NHL: Last Season's 20 Best Point/Minute Played Players

1 of 25

12 Dec 1993: Rightwinger Brett Hull of the St. Louis Blues and center Terry Yake of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks tangle up during a game at Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California. The Ducks won the game, 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Glenn Cratty /Allsport

Glenn Cratty/Getty Images

Brett Hull broke in to the NHL with the Calgary Flames in 1986. The next year he was to prove to be the bane of the existence of coach "Badger" Bob Johnson.

"Badger" Bob had a system that he liked his players to play. It had worked for him and the Calgary Flames. He had gotten the Flames into the playoffs in each of his first four seasons and made it to the Stanley Cup finals in 1986.

Bob's system involved his forwards, especially the young ones, back-checking. Young Brett Hull, son of hockey legend Bobby Hull, didn't engage in that nonsense. He was all offense all the time, often waiting at the opposing team's blue line for his teammates to get him the puck.

Coach Johnson tried to teach Brett better. He argued with Brett. He tried to embarrass Brett in the newspapers and finally he limited Brett Hull's ice time in Calgary to almost nothing.

At points in that season Brett might have gotten four or five shifts a game for a total of less than five minutes of ice time.

Despite playing on a third or fourth line; despite his coach being exasperated with him; despite the lack of ice time, Brett Hull still scored. If he only got on the ice five times a night you could almost be sure he would score a goal.

At the time I was fascinated by his ability to produce offense with basically no time to do it. Brett as has turned out to be one of the greatest scorers in NHL history. If I could collect the numbers for it, I think the 26 goals and 50 points he produced in the 1986/87 season in 52 games for the Flames might prove to be the greatest points-per-minute-played performance in NHL history.

It was certainly the greatest example of a talented player successfully flouting his coach's plans for him. Brett Hull was not going to learn to be a checking forward.

This extreme example left me fascinated with the idea of the player who could produce the most points per minute played. Is that number a useful indicator of raw offensive talent?

I'm not positive this number is any more useful than points per game might be.

I looked at the top 118 scorers from last year (everyone who scored 47 points or more) and divided their points total to get my points per minute played number. I've then ranked the players by that number and will compare it with how they ranked in total points scored and in points per game. Listed by each player will be their total points, minutes and seconds played and the average.

Will this number show the 'best" offensive player in the league or identify any young Brett Hulls before they score 70 goals in a season? Maybe, maybe not.

I hope you find it interesting. I am hoping to see the offensive contribution a player makes with their total ice time played factored out. If it seems to show me something that I didn't see in the other numbers I may delve into some historical records and attempt to look for some all-time best points per minute played numbers.

Though, that will be a lot of work just to find out it's Gretzky.

20. Claude Giroux RW: Philadelphia Flyers

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MAY 02: Claude Giroux #28 of the Philadelphia Flyers skates in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Boston Bruins during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Wells Fargo Center on May 2, 2011 in Philadelphia, Penns

Paul Bereswill/Getty Images

2010/11 Regular Season

PTS: 76 Minutes Played: 1590' 37"

PMP: .04778

11th in league scoring tied with four others: 76 points

20th in points per game: .9268 PPG

19. Daniel Briere C: Philadelphia Flyers

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 24: Danny Briere #48 of the Philadelphia Flyers skates with the puck during a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 24, 2011 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Lou Capozzola/Getty Images)

Lou Capozzola/Getty Images

2010/11 Regular Season

PTS: 68 Minutes Played: 1409' 53"

PMP: .04823

26th in league scoring tied with one other: 68 points

28th in points per game : .8831 PPG

18. Chris Stewart RW: St Louis Blues

DENVER, CO - JANUARY 18: Chris Stewart #25 of the Colorado Avalanche controls the puck against the Vancouver Canucks at the Pepsi Center on January 18, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. The Avalanche defeated the Canucks 4-3 in overtime. (Photo by Doug Pensinge

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

2010/11 Regular Season

PTS: 53 Minutes Played: 1084' 12"

PMP: .04888

75th in league scoring tied with five others: 53 points

38th in points per game: .8548 PPG

17. Brad Richards C: New York Rangers

CHICAGO, IL - DECEMBER 08: Brad Richards #91 of the Dallas Stars skates against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on December 8, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. The Blackhawks defeated the Stars 5-3. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

