The Back Check

By The Back Check

Bill and Riley debate which NHL players belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame and which don't. Episodes every few weeks.... more

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How many episodes does The Back Check have?

The podcast currently has 76 episodes available.

The Back Check episodes:

May 21, 2021S2021E66 - Episode 66: Hall of Fame Class of 1994
Episode Notes
Lionel Conacher:
NHL: 1925-37; 12 seasons, 10 quality
Totals:
78G (10th D All Time at his retirement),
108A (5th D All Time at his retirement) for
186P (7th D All Time at his retirement) in
498 Games (16th All Time at his retirement, 4th D);
65.5 PS (9th All Time at his retirement, 5th D)
At his retirement, Conacher was 8th All Time in Defensive Point Shares and 4th All Time in Offensive Point Shares among D and
Per Game: Conacher obviously doesn’t qualify for the leader boards, but if the qualifier is set to 410 Games (5 modern seasons), among D Conacher is
5th All Time in GPG
4th All Time in APG
5th All Time in PPG
Not drafted
Era: Of the 11 D to play in at least 410 games (5 modern seasons) between 1925 and 1937, Conacher is
4th in Goals and GPG
4th in Assists and APG
4th in Points and PPG
3rd in Offensive Point Shares
6th in Defensive Point Shares
3rd in Point Shares
82-game average: 13G, 18A for 30P
3-year peak (1933-36): 48-game average of 6G, 10A for 16P; 4.2 PS
No possession stats obviously
Playoffs:
2G,
2A for
4P in
35 Games
Harry Watson:
NHL: 1941-43, 1945-57; 14 seasons, 9 quality by modern standards of PPG
Totals:
236G (12th All Time at his retirement),
207A for
443P (19th All Time at his retirement) in
809 Games (3rd All Time at his retirement);
45.3 PS
Per Game: At his retirement, Watson was
25th All Time in GPG
Not drafted
Era: Of the 17 players to play in at least 656 games (8 modern seasons), between 1941 and 1957, Watson is
5th in Goals
6th in GPG
12th in Assists
13th in APG (though he doesn’t qualify for the APG leader-boards)
6th in Points
9th in PPG (though he doesn’t qualify for the PPG leader-boards)
7th in Offensive Point Shares
10th (4th forward) in Defensive Point Shares
12th in Point Shares
82-game average: 24G, 21A for 45P
3-year peak (1946-49): 60-game average of 25G, 20A for 45P
No possession stats
Playoffs:
16G (t-25th All Time at his retirement),
9A for
26P in
62 Games
Find out more at https://the-back-check.pinecast.co
...more
43min
May 07, 2021S2021E65 - Episode 65: Hall of Fame Class of 1995
Episode Notes
Larry Robinson:
1972-1992; 20 seasons, 19 quality
Totals:
208G (20th D All Time, 10th D at his retirement),
750A (9th D All time, 2nd D at his retirement) for
958P (9th D All Time, 4th D at his retirement),
+722 (1st All Time) in
1384 Games (15th D All Time, 3rd D at his retirement);
169.5 PS (21st All Time, 1st D All Time at his retirement)
4th All Time in Defensive Point Shares (1st at his retirement)
17th D All Time in Offensive Point Shares (6th D at his retirement)
Per Game:
21st D All Time in GPG (10th D at his retirement)
20th D All Time in APG (19th D at his retirement)
20th D All Time in PPG (16th D at his retirement)
Draft: Drafted 20th overall in 1971, Robinson is
7th in Goals
3rd in Assists
3rd in Points
1st in Plus/Minus (by 276)
1st in Point Shares
1st in Games
Era: Of the 9 D to play in at least 984 games (12 modern seasons) between 1972 and 1992, Robinson is
2nd in Goals
2nd in GPG
1st in Assists
4th in APG
2nd in Points
2nd in PPG
1st in Plus/Minus (by 266)
2nd in Offensive Point Shares
1st in Defensive Point Shares (by nearly 30)
