of about 10 percent skill and 90 percent luck. At those odds, I just can't see this happening again.
He first beat Rangers goaltender Lorne Anderson at 6:09 of the second period, and then again at 6:20 and 6:30. Altogether, that makes 21 seconds.
Nobody has ever even come close to Bill's record (Jean Beliveau is in second place with three goals in 44 seconds).
Hey, it's not impossible, but it's darn close.
10. New York Islanders: Most Consecutive Playoff Series Victories
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The New York Islanders won 19 consecutive playoff series from 1980-84.
This streak occurred during the Islanders dynasty of the '80s. The streak of 19 consecutive playoff series victories just shows the pure dominance the Isles enjoyed.
Their streak was ended in the 1983-84 playoffs, when they lost to the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Finals.
9. Wayne Gretzky: Most Assists in a Career
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Wayne Gretzky tallied 1,963 assists in his career. That total alone is enough to put him at number one on the all-time points list (Messier is number two with 1,887).
'Nuff said.
8. Wayne Gretzky: Most Career Points
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I could easily just say "See Previous Slide" and be done with this one, but I think I'll break it down a bit more.
Wayne Gretzky posted 2,857 career points in 1,487 games. That evens out to about 1.92 points per game.
As I mentioned in the previous slide, his assist total alone is enough to eclipse each and every NHL player in history as the record holder for most points. I also mentioned that the player closest to Gretz is Mark Messier with 1,887 points.
Strangely enough, Messier played 269 more games than Gretzky, yet he could only get to within 970 points of him.
Gretzky was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of player, and I just can't see his points record being broken.
7. Teemu Selanne: Most Goals by a Rookie
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I'm sure you all knew this record would be on the list somewhere.
Teemu Selanne posted the highest goal total he would ever achieve in the 1992-83 NHL season, notching 76 markers as a rookie. That is not only the highest goal total by a rookie, but it's the sixth-highest goal total in NHL history.
"The Finnish Flash" also added 56 assists for 132 points that year.
6. St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins: Fastest Two Goals (Both Teams)
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This is one of those records that was pretty much a complete fluke.
The Boston Bruins and the St. Louis Blues each scored a goal two seconds apart on December 19, 1987. The Bruins were down 6-4 in the third period when Ken Linesman scored with 10 seconds remaining. The slim chance that they could score once more was slashed when Blues center Doug Gilmour scored off the faceoff into an open net.
In my opinion, that's pretty crazy.
It's almost guaranteed that this won't be broken, unless it's broken by a tenth of a second or something. I don't think you can get much faster than two seconds.
5. Washington Capitals: Fewest Wins in a Single Season
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Eight.
Eight wins. Eight stinkin' wins in an entire 80-game season.
A final record of 8-67-5. Twenty-one points out of a possible 160.
Eight.
Eight!
I think you get the point. Need I say more? Didn't think so!
4. Jean Beliveau: Most Stanley Cup Rings in a Lifetime
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Most players don't ever get to lift the Stanley Cup. The perfect feeling of skating around the ice holding hockey's most prized possession is one that most NHLers don't get to enjoy. However, some have lifted the Cup more than once.
In his lifetime, Jean Beliveau captured the Stanley Cup 17 times—10 times as a player and seven as a member of Montreal's front office.
That's a tough stat to wrap your head around. Seventeen times? How does that happen?
The inflated number could be attributed to the fact that the NHL was a six-team league when Beliveau played.
3. Montreal Canadiens: Most Consecutive Stanley Cup Finals Appearances
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The Montreal Canadiens appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals 10 times in a row from 1951 to 1960. Sounds impossible, right?
Well sure, it looks great and everything, but this record was set when the NHL was a six-team league. Starting to look less impressive now, eh?
Today, a 10-year streak in the Finals would be pretty much impossible. This record, like many others, can be attributed to a lack of teams. However, that doesn't change the fact that this is one of the most unbeatable records in the league.
The Canadiens were enjoying a dynasty, something that is unfamiliar in today's NHL. In modern times, the closest thing we've seen to a dynasty is the Detroit Red Wings' run since the late '90s.
2. Glenn Hall: Most Consecutive Complete Games by a Goaltender
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This record is truly incredible, especially considering Hall played in an era where goaltenders didn't wear masks.
Glenn Hall played in 502 consecutive games as a goaltender, a record which spanned over eight seasons, from 1955 to 1963.
Today, goaltenders wear an insane amount of padding and equipment, but Hall played his streak donning the simple equipment shown in the picture to the left. Even with the excess of equipment that modern-day goalies wear, they still don't play complete seasons. Hall played almost eight full seasons without missing a game.
Fantastic.
1. Henri Richard: Most Career Stanley Cup Wins as a Player
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Before I start I would like to get one thing straight.
I, as a Leafs fan, would like no wisecracks about how the Canadiens and their players hold three of the top five spots on this list.
Moving on!
Henri Richard won 11 Stanley Cups in his 19-year career. I can pretty much guarantee that this record will never be broken, due to the number of teams in the NHL.