2010/11 Regular Season

PTS: 77 Minutes Played: 1564' 10"

PMP: .04923

10th in league scoring: 77 points

10th in points per game: 1.0694 PPG

16. Patrick Sharp C: Chicago Blackhawks

GLENDALE, AZ - FEBRUARY 12: Patrick Sharp #10 of the Chicago Blackhawks skates with the puck during the NHL game against the Phoenix Coyotes at Jobing.com Arena on February 12, 2011 in Glendale, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Blackhawks 3-2 in an ove

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

2010/11 Regular Season

PTS: 71 Minutes Played: 1436' 33"

PMP: .04942

21st in league scoring tied with two others: 71 points

17th in points per game: .9595 PPG

15. Jarome Iginla RW: Calgary Flames

CALGARY, CANADA - APRIL 6:Jarome Iginla #12 of the Calgary Flames is congratulated by teammate Alex Tanguay #40 on his hat trick goal against the Edmonton Oilers in third period NHL action on April 6, 2011 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta

Mike Ridewood/Getty Images

2010/11 Regular Season

PTS: 86 Minutes Played: 1716' 44"

PMP: .05010

6th in league scoring: 86 points

12th in points per game: 1.0488 PPG

14. Alex Ovechkin LW: Washington Capitals

TAMPA, FL - MAY 04: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals shoots past Mattias Ohlund #5 of the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the St Pete Times Forum on May 4, 2011 i

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

2010/11 Regular Season

PTS: 85 Minutes Played: 1687' 55"

PMP: .05036

7th in league scoring: 85 points

9th in points per game: 1.0759 PPG

13. Drew Stafford RW: Buffalo Sabres

BUFFALO, NY - APRIL 24: Brian Boucher #33 of the Philadelphia Flyers stops Drew Stafford #21 of the Buffalo Sabres in the third period in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at HSBC Arena at HSBC Aren

Rick Stewart/Getty Images

2010/11 Regular Season

PTS: 52 Minutes Played: 1025' 21"

PMP: .05071

81st in league scoring tied with five others: 52 points

42nd in points per game: .8387 PPG

12. Henrik Zetterburg C: Detroit Red Wings

SAN JOSE, CA - MAY 12: Marc-Edouard Vlasic #44 of the San Jose Sharks and Henrik Zetterberg #40 of the Detroit Red Wings go for the puck sin Game Seven of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at HP Pavilion on May 12

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

2010/11 Regular Season

PTS: 80 Minutes Played: 1566' 42"

PMP: .05106

8th in league scoring tied with one other: 80 points

13th in points per game tied with two others: 1.0000 PPG

11. Patrick Kane RW: Chicago Blackhawks

CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 24: Patrick Kane #88 of the Chicago Blackhawks shoots the puck in front of Alexandre Burrows #14 of the Vancouver Canucks in Game Six of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the United Center

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

2010/11 Regular Season

PTS: 73 Minutes Played: 1407' 47"

PMP: .05186

15th in league scoring tied with five others: 73 points

13th in points per game tied with two others: 1.0000 PPG

10. Ryan Getzlaf C: Anaheim Ducks

ANAHEIM, CA - APRIL 22: Goalie Pekka Rinne #35 of the Nashville Predators makes a save in front of Ryan Getzlaf #15 of the Anaheim Ducks in Game Five of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Honda Center on Apri

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

2010/11 Regular Season

PTS: 76 Minutes Played: 1464' 09"

PMP: .05191

11th in league scoring tied with three others: 76 points

6th in points per game: 1.1343 PPG

9. Thomas Vanek LW: Buffalo Sabres

UNIONDALE, NY - JANUARY 16: Rick DiPietro #39 of the New York Islanders stops a shot by Tomas Vanek #26 of the Buffalo Sabres at the Nassau Coliseum on January 16, 2010 in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

2010/11 Regular Season

PTS: 73 Minutes Played: 1388' 17"

PMP: .05258

15th in league scoring tied with five others: 73 points

23rd in points per game: .9125 PPG

8. Corey Perry RW: Anaheim Ducks

ANAHEIM, CA - APRIL 08: Corey Perry #10 of the Anaheim Ducks sets for a face off against the Los Angeles Kings at Honda Center on April 8, 2011 in Anaheim, California. The Ducks won 2-1 to clinch a berth in the playoffs. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Ima