1st in Point Shares
82-game average: 12G, 44A for 57P, + 43
3-year peak (1976-79): 80-game average of 17G, 58A for 75P, +86
Frederick "Bun" Cook:
1926-37; 11 seasons, 8 quality
Totals:
158G (13th All Time at his retirement),
144A (10th) for
293P (10th) in
433 games (21st);
51.7 PS (14th)
At his retirement, Cook was 12th All Time in Offensive Point Shares
Per Game: Cook obviously doesn’t qualify; however, if the qualifier is set at 300 games, at his retirement, Cook was
16th All Time in GPG,
13th in APG and
17th in PPG
Era: Of the 35 players to play in at least 400 games between 1926 and 37, Cook is
6th in Goals and APG,
7th in GPG, Assists and Points,
8th in PPG and OPS,
11th in PS and
13th in Games
82-game average: 27G, 25A for 52P
3-year peak (1929-32): 44-game average of 19G, 18A for 37P
Find out more at https://the-back-check.pinecast.co
...more
1h
April 25, 2021S1E64 - Episode 64: Hall of Fame Class of 1996
Episode Notes
Salming: 1973-90; 17 seasons, all quality
Totals:
150G (17th D All Time at his retirement),
637A (15th D All Time, 6th at his retirement) for
787P (17th D All Time, 7th at his retirement),
+170 in
1148 games (8th D All Time at his retirement);
112.8 PS (9th D at his retirement)
Salming was 10th All Time in Offensive Point Shares among D at his retirement
Salming was 16th All Time in Defensive Point Shares at his retirement
Per game: Among D, Salming is
18th All time in APG
20th All Time in PPG
Era: Of the 12 D to play in at least 902 games (11 modern seasons) between 1973 and 1990, Salming is
5th in Goals
6th in GPG
3rd in Assists
3rd in APG
3rd in Points
4th in PPG
4th in Plus/Minus
3rd in Offensive Point Shares
3rd in Defensive Point Shares
3rd in Point Shares
82-game average: 11G, 45A for 57P, +12
3-year peak (1976-79): 80-game average of 15G, 62A for 78P, +36
No possession stats
Playoffs:
12G (25th D All Time at his retirement),
37A for
49P,
-11 in
81 Games
Per Game: At his retirement, Salming was
23rd All Time among D in playoff APG
Era: Of the 112 D to play in at least 41 playoff games between 1973 and 1990, Salming is
19th in Goals
21st in GPG
19th in Assists
18th in APG
19th in Points
22nd in PPG
92nd in Plus/Minus
Bauer: 1936-1942, 1945-47 (plus a 1 game comeback in 1951-2); 8 seasons, 7 quality
Totals:
123G,
137A for
260P in
327 games;
32 PS
Per Game: Bauer doesn’t qualify; however, if the qualifier is set at 300 games played, at his initial retirement in 1947, Bauer was
18th in GPG,
11th in APG and
13th in PPG
Era: Of the 48 players to have played in at least 300 games between 1936 and 1947, Bauer is
18th in Goals,
11th in GPG and APG,
21st in Points and PS,
13th in PPG,
14th in OPS, and
40th in Games
82-game average: 31G, 34A for 66P
3-year peak (1939-42): 48-game average of 17G, 26A for 44P
Playoffs:
11G,
8A for
19P in
48 games
Per Game: doesn’t qualify
Era: Of the 38 skaters to play in at least 41 playoff games between 1936 and 1947, Bauer is
18th in Goals
16th in GPG
30th in Assists
30th in APG
22nd in Points
25th in PPG
24th in Games
Find out more at https://the-back-check.pinecast.co
...more
45min
April 12, 2021S1E63 - Episode 63: Hall of Fame Class of 1997
Episode Notes
Trottier:
1975-94; 18 seasons, 15 quality
Totals:
524G (15th All Time at his retirement),
901A (19th All Time, 6th at his retirement) for
1425P (17th All Time, 6th at his retirement),
+449 (9th All Time, 8th at his retirement) in
1279 Games (17th at his retirement);
120.2 PS (23rd at his retirement)
Trottier was 18th All Time in Offensive Point Shares at his retirement)
Per Game:
23rd All Time in APG
