HabsCast Hockey Blog

Disclaimer: If your wondering what the “Trap” is… check out this great article.

I was having a friendly discussion about a few players from the 90’s, and why their numbers dropped when they did.

I figured hockey historians might enjoy seeing these numbers.

Before the Trap:

I started during the highest scoring period in hockey History.

1982-83: 11 players had over 100 points. 31 players had over 80 points.
1983-84: 11 players had over 100 points. 41 players had over 80 points.
1984-85: 16 players had over 100 points. 35 players had over 80 points.
1985-86: 13 players had over 100 points. 30 players had over 80 points.
1986-87: 7 players had over 100 points, 21 players had over 80 points.
1987-88: 8 players had over 100 points. 30 players had over 80 points.
1988-89: 9 players had over 100 points. 34 players had over 80 points.
1989-90: 12 players had over 100 points. 36 players had over 80 points
1990-91:10 players had over 100 points. 29 players had over 80 points.
1991-92: 9 players had over 100 points. 28 players had over 80 points.
1992-93: 20 players had over 100 points. 47 players had over 80 points.
1993-94: 8 players had over 100 points. 35 players had over 80 points.
1994-95: Lockout half season
1995-96: 11 players had over 100 points. 33 players had over 80 points.

So the data observed “before the trap” are fairly consistent and are relatively high. Except for the 1 freak scoring year (1992-93)

After the Trap:

1996-97: 2 players had over 100 points. 19 players had over 80 points.
1997-98: 1 player had over 100 points. 9 players had above 80 points.
1998-99: 3 players had over 100 points. 12 players had over 80 points
1999-2000: 0 players had over 100 points. 9 players had over 80 points
2000-01: 2 players had over 100 points. 20 players had over 80 points.
2001-02: 0 players had over 100 points. 4 players had over 80 points.
2002-03: 3 players had over 100 points. 14 players had over 80 points.
2003-04: 0 players had over 100 points. 8 players had over 80 points.
2004-05: Lockout full season

The New “My NHL”:

2005-06: 7 players had over 100 points. 26 players had over 80 points.
2006-07: 7 players had over 100 points. 28 players had over 80 points.

Okay, now we have definitely shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that Clutching, Grabbing and the “Trap” began to affect league scoring precisely in 1996-97. Taking near full effect in 1997-98, and became crippling in the 2001-02 season.

It also shows how the new rules have affected scoring (in a positive way).

[Stats via HFBoards.com]

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