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

2010/11 Regular Season

PTS: 98 Minutes Played: 1829' 40"

PMP: .05356

3rd in league scoring: 98 points

4th in points per game: 1.1951 PPG

7. Pavel Datsyuk C: Detroit Red Wings

DETROIT - MAY 10: Pavel Datsyuk #13 of the Detroit Red Wings controls the puck in front of Patrick Marleau #12 of the San Jose Sharks during the first period in Game Six of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on May

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

2010/11 Regular Season

PTS: 59 Minutes Played: 1082' 04"

PMP: .05453

50th in league scoring tied with two others: 59 points

11th in points per game: 1.0536 PPG

6. Steven Stamkos C : Tampa Bay Lightning

TAMPA, FL - MAY 03: Steven Stamkos #91 of the Tampa Bay Lightning skates against the Washington Capitals in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at St Pete Times Forum on May 3, 2011 in Tampa, Florida.

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

2010/11 Regular Season

PTS: 91 Minutes Played: 1655' 56"

PMP: .05495

5th in league scoring: 91 points

7th in points per game: 1.1098 PPG

5. Martin St. Louis RW: Tampa Bay Lightning

TAMPA, FL - MAY 25: Martin St. Louis #26 of the Tampa Bay Lightning celebrates his second period goal against the Boston Bruins in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at St Pete Times Forum on May 25, 2011 i

Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images

2010/11 Regular Season

PTS: 99 Minutes Played: 1720' 21"

PMP: .05755

2nd in league scoring: 99 points

3rd in points per game: 1.2073 PPG

4. Henrik Sedin C : Vancouver Canucks

BOSTON, MA - JUNE 13: Henrik Sedin #33 and Daniel Sedin #22 of the Vancouver Canucks sit on the bench during Game Six against the Boston Bruins in the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden on June 13, 2011 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Bruce Ben

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

2010/11 Regular Season

PTS: 94 Minutes Played: 1579' 17"

PMP: .05952

4th in league scoring: 94 points

5th in points per game: 1.1463 PPG

3. Teemu Selanne RW: Anaheim Ducks

NASHVILLE, TN - APRIL 20: Teemu Selanne #8 of the Anaheim Ducks skates against Shane O'Brien #55 of the Nashville Predators in Game Four of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena on April 20, 20

Frederick Breedon/Getty Images

2010/11 Regular Season

PTS: 80 Minutes Played: 1309' 32"

PMP: .06109

8th in league scoring tied with one other: 80 points

8th in points per game: 1.0536 PPG

2. Daniel Sedin LW: Vancouver Canucks

VANCOUVER, BC - JUNE 04: Daniel Sedin #22 of the Vancouver Canucks scores a goal in the third period against Tim Thomas #30 of the Boston Bruins during Game Two of the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Rogers Arena on June 4, 2011 in Vancouver, British Colum

Rich Lam/Getty Images

2010/11 Regular Season

PTS: 104 Minutes Played: 1521' 21"

PMP: .06836

1st in league scoring: 104 points

2nd in points per game: 1.2683 PPG

1. Sidney Crosby C: Pittsburgh Penguins

PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 01: Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates against the Washington Capitals during the 2011 NHL Bridgestone Winter Classic at Heinz Field on January 1, 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Washington won 3-1. (Photo by

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

2010/11 Regular Season

PTS: 66 Minutes Played: 898' 37" PMP: .07345

30th in league scoring tied with four others: 59 points

1st in points per game: 1.6098 PPG

Goals Per Minute Played

PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 28: Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrates his second goal of the game in the first period against the Atlanta Thrashers at Consol Energy Center on December 28, 2010 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justi

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

I had the numbers in a spreadsheet so I recalculated and sorted on goals scored per minutes played. That gave me this top ten.

GPMP

1. Sidney Crosby: .03561

2. Drew Stafford: ..03023

3. Michael Grabner: ..02966

4. Corey Perry: ..02733

5. Steven Stamkos: .02718

6. Daniel Sedin: .02695

7. Chris Stewart: .02583

8. Jarome Iginla: .02505

9. Jeff Carter: .02466

10. Ryan Kesler: .02440

What Does the Points Per Minute Played Number Tell You?

