This is a feature that will showcase an NHL record that we believe is unbreakable. Not just "Wayne Gretzky is God" posts, these records will come from a wide range of players.

Record: Most Career PIMs
Holder: Dave "Tiger" Williams with 3,966 PIMs
Record In Perspective:
Willams owns this record, and it will always be his. Spending an average of 4:07 PIM/game in the penalty box, Williams has such a cushion that he is 400 PIMs ahead of a 2nd place Dale Hunter, and has 445 games in hand. HockeyFights.com has him with 229 recorded regular season fights, and you can only imagine how many misconducts are thrown in with those for his career total to reach 66 hours and 6 minutes of penalty minutes and a record that will never be touched.
Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1974-75 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 42 10 19 29 187 7 1 3 4 25 1975-76 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 78 21 19 40 299 10 0 0 0 75 1976-77 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 77 18 25 43 338 9 3 6 9 29 1977-78 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 78 19 31 50 351 12 1 2 3 63 1978-79 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 77 19 20 39 298 6 0 0 0 48 1979-80 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 55 22 18 40 197 -- -- -- -- -- 1979-80 Vancouver Canucks NHL 23 8 5 13 81 3 0 0 0 20 1980-81 Vancouver Canucks NHL 77 35 27 62 343 3 0 0 0 20 1981-82 Vancouver Canucks NHL 77 17 21 38 341 17 3 7 10 116 1982-83 Vancouver Canucks NHL 68 8 13 21 265 4 0 3 3 12 1983-84 Vancouver Canucks NHL 67 15 16 31 294 4 1 0 1 13 1984-85 Detroit Red Wings NHL 55 3 8 11 158 -- -- -- -- -- 1984-85 Los Angeles Kings NHL 12 4 3 7 43 3 0 0 0 4 1985-86 Los Angeles Kings NHL 72 20 29 49 320 -- -- -- -- -- 1986-87 Los Angeles Kings NHL 76 16 18 34 358 5 3 2 5 30 1987-88 Los Angeles Kings NHL 2 0 0 0 6 -- -- -- -- -- 1987-88 Hartford Whalers NHL 26 6 0 6 87 -- -- -- -- -- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NHL Totals 962 241 272 513 3966 83 12 23 35 455
Closest Active Player:
The closest active player to Williams mark is Ian Laperriere at 1,956 PIM, but he hasn't played a game in two years. The next closest active player who is actually playing is Sean O'Donnell in Chicago with 1,803 PIM, a whopping 2,163 PIMs behind Williams.
Why It Won't Be Broken:
Goons are no longer relevant. GM's and the NHL don't tolerate any bullshit in today's NHL so it's safe to say that it would take a miracle for a player to play 1000+ games and average over 300 PIMs a season. Coaches are reluctant to dress enforcers if they're playing teams with nobody to fight (see: Colton Orr) and there is much more emphasis on power forwards who can chip in with some goals (see: David Clarkson). Williams was able to play in the NHL for a long time because he could score goals as well as drop the gloves, and was even selected to an All-Star Game when he scored 35 goals in 1980-81. 20 goal scorers who earn over 300 PIMs a season just don't exist anymore. Williams even got penalties when he wasn't even on the ice!
Definitely untouchable... maybe Zac Rinaldo has a chance at catching him?
ReplyDeleteWon't be touched
ReplyDeleteCan't see any new players getting over 2000 PIMS in a career in the new NHL
It will definitely be hard to beat that, specially with talk of getting rid of fighting in junior hockey.
ReplyDelete@Sam
ReplyDeleteYou're right, not many guys will be breaking the 2000 PIM mark anytime soon and still holding down a job in the NHL