The History of the NHL Single Season Scoring Record

The National Hockey League made it's debut in 1917 with a 22 game schedule. Joe Malone of the Montreal Canadiens (on loan from the dormant Quebec Bulldogs) set the standard by leading the league in scoring with 44 goals and 4 assists for 48 points, an average of two goals per game!

Joe Malone set the first NHL scoring record in 1917-18

Two seasons later in 1919-20, Malone would raise the bar by a point following his 39 goal, 10 assist effort for 49 points in a now 24 game schedule while back with the revived Quebec franchise.

The NHL had changed dramatically by the 1927-28 season, expanding from four clubs to now ten with the additions of the Montreal Maroons, New York Americans, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Detroit Cougars and Chicago Black Hawks to the Canadiens, Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs. This necessitated a now longer 44 game schedule and Howie Morenz of the Canadiens took over the league record for single season point scoring with 33 goals and 18 assists for 51 points, bettering Malone's eight year old mark of 49.

Howie Morenz

Morenz's record would be obliterated two seasons later when rule changes allowed forward passing in the offensive zone and temporarily removed the offside rule. Players camping out in front of the opponents goal led to the rule being reinstated by mid-season. The Boston Bruins Cooney Weiland was the biggest beneficiary of the new offensive freedom and scored 43 goals and 30 assists in 44 games for a new league record of 73 points, 22 more than Morenz just two seasons earlier.

Cooney Weiland brought the scorning record to the United States

Weiland's mark would remain the standard for over a decade. By the time World War II arrived, the NHL had contracted back to what is now known as the Original 6, while the season schedule had expanded to 50 games. Doug Bentley of the Chicago Black Hawks tied Weiland's record of 73 in 1942-43 with 33 goals and 40 assists.

Doug Bentley equalled the scoring record in 1943

One season later, Herb Cain of the Bruins put together the season of his life with a 36 goal, 46 assist campaign for 82 total points after just 36 the season before and never exceeded 45 in the final two seasons of his career. Despite breaking Weiland's 14 year old record, Cain remains the only eligible former NHL scoring champion not inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Herb Cain

Cain's stellar season would remain the record for seven seasons until Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings, playing in his fifth NHL season, raised the mark to 86 points with 43 goals and 43 assists in 1950-51 in what was now a 70 game schedule, finishing a clear 20 points ahead of second place Maurice Richard,

Howe equalled his 86 points the following year with 47 goals and 39 assists in 1951-52 before beating his own league record with a 49 goal, 46 assist season for 95 points, a dominant 24 points clear of Detroit teammate Ted Lindsay. Howe would lead the league in points again the next season for four consecutive scoring titles and once more in 1957 for five in seven years.

The legendary Gordie Howe raised the scoring record twice

Six seasons after Howe set the record at 95 points, Dickie Moore would return the league record to the Canadiens when his 41 goals and 55 assists in 1958-59 eclipsed Howe by a single point with 96 in what was still a 70 game schedule.

Dickie Moore was the last of three Canadiens to hold the record

Moore's record would stand the test of time for a decade until the game saw it's first 100 point scorer in 1968-69. While Bobby Hull of Chicago set a new goal scoring record with 58, it was Phil Esposito of the Bruins who destroyed the old mark with his record shattering 126 points from 49 goals and 77 assists in a 76 game schedule. Both Hull (107) and Howe (103) also surpassed the 100 point mark that season to usher in a new era of offense in the NHL.

Phil Esposito was the first man to reach 100 points in an NHL season

Esposito easily broke his own record in 1970-71 when he set new records for goals and points with 76 goals and 76 assists for 152 points in a 78 game schedule, 13 clear of teammate Bobby Orr, who took away the MVP honors despite Esposito's scoring record.

Esposito was the third Bruin to set the scoring record

It would be another 10 years before the arrival of The Great One, Wayne Gretzky, would seize the record, first with a 164 point season from 55 goals and 109 assists in his second season in the NHL, 1980-81, in an 80 game schedule. Gretzky's 109 assists broke Orr's record of 102 set back in 1970-71.

Wayne Gretzky rewrote the record books

Gretzky broke his own record the following season of 1981-82. He announced his intentions of setting a new record when he scored 50 goals in just 39 games! He eventually finished the season by defeating Esposito's record of 76 goals with a new mark of 92 goals, which still stands to this day and remains the only 90 goal season in NHL history. Gretzky also blew away his record of 109 assists with 120 for a total of 212 points, shattering his own record for single season points by an amazing 47 points and becoming the first, and still only, player to ever reach 200 points.

Gretzky led the Oilers to four Stanley Cups

After two more 200 point seasons, Gretzky then set the NHL record on this date in 1986 when the Oilers defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 with Gretzky picking up an assist, his 163rd of the season to break his own single season assist record. He also added 52 goals for a combined 215 points, a single season points scoring record which remains unbeaten now 29 seasons later, as the wide open, firewagon hockey of the 1980's has given way to improved goaltending and defensive systems, which has resulted in no player leading the league with even 130 points since 1996 and as few as 94 points in a full 82 game season in 2003-04.