INGLEWOOD, CA - MARCH 1988: Wayne Gretzky #99 of the Edmonton Oilers makes a pass between defensemen Garry Galley #3 and Jay Wells #24 of the Los Angeles Kings circa March 1988 during a game at the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, California. (Photo by

Rick Stewart/Getty Images

Ice time in the NHL can be a self-fufilling prophecy. Many is the time when a newly acquired player is featured on the power play and first line and experiences a bump in offensive production.

A bad acquisition can be papered over if he's simply played enough to get him the points to make him look good. Bad teams still have to have a first line and a power play. The players on it can get more points than better players with less ice time on better teams.

The point per minutes played number takes your total ice time out of the statistic. Thus a talented guy like Teemu Selanne—who, at his age, gets relegated to the second line—still looks good on a point per minute played basis.

The best offensive players in the league command substantial ice time and produce enough to justify it. Thus Sidney Crosby, the Sedins, Steven Stamkos, Corey Perry et al still rate very high using this number. There is no real surprise there.

Ilya Kovalchuk was overpaid to bring offense to the New Jersey Devils. When he started, management slowly gave him more and more ice time. Kovalchuk led all NHL forwards playing twenty minutes and thirty three seconds a game.

He eventually scored a reasonable but disappointing—for him—60 points last year. That number, when divided by the minutes he played, gave him a point per minutes played average of .03283, putting him 103rd out of the top 118 scorers analyzed.

Among forwards, only Ryan Smyth, Brooks Laich, Antoine Vermette and Stephen Weiss had worse points per minute played numbers.

Now you already knew Kovalchuk wasn't giving value for the money he was being paid. Apparently he also wasn't making very good offensive use of all the ice time he soaked up.

Where it gets interesting is where players like Chris Stewart and Drew Miller rate among the top 20 players in the league. Are they that good? Are these players who will reward more ice time with many more points? Or was this just a statistical blip for players destined to have reasonable 40-50 point a season careers?

A further modification of this analysis would involve taking penalty kill and power play time out of the equation to determine how much absolute offensive talent players have, all other things being equal.

Another day perhaps.

Drew Stafford and Chris Stewart

BUFFALO, NY - JANUARY 6: Chris Phillips #4 of the Ottawa Senators tries to regain his balance with pressure from Drew Stafford #21 of the Buffalo Sabres at HSBC Arena January 6, 2009 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

Rick Stewart/Getty Images

Drew Stafford is not a player who has ever attracted my attention until now. He will only be 26 come October 30th.

He had his best NHL season last year with 52 points and 31 goals while playing in a mere 62 games. He was fifth in Sabre power play time among the forwards. Nineteen of his points and 11 of his goals came on the power play.

Buffalo lost center Tim Connolly to free agency in the offseason. They picked up a few wingers but only 27-year-old Ville Leino seems to have any offensive potential. Stafford may find himself on the second line and with more power play time this year. His points per minutes played numbers indicate he can make use of that ice time.

Chris Stewart has joined a St. Louis team that scored 240 goals last year, 10th in the league. Also born on October 30th, Stewart will turn 24 this fall.

He looks to have earned himself a spot on the first line in St. Louis and no doubt a lot of power play time.

Twelve of his 28 goals and 16 of his points came on the power play, which should mean his ice time and power play time increase substantially this year.

Look for Chris Stewart to take a big step forward offensively this year if the points per minutes played statistic is any indication of offensive talent.

Stewart and Stafford both had great scoring percentages at 17.3 percent.

Among players who took at least 100 shots in the NHL last year, they rank fifth in the league behind Sidney Crosby (19.9 percent), Lauri Korpikoski (18.4 percent), Alex Tanguay (18.3 percent) and David Jones (17.6 percent). You give good shooters more ice time and you're likely to get more goals.

Does this mean Stafford and Stewart are two young Brett Hulls ready to develop into hall of fame scorers? I don't think so, but the numbers interesting at least.

I'm curious to see how they do this season. A huge step forward by either player statistically would lend credence to the idea the number itself is a useful mark of offensive talent.

Begin Slideshow