Brett Hull holds franchise records in some of the most absurd stats, but when you dig deep, you'll also find some obscure ones. Take a five-year window and count how many power play goals he scored between 1989-90 and 1993-94, and you'll be blown away.
For one, Hull went five seasons scoring at least 20 goals on the man advantage, leading the league in three of those seasons. And through that span, Hull found the net 130 times at 5-on-4.
Year | Power Play Goals |
|---|---|
1989-90 | 27 |
1990-91 | 29 |
1991-92 | 20 |
1992-93 | 29 |
1993-94 | 25 |
Yeah, in today's game, you got players who put up a solid season if they scored just 20 goals overall, and that's if finding the net isn't their thing. For others, a 29-goal season shows they're an elite player IF they're a playmaker first, scorer second.
And here was Hull, doing this on the power play alone in the late '80s and early-to-mid '90s. While the NHL was a different game then, it still doesn't take away from how impressive these numbers are.
Brett Hull enjoyed legendary statistical seasons with the St. Louis Blues
When fans think of Brett Hull's best season, they often point to 1990-91 when he put up 86 goals. It was one of the three years listed above when he led the league in the power play with 29 goals, and his other 57 came at even strength.
The season before that also saw Hull pace the league when he snagged 27 goals at 5-on-4 and 72 total. While he also led the league with 70 goals in 1991-92, it was his lowwater mark on the power play, putting up just 20 of them.
Ironically, he managed five short-handed goals in 1991-92, something he never accomplished in 1989-90 or 1990-91.
Hull also didn't lead the league on the man advantage in 1991-92, despite scoring on it 29 times. That said, he still managed four more power play goals than he did even strength goals, where he scored 25.
1993-94 saw an inverse, with 25 goals on the power play and 29 of them at even strength. In what's even a more interesting taste of irony, Hull led the league for the third time in five seasons on the power play. It's funny how these stats turn out.
Yet another run that nobody on the Blues will come close to again
Like Brett Hull's 86-goal campaign in 1990-91, nobody on the Blues will score 130 times on the man advantage in five years again. If they did, then I'll probably stop watching hockey since teams will be routinely scoring "touchdowns" on a near game-by-game basis.
That means it's yet another run nobody on the Blues, present or future will come close to. Maybe they'll approach the 20 power-play goal mark from 1991-92, but even then, I doubt they go as far as to sail past it.
This five-year monster run of 20-plus power play goals between 1989-90 and 1993-94 is yet another reason you can chalk up Brett Hull as the best player in St. Louis Blues history.
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