Gretzky with the Art Ross Trophy (left) as the scoring champion

along with the Stanley Cup and Hart Trophy as league MVP

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The Evolution of the NHL Single Season Scoring Record

Joe Malone - 1917-18 - 48 points

Joe Malone - 1919-20 - 49

Howie Morenz - 1927-28 - 51

Cooney Weiland - 1929-30 - 73

Doug Bentley - 1942-43 - 73

Herb Cain - 1943-44 - 82

Gordie Howe - 1950-51 - 86

Gordie Howe - 1951-52 - 86

Gordie Howe - 1952-53 - 95

Dickie Moore - 1958-59 - 96

Phil Esposito - 1968-69 - 126

Phil Esposito - 1970-71 - 152

Wayne Gretzky - 1980-81 - 165

Wayne Gretzky - 1981-82 - 212

Wayne Gretzky - 1985-86 - 215

Today's featured jersey is a 1985-86 Edmonton Oilers Wayne Gretzky jersey as worn the season Gretzky set the NHL single season scoring record, which has now stood the test of time for nearly 30 years.

The Oilers changed the colors of their crest to a higher contrast and much more pleasing blue letters on a white background, rather than the orange background of their final WHA jerseys, in 1979-80 when they entered the NHL. In 1981-82 the shade of blue became lighter and the jerseys remained unchanged through the 1995-96 season, which included the team's dynasty of five Stanley Cups in seven seasons.

1940-41 Boston Bruins Herb Cain Jersey

After beginning his path to the NHL with the Newmarket Redmen of the junior Ontario Hockey Association and then the Hamilton Tigers of the OHA senior level, Herb Cain made his NHL debut during the 1933-34 season with the Montreal Maroons. He appeared in 31 games that season, scoring 4 goals and 9 total points.

Cain made his NHL debut with the Maroons

His first full NHL season in 1934-35 saw him play 44 of the Maroons 48 games, scoring an impressive 20 goals to lead the club in goals while finishing second in scoring with 27 points. The Maroons then won a spectacular two-game total-goals series against the Chicago Black Hawks 1-0, with the first game ending in a 0-0 tie and Game 2 going to overtime after regulation again finished scoreless! Baldy Northcott finally won the series with a goal at 4:02 of overtime following 120 scoreless minutes over two games. The Maroons then defeated the New York Rangers 2-1 before a 3-3 tie gave them a 5-4 series win to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals where they swept the Toronto Maple Leafs in three straight to win the Stanley Cup, the last team for 17 years to go through the playoffs undefeated and the last non-Original 6 team to win the cup until 1974.

The 1935 Stanley Cup champion Montreal Maroons

Cain, born on this date in 1913, would play three additional seasons for the Maroons, raising his personal best in scoring to 30 points in both 1937 and 1938 before the Maroons, facing great financial difficulties from the Great Depression of the 1930's, suspended operations.

Cain simply changed dressing rooms and became a member of the Montreal Canadiens for the 1938-39 season following his purchase by the Canadiens from the Maroons. After one season with the Canadiens, Cain was dealt to the Boston Bruins just before the start of the 1939-40 season.

Cain was dealt to the Bruins in 1939

He set new career highs with 21 goals and 31 points in his first season in Boston. While his point production dropped during the 1940-41 regular season, Cain contributed 3 goals and 5 points during the playoffs that season as the Bruins defeated Toronto in seven games before sweeping the Detroit Red Wings in four to capture the second Stanley Cup of Cain's career.

Cain's second Stanley Cup came with Boston in 1941

After another 18 point season in 1941-42, Cain regained his previous scoring touch in 1942-43 with 36 points, edging his career best five points higher. Cain then shocked the NHL with an outstanding 1943-44 season when he set a career best with 36 goals, two off the league lead and equal to his point total from the previous season. He also finished third in assists with 46, three back of the league leader. His combined 82 points won Cain the league scoring title by five points and established a new league record which would set the standard for seven seasons until broken by Gordie Howe in 1951.

Cain in the short-lived Bruins gold jerseys

In 1944-45, Cain again topped the 30 goal mark with 32. He would play one more season for Boston until being sent to the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League for the 1946-47 season. Cain fit right in with Hersey, finishing second in team scoring with 36 goals and 66 points in 59 games before adding 9 goals and 15 points in 11 games as the Bears won their first Calder Cup as AHL champions.

The Hersey Bears receiving the 1947 Calder Cup

Cain would play three additional seasons with Hersey before retiring after the 1949-50 season, the last active player to have skated for the Maroons.

His final NHL totals were 571 games played with 206 goals and 400 points and he remains the only eligible former scoring champion from the first 75 years of the NHL not in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Today's featured jersey is a 1940-41 Boston Bruins Herb Cain jersey as worn during the season the Bruins won the first Stanley Cup of Cain's career. From 1932-33 to 1935-36 the Bruins wore a large capital B on the front and the player number on the back of their sweaters. In 1936-37 the B crest moved to the sleeves (as there were no sleeve numbers back then) and they began wearing the player number on both the front and back of their sweaters in black outlined in gold.

Things changed in 1940-41, as the striping on the white jerseys, the only ones worn up to this point, remained the same, but the colors of the B logo on the sleeves and the numbers were reversed to gold outlined in black. The Bruins also added a second jersey for the first time in their history, a gold sweater with black shoulders and a black waist stripe adorned with a script Bruins crest, complete with a baseball-style underline coming off of the final "s".

When the gold jersey was dropped for the 1944-45 season, the white jersey continued on through the 1947-46 season. For the Bruins 25th anniversary, a change to the striping added a second black sleeve stripe and the front number was finally replaced by the first appearance of the now-famous spoked B logo. Additionally, the first black jersey in Bruins history was introduced.