In the 30-team NHL, a player making it to the Stanley Cup Finals 11 or more times in his career is nearly impossible. For the bulk of his career, Richard played in a league that only contained six teams, the “Original Six.” In 1967, the league expanded to 12 teams, but that’s still a significantly smaller number than 30.
Bottom line is, if it was hard to accomplish half a century ago, it will be impossible to achieve now.
NHL Seattle expansion team making progress on nickname
by Nicholas J. Cotsonika / NHL.com Columnist
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The NHL Seattle expansion team is making progress toward the announcement of its name, logo and colors.
"Some have speculated it's a long time off. It's not," NHL Seattle CEO Tod Leiweke said Thursday. "Vegas did it a year out. We'll do it well in advance of that."
The Vegas Golden Knights, the previous NHL expansion team, announced their name, logo and colors Nov. 22, 2016, and made their regular-season debut on Oct. 6, 2017. Seattle will begin play in the 2021-22 season.
"This is one of those issues where you want to measure twice and cut once, and that's exactly what we're doing," Leiweke said. "And we'd like to think when we do roll it out, people will say, 'Hey, they got it.' And so, we're working away on it, and that's the next stop."
NHL Seattle is going through the trademark process with multiple finalists.
"If you camp out on one name with everything that happens in the trademark world, you put yourself at some risk, so we've got a handful of names that we think can work," Leiweke said. "We probably have a leader in the clubhouse. But we're working away on it. And it's not going to happen this afternoon, but it won't be too far off."
Amazon announced Thursday it purchased the naming rights to the building in which NHL Seattle will play. The building will be called Climate Pledge Arena, modeled on The Climate Pledge, which was created by Amazon and Global Optimism in 2019 and calls on signatories to be net zero carbon across their businesses by 2040.
Images of the building released Thursday used shades of green and some light blue.
"Obviously the colors that fit with the climate pledge are green," Leiweke said. "I'm not sure I'd read into that. The team is going to have its own unique identity, and colors and wordmarks, all those things, are going to go into what we think will be a fantastic brand when we're done."
An 18,100-seat new arena is being constructed under the iconic roof of the former Key Arena near the Space Needle in Seattle Center. Leiweke said construction was not materially delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, which paused the NHL season March 12, and will be complete in time for the 2021-22 season.
Asked if the building will be ready in time to potentially host the 2021 NHL Draft, Leiweke said: "It depends on when that season launches and when the draft is, but we're a group with ambition, and that would be an incredible way to start a franchise."
Jeremy Roenick Sues NBC Sports, Claims He Was Fired For Being Straight, Supporting Donald Trump
By Emily Zanotti - The Daily Wire
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Hockey commentator Jeremy Roenick alleges, in a lawsuit filed Friday, that he was fired from his position with NBC Sports for being straight and for being a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump.
The longtime NHL player was fired from his job as an NHL commentator for NBC News after he made lewd comments about a female coworker to a hockey podcast called “Spittin’ Chiclets” and jokingly suggested that he, his wife, and his coworker had slept together.
“I play it off like we’re going to bed together every night, the three of us,” Roenick says, referring to a vacation he and his wife took to Portugal with fellow NBC broadcaster, Kathryn Tappen. “If it really came to fruition, that would really be good, but it’s never going to happen.”
Roenick also said that his wife and Tappen looked “f***in’ smokin’” in bathing suits. “A** and boobs everywhere. It’s great.”
NBC suspended Roenick indefinitely before deciding to terminate his contract.
In a lawsuit, filed against NBC last week, however, Roenick alleges that his comments were used as cover and that NBC News really fired him for being a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, according to Fox News. The lawsuit suggests that other NBC commentators have made similar, lewd jokes about coworkers and received a pass from network management.
“The lawsuit says that while Roenick was fired for his comments about Tappen, the network responded differently after NBC figure skating commentators Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir made a comedy promo for the network’s streaming service that referred to a vulgar term for the vagina and other sexual remarks along with footage of Olympic figure skater Bradie Tennell,” Fox reports.
He alleges that Lipinksi and Weir frequently made sexually tinged comments about figure skaters when they were covering high profile sporting events for the network but that Weir’s comments were brushed off because he is gay. Specifically, the lawsuit claims that when Roenick confronted NBC supervisor Sam Flood, that Flood excused Weir’s behavior because he is “gay and can say whatever.”
Roenick also says he was denied the opportunity to speak at the 2016 Republican National Convention in support of now-President Donald Trump because NBC frowned on Trump supporters.
“Roenick claims that when he asked Flood if he could speak at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Flood said, ‘I’m not saying what you can do. You know who you work for. You work for NBC. That would not look good on your NBC record,'” per Fox.
“Mr. Roenick is the victim of double standards wrongfully asserted against him,” Roenick’s lawyer told media late last week. “A person’s career should not be thrown away by a company as Mr. Roenick’s career was with NBC. We are confident that the evidence that will be brought to light from this lawsuit will reveal the rampant disregard of Mr. Roenick’s rights.”
NBC has not yet commented on the lawsuit.