22nd All Time in PPG
Draft: Drafted 22nd overall in 1974, Trottier is
1st in Goals (by over 100)
1st in Assists (by over 350)
1st in Points (by over 600)
1st in Plus/Minus (by nearly 50)
1st in Point Shares
1st in Games (by nearly 250)
Era: Of the 17 skaters to play in at least 1066 games (13 modern seasons) between 1974 and 1994, Trottier is
5th in Goals
6th in GPG
2nd in Assists
5th in APG
3rd in Points
4th in PPG
4th in Plus/Minus
3rd in Offensive Point Shares
9th in Defensive Point Shares (1st Forward)
6th in Point Shares (3rd Forward)
82-game average: 34G, 57A for 91P, +29
3-year peak (1977-80): 80-game average of 47G, 78A for 125P, +55
Lemieux:
1984-97, 2000-06; 16 seasons, 11 quality
Totals:
690G (10th All Time),
1033A (11th) for
1723P (8th),
+115 in
915 games;
167.9 PS (21st);
4th All Time in Offensive Point Shares
Per Game:
3rd All Time in GPG (Lemieux held the career GPG record from the 1992-93 season until the 2005 lockout)
2nd in APG and PPG (Lemieux held the career PPG record from the 1997-98 season until the 2002-03 season)
22:40 ATOI (5 seasons)
Draft: Drafted in 1984, Lemieux, drafted 1st overall, is
2nd in Goals and
1st in Assists
1st in Points
7th in Plus/Minus
2nd in Point Shares (1st Forward)
19th in Games
Era:
First Era: Of the 137 players to play in at least 700 games between 1984 and 1997, Lemieux is
1st in Goals, GPG, and PPG,
2nd in Assists, APG, Points and OPS, and
3rd in PS,
despite being 108th in Games
Return: Of the hundreds of players to play in at least 150 games between 2000 and 2006, Lemieux is
130th in Goals
10th in GPG,
82nd in Assists
2nd in APG and
90th in Points
1st in PPG
(not in the top 200 in Plus/Minus)
66th in Offensive Point Shares
142nd in Point Shares
While not in the Top 200 in Games Played
82-game average: 62G, 93A for 155P, +10
3-year peak (1987-90): 82-game average of 76G, 112A for 188P, +18
Find out more at https://the-back-check.pinecast.co
...more
1h 11min
March 30, 2021S1E62 - Episode 62: Hall of Fame Class of 1998
Episode Notes
Stastny:
1980-95; 15 seasons, 13 quality
Totals:
450G,
789A (18th All Time at his retirement) for
1239P (17th All Time at his retirement),
-15 in
977 Games;
94.1 PS
Per Game:
7th All Time in APG
8th All Time in PPG
Undrafted - of the hundreds of undrafted players since expansion, Stastny is
5th in Goals
9th in GPG
3rd in Assists
4th in APG
4th in Points
4th in PPG
Who knows in Plus/Minus (since he’s a minus)
8th in Offensive Point Shares
15th in Point Shares
27th in Games
Ea: Of the 50 skaters to play in at least 902 games (11 modern seasons) between 1980 and 1995, Stastny is
11th in Goals and GPG
8th in Assists
3rd in APG
7th in Points
2nd in PPG
33rd in Plus/Minus
9th in Offensive Point Shares
12th in Point Shares
82-game average: 38G, 66A for 104P, -1
3-year peak (1981-84): 80-game average of 48G, 83A for 130P, +14
Goulet:
1979-94; 15 seasons, all quality
Totals:
548G (11th All Time),
605A for
1153P (25th,
+99 in
1089 Games
Per Game:
19th All Time in GPG
Draft: Drafted 20th overall in 1979, Goulet is
3rd in Goals
6th in Assists
4th in Points
13th in Plus/Minus
4th in Point Shares
11th in Games
Era: Of the 9 skaters to play in at least 984 games (12 seasons) between 1979 and 1994, Goulet is
4th in Goals
4th in GPG
10th in Assists
12th in APG
9th in Points
8th in PPG
13th in Plus/Minus
9th in Offensive Point Shares
10th in Point Shares
82-game average: 41G, 46A for 61P, +7
Roy Conacher:
1938-52; 11 seasons, 10 quality
Totals:
226G (11th All Time at his retirement),
201A for
427P (17th) in
490 Games;
50.8 PS;
18th All Time in Offensive Point Shares
