Honorable Mentions
Before I get into the Big 3, I just wanted to rattle off a few notable players I took a look at (in chronological order):
- Syl Apps: great player of the 1930s and 1940s, winner of three Cups with the Leafs, consistently ranks high on many all-time greatest lists
- Sid Abel: Won a Hart Trophy, three Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings, linemate to Gordie Howe, finished second in scoring to him one year
- Frank Mahovlich: a perennial top-10 scorer in the late 60s, early 70s. In one of those years, he scored 49 goals. He was also a six-time Cup winner
- Denis Savard: from 1983-84 to 1987-88, he scored 657 points in 462 games, averaging 117 points per season. One-time Cup Winner
- Luc Robitaille: all-time highest-scoring left winger
- Mike Modano: all-time US-born leader in goals and points, captained the Dallas Stars to a Cup
- Sergei Fedorov:Â great two-way player, two-time Selke winner, three-time Cup winner with the Red Wings, finished second to Gretzky in scoring for 1993-94, winning the Hart Trophy that year for Most Valuable Player
- Â Joe Sakic: legendary wrist-shot, two-time 50-goal scorer, captained the Colorado Avalanche to two Stanley Cups.
The Greatest: Mark Messier (#3)
The Moose!
You may recall that Bobby Clarke had two Stanley Cups, while Steve Yzerman had three. Well, Mark Messier had six, including two without Wayne Gretzky, both on teams which he captained. In fact, he is the only player in NHL history to captain two different teams to the Cup. And his leadership is the stuff of hockey legend.
In addition to winning a Conn Smythe, Messier also won the Hart Trophy – twice.
From 1985-86 to 1991-92, he scored 696 points in 487 games, averaging 117 per season. His 1887 points are the third most all-time – next to Jagr and Gretzky. He is, therefore, the highest-scoring player to not win the Art Ross Trophy.
I also noticed that Yzerman only scored more than Messier in years where Messier didn’t play a full season. In 1987-88, 1989-90, and 1991-92 Messier had more points than Yzerman.
And for that reason, I can’t give the edge to Yzerman, even though he averaged more points over a similar stretch. Messier makes the third entry on my list because he won two more Harts and twice as many Cups.
The Greatest: Mike Bossy (#2)
From 1980-81 to 1985-86, Mike Bossy scored 837 points in 461 games, averaging 132 points per season. That’s the highest six-season average I could find for any player that didn’t win the Art Ross Trophy
Bossy got there by scoring 50 goals in a season, 9 straight times. In fact, his Career Goals per Game is the highest of any player, ever.
He also has the 3rd highest PPG of all time, behind only Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.
But he played in an era that included Gretzky and Lemieux, as well as Peter Statsny and Marcel Dionne. In fact, the six-season sample I took (which were Bossy’s best years) included all four years Gretzky scored over 200 points.
Bossy’s acumen includes the Calder, a Conn Smythe, and four Cups with the Islanders’ Dynasty of 1978-79 to 1981-82.