Top Power-Plays since 1963

by Hawerchuk on Jan 18, 2010 9:00 AM EST in History

If you had to guess, what would you say was the best PP unit of all-time? Surprisingly, it's the New York Islanders - before they rattled off their string of four Stanley Cups. With Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy and Clark Gillies up front, and Denis Potvin and Stefan Persson on the blue line, the Isles put away nearly 30% of their power-play opportunities over a six-year period:

Year	Team	PP%
1977-78	Montreal Canadiens	31.88
1975-76	New York Islanders	31.72
1977-78	New York Islanders	31.28
1978-79	New York Islanders	31.15
1973-74	New York Rangers	29.73
1980-81	New York Islanders	29.34
1982-83	Edmonton Oilers	29.25
1979-80	Montreal Canadiens	29.17
1969-70	Boston Bruins	29.03
1971-72	Boston Bruins	28.91
1973-74	Boston Bruins	28.89
1972-73	Philadelphia Flyers	28.79
1974-75	Boston Bruins	28.76
1975-76	Philadelphia Flyers	28.62
1987-88	Calgary Flames	28.46

The Orr-Esposito-Bucyk Bruins of 1969-75 were almost as good as the Isles. The late 1970s Canadiens dynasty makes a couple of appearances - unlike the Islanders and the Bruins, the Habs rolled two power-play units. Stanley Cup-winning Oilers, Flyers and Flames squads also show up.

What if we adjust teams relative to the league-wide PP%?

Year	Team	PP%	REL LGE
1973-74	New York Rangers	29.73	55.74
1975-76	New York Islanders	31.72	54.43
1972-73	Philadelphia Flyers	28.79	53.87
1973-74	Boston Bruins	28.89	51.34
1977-78	Montreal Canadiens	31.88	50.73
1971-72	Boston Bruins	28.91	49.17
1969-70	Boston Bruins	29.03	49.10
1972-73	Boston Bruins	27.8	48.58
1977-78	New York Islanders	31.28	47.90
1970-71	Boston Bruins	27.68	47.00

Interestingly, our top teams don't move around very much - what these teams have in common is that they all played during an era of massive talent dilution and little player movement. Montreal, Boston, New York and Philadelphia were all able to concentrate talent in a way that would be unthinkable today and use that advantage to dominate the weakest entries in the NHL. While you can put together a truly bad team any time you want, it is simply no longer possible to build teams that are this much better than their opponents.

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Comments

What, did these teams in the 1970s play the Washington Capitals every game? At first I was a little suspicious of so many 1970s teams making this list, but looking back at your post on the worst penalty-killing teams, it seems that the numbers make more sense.

I was partly interested because I thought you’d see higher percentages in the 80s, since the league average PK% from year to year was 1-3% lower than nearly any year in the 1970s.

Great stuff.

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by Bettman's Nightmare on Jan 18, 2010 1:57 PM EST reply actions

I dunno that I’d say “all time.” My money’s still on some Canadiens team from the ‘50s, even if you only include first goals (since they’re the ones that inspired the rule allowing players out of the box after the first PPG).

As for why the ‘70s had so much better PP/worse PKs at the margins, I’d be inclined to point the finger at expansion/WHA talent dilution. You’re talking about 32 major-pro teams at a time when there was probably enough talent for half that number: there were some historically bad teams in that era, not just in Washington, but KC/Colorado and Oakland/Cleveland, too. I would guess that the gap between best and worst was far greater in the 70s than any other time in history, considering the other end of the scale included the classic Big Bad Bruins, the Broad Street Bullies, the dynastic Habs, and towards the end of the decade, the Islanders.

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by Doogie2K on Jan 22, 2010 4:37 PM EST reply actions