Per Game: At his retirement, Conacher was
9th All Time in GPG
Era: Of the 34 skaters to play in 410 games (5 modern seasons) between 1938-52, Conacher is
2nd in Goals and GPG
15th in Assists
14th in APG
9th in Points
6th in PPG
2nd in Offensive Point Shares
5th in Point Shares
18th in Games
82-game average: 38G, 34A for 71P
3-year peak (1946-49): 60-game average of 27G, 32A for 59P
Find out more at https://the-back-check.pinecast.co
...more
1h 3min
March 12, 2021S1E61 - Episode 61: Class of 1999: Wayne Gretzky
Episode Notes
NHL: 1979-99; 20 seasons, all quality
Totals:
894G (1st All Time - Gretzky is ahead by 93 goals),
1963A (1st - Gretzky is ahead by over 700 assists) for
2857P (1st - Gretzky is head by nearly 1000 points),
+518 (4th) in
1487 games (18th);
251 PS (1st)
Gretzky is the career leader in Offensive Point Shares (he’s ahead by nearly 40 OPS, which is a decent NHL career)
Per Game:
7th All Time in GPG (Gretzky held the career record for GPG from the 1982-83 season till the 1989-90 season) and
1st in APG (Gretzky is ahead of Lemieux by nearly .2 assists per game) and
1st in PPG
21:04 ATOI (minutes were tracked for only the final season of Gretzky's career)
Draft: undrafted; there’s nothing really to talk about here
Era: Come on...it's Gretzky, we don't need to know how he compares to his era
82-game average: 50G, 108A for 145P, +29
3-year peak (1983-86): 82-game average of 75G, 145A for 220P
Playoffs:
Totals:
122G (1st All Time),
260A (1st - Gretzky is ahead by nearly 80 assists) for
382P (1st - Gretzky is ahead by nearly 100 points) in
208 games (16th)
Per Game: Gretzky is
6th All time in playoff GPG (He held the career playoff GPG record from 1987 until 1991)
1st in APG (Gretzky is ahead by over .3 APG) and
1st in PPG (Gretzky is ahead by over .2 PPG)
Era: Be serious!
...more
1h 1min
February 27, 2021S1E60 - Episode 60: Savard and Mullen
Episode Notes
Savard:
1980-97; 17 seasons, 16 quality
Totals:
473G,
865A (24th All Time, 13th at his retirement) for
1338P (17th All Time at his retirement),
+103 in
1196 Games;
105.2 PS
Per Game:
20th All Time in APG
19th All Time in PPG
Draft: Drafted 3rd overall in 1980, Savard is
3rd in Goals
3rd in Assists
3rd in Points
8th in Plus/Minus
6th in Point Shares (4th Forward)
5th in Games Played
Era: Of the 14 players, to play in at least 1,148 games (14 seasons) between 1980 and 1997 (12 of whom are in the HOF), Savard is
7th in Goals and GPG
7th in Assists and APG
7th in Points and PPG
10th in Plus/Minus
9th in Offensive Point Shares (7th Forward)
10th in Defensive Point Shares (4th Forward)
9th in Point Shares (6th Forward)
82-game average: 33G, 59A for 92A, +7
3-year peak (1987-90): 80-game average of 37G, 80A for 117P, +3 [Savard’s best 3 seasons are 6 years apart]
Mullen:
1981-97; 16 seasons, 14 quality
Totals:
502G (5th American All Time; 25th All Time at his retirement, 1st American-born player)
561A (4th American-born player at his retirement) for
1063P (1st American-born player All Time at his retirement),
+167 (6th American-born player at his retirement) in
1062 Games;
91.2 PS (5th American-born player All Time at his retirement)
At his retirement, Mullen was 3rd All Time among American-born players in Offensive Point Shares
Per Game:
4th American All Time in GPG
5th American All Time in PPG
Draft: Undrafted - among all undrafted skaters (since expansion) Mullen is
4th in Goals
8th in GPG
10th in Assists
19th in APG
7th in Points
13th in PPG
28th in Plus/Minus
9th in Offensive Point Shares
18th in Defensive Point Shares among Forwards
