What If the NHL Added WHA Records?
After MLB incorporated Negro League records, here's how the NHL would look if it did something similar
Hey Ovi, the new record is 975. You’ve gotta pass Howe again. (Caps Outsider)
Recently, Major League Baseball incorporated the Negro League statistics into its own record books. This most notably elevated Josh Gibson to the top spot in MLB’s single-season batting list.
The combination of the stats served as a remedy of sorts since the players in the Negro League weren’t allowed to play in Major League Baseball.
Interestingly, hockey had a similar league, the Colored Hockey League, but it was founded in 1895, 22 years prior to the NHL. Before Willie O’Ree became the first Black player in the NHL in 1958, Black players already skated in integrated Canadian leagues, where there was much more opportunity compared to the NHL, which only had six teams at the time.
That said, O’Ree shouldn’t have been the first Black NHL player. Years earlier, Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe allegedly said he would have signed Herb Carnegie if Carnegie were White. Carnegie, however, turned down an offer to play with the New York Rangers’ minor league team as he was making better money in the Quebec league.
Though the circumstances with the NHL and Black players are different than MLB and the Negro Leagues, there is a league that would make sense to incorporate with NHL records.
The World Hockey Association was a competitor to the NHL from 1972 to 1979, and swooped in to sign many NHL players for more money. Here’s what this league cost the NHL in terms of records.
- Even though he only played 80 games in the WHA, Wayne Gretzky played 1,567 games between the two leagues, with 940 goals, 2,027 assists, and 2,967 points. He would still be in first place in assists and points.
- Bobby Hull would have played 1,474 total games, with 913 goals, 895 assists and 1,808 points. Though these aren’t records, he would be much further up the all-time lists.
- Meanwhile, Gordie Howe, who held quite a few NHL records for decades, played 419 games, scored 174 goals, and added 334 assists for 508 more points in the WHA. So, in total, Howe played 2,186 games (leapfrogging NHL record holder Patrick Marleau), scored 975 goals (besting Gretzky and Hull), had 1,383 assists, and 2,358 points.
For Caps fans, an NHL/WHA record combination would mean Alex Ovechkin needs 976 goals to break the all-time record. He’s currently got 853, though lockouts and his late birthdate cost him a couple of years of his prime.
The case for incorporating WHA records is even stronger considering the NHL bought the league and welcomed in the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets.
Unlike MLB and the Negro Leagues, there’s no pressing reason for the NHL to add WHA statistics. That said, for better or for worse, the mere existence of the WHA at this time took a bite out of the NHL records.
