LCS Hockey - Are Scoring Records Made to Be Broken?

Are Scoring Records Made to Be Broken?
by Jim Iovino, Ace Reporter

The 1998 baseball season proved that even the most unthinkable records could be broken. Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire each shattered Roger Maris' single-season home run record with what seemed like incredible ease. The two prolific power hitters showed the world that with skill, luck and desire, any record could be surpassed.

But is hockey an exception to the rule? Can the major offensive records in ice hockey be broken?

To put it in plain and simple terms -- no. No offensive records will be broken with the mediocre talent the league has today, that is.

The NHL equivalent to the home run record is highest single-season goal total. Wayne Gretzky holds the record with 92 goals scored for the Edmonton Oilers during the 1981-82 campaign. Can anyone match, let alone break, that mark? Scoring that many goals is possible, but the style of play in the NHL would have to change significantly for anyone to get close to 90 goals.

The league would have to get rid of the clutching and grabbing that goes on today. It would have to give the players more room than they have now. Moving the nets away from the endboards a couple extra feet and checking goaltenders' equipment sizes is a start, but it won't allow anyone to score 90 goals. Hell, three or four teams would have to fold for the talent level to rise back up to par and any offensive records to be broken.

Fast-paced, end-to-end action would be needed for someone to break Gretzky's goal record. The same could be said for his assist and point totals, as well. Gretzky scored an all-time high of 163 assists and 215 points for Edmonton in 1985-86. The Great One has scored over 200 points four times in his career. Not even Mario Lemieux, who was in his prime when he tallied 199 points in 88-89, could reach the 200-mark.

As for Gretzky's career records for goals, points and assists, there's not a single player in the game today who is within striking distance of his accomplishments. Eric Lindros can't stay healthy enough. Jaromir Jagr doesn't have the teammates he needs. If Paul Kariya can stay healthy, Teemu Selanne remains on his far wing and the Ducks spend some of Disney's cash to improve the rest of the talent on the roster, he could have a shot at getting close to 2,000 points. Surpassing Gretzky, however, is a definite long shot.

But does that mean Gretzky's records will never be broken? Never say never, but it's probably safe to say The Great One's name will be printed all over the record books for quite some time.

Ok, so Gretzky is safely in command of the record setting by centers. Left wing and right wing records are still available for the taking, however. Look out Luc, your records are in jeopardy. Kariya, John LeClair and some of the other left wingers in the game are eyeing the record books.

Luc Robitaille holds the record for the most goals and points by a left wing in a single season. He scored 63 goals and 125 points for Los Angeles in 1992-93. Both numbers are attainable. So is the single-season assist record of 70, which is held by Joey Juneau.

The records for right wingers will take a little more effort to grab. Brett Hull holds the goal-scoring mark with 86, Jagr the assist and point records with 87 and 149, respectively.

With more room behind the goal line, power plays could become a little more potent. And if that happens, people will start to bear down on Tim Kerr's record of 34 goals with the man-advantage. Last season Ziggy Palffy led the league with 17 power-play tallies, a far cry from Kerr, who was the forerunner of today's power forwards when he played with the Flyers.

Offensive records for defensemen seem to be safe for the moment, as well. Paul Coffey holds the record for most goals by a defenseman with 48. The great Bobby Orr stakes his claim on the assist record (102) and the point record (139).

As for goaltenders, Bernie Parent backstopped the most wins in a single season with 47 victories for the 1973-74 Flyer squad. Martin Brodeur came close last year by winning 43 games for the Devils. Most losses in a season belong to poor old Gary Smith, who suffered through 48 losses with the California Golden Seals in 1970-71. Perhaps Nashville's Mike Dunham should take note...

Perhaps we're stretching things a little bit here. There was only one 100-point scorer in the entire league last season, so trying to see who would be able to break one of Gretzky's or Orr's records is a silly idea.

But how about milestones? There are several players who started the season looking to join some exclusive company. Steve Yzerman began the year 37 goals away from the 600 Club. Robitaille was the closest player to No. 500 as the season started, needing just 22 goals to reach the mark. Broadway Bernie Nicholls needed 25 and Brian Bellows was 32 away.

On defense, Coffey was 17 away from 400 goals for his career. Ray Bourque was close behind, needing 25 to join the club. Phil Housley, who is back in Calgary to perhaps finish off his career, was nine goals away from No. 300 at the start of the season.

One final note. If all of the new rules the league has implemented to help increase scoring doesn't work, there's one record we should all be looking at that has a great chance to be broken -- fewest goals by a team in one season. The current modern-day record is held by the Chicago Blackhawks, who scored 133 goals in 70 games during the 1954-55 campaign. Sure, today teams have 82 games to work with, but remember, never say a record can't be broken. The lowly Tampa Bay Lightning came close last season, scoring a measly 151 goals.

A few more seasons of expansion and there's no doubt that one unlucky team will get its name in the record books for all the wrong reasons.