17th in Point Shares
13th in Games Played
Era: Of the 37 skaters to play in 984 Games (12 seasons) between 1981 and 1997, Mullen is
9th in Goals
7th in GPG
22nd in Assists
19th in APG
15th in Points
14th in PPG
17th in Plus/Minus
15th in Offensive Point Shares
27th in Defensive Point Shares (12th Forward)
19th in Point Shares
82-game average: 39G, 43A for 82P, +13
3-year peak (1986-89): 80-game average of 46G, 48A for 92P, +33 [Mullen’s three best seasons are nearly a decade apart]
...more
0min
February 13, 2021S1E59 - Episode 59: Conn Smythe Winners not in the Hall of Fame
Episode Notes
Goring:
1969-85; 16 seasons, 14 quality
Totals:
375G,
513A for
888P,
-26 in
1107 Games;
69.5 PS
Draft: Drafted 51st overall in 1969, Goring is
1st in Goals
2nd in Assists
2nd in Points
31st in Plus/Minus
4th in Point Shares
2nd in Games
Era: Of the 9 skaters to play in at least 984 Games (12 modern seasons) between 1969 and 1985, Goring is
5th in Goals and GPG
6th in Assists
7th (3rd last) in APG
5th in Points
7th (3rd last) in PPG
7th (3rd last) in Plus/Minus
6th in Offensive Point Shares
7th (6th Forward) in Defensive Point Shares
6th in Point Shares
82-game average: 28G, 38A for 66P, -2
3-year peak (1976-79): 80-game average of 34G, 48A for 82P, -5
No possession stats
Playoffs:
38G
50A for
88P,
+22 in
134 Games (21st All Time at his retirement)
Richards:
2000-16; 15 years, 13 quality
Totals:
298G,
634A for
932P,
-66 in
1126 GP;
92.8 PS;
19:55 ATOI
Draft: Drafted 64th overall in 1998, Richards is
3rd in Goals
1st in Assists
2nd in Points
3rd last in Plus/Minus
5th in Point Shares
3rd in Games Played
Era: Of the 12 players to play in at least 1066 games (13 seasons) between 2000 and 2016, Richards is
9th in Goals and GPG
3rd in Assists and APG
6th in Points
4th in PPG
11th (2nd last) in Plus/Minus
7th in Offensive Point Shares
8th in Defensive Point Shares (7th Forward)
8th in Point Shares
82-game average: 21G, 46A for 68P, -5
3-year peak (2008-11): 82-game average of [oops]
Possession (since 2007; 636 games):
51.5% CF%
0.1 CF% Rel
51.4 FF%
-0.1 FF% Rel
Playoffs:
37G,
68A for
105P,
-13 in
146 Games
Williams:
2000-20; 19 seasons, 15 quality
Totals:
320G
477A for
797P,
+110 in
1264 Games;
89 PS
Draft: Williams, drafted 28th overall in 2000 is
4th in Goals
1st in Assists
2nd in Points
2nd in Plus/Minus
4th in Point Shares (3rd Forward)
1st in Games
Era: Of the 11 players to play in at least 1230 Games (15 seasons) between 2000 and 2020, Williams is
7th in Goals and GPG
7th in Assists and APG
7th in Points and PPG
5th in Plus/Minus
7th in Offensive Point Shares
8th in Defensive Point Shares (6th Forward)
8th in Point Shares
82-game average: 21G, 31A for 52P, +7; 16:53 ATOI
3-year peak (2005-08): 82-game average of 28G, 42A for 70P, -3; 20:41 ATOI
Possession (qualifier is 820 games, which is 85 players):
56.9% Corsi For (2nd)
4.5% Relative Corsi For (6th)
56.6% Fenwick For (2nd)
4.3% Relative Fenwick For (6th)
Playoffs:
41G,
61A for
102P,
+30 in
162 Games
...more
1h 17min
January 31, 2021 Episode 58: Hall of Fame Class of 2001: Festisov, Kurri, Gartner, Hawerchuk
Hall of Fame Class of 2001: Does Fetisov belong in the Hall of Fame? How great was Jari Kurri? Does Mike Gartner actually belong in the HHOF? How great was Dale Hawerchuk (RIP)?
...more
1h 26min
January 16, 2021 Episode 57: Class of 2002: Langway, Federko, Gillies
Hall of Fame Class of 2002: Rod Langway, Bernie Federko, Clark Gillies
...more
1h 34min

FAQs about The Back Check:

How many episodes does The Back Check have?

The podcast currently has 76 episodes available.