Frank Mahovlich (Murillo Pyramid Rank = #34)
Adjusted Stats
1956-1957 Tor 3 GP 1 goal 0 assists 1 point 0.38 PPG
1957-1958 Tor 78 GP 26 goals 21 assists 46 points 0.59 PPG
1958-1959 Tor 74 GP 27 goals 34 assists 61 points 0.82 PPG
1959-1960 Tor 82 GP 22 goals 26 assists 48 points 0.58 PPG
1960-1961 Tor 82 GP 58 goals 43 assists 101 points 1.23 PPG
1961-1962 Tor* 82 GP 39 goals 45 assists 85 points 1.04 PPG
1962-1963 Tor* 78 GP 44 goals 45 assists 88 points 1.13 PPG
1963-1964 Tor* 82 GP 34 goals 38 assists 71 points 0.87 PPG
1964-1965 Tor 69 GP 29 goals 35 assists 64 points 0.92 PPG
1965-1966 Tor 80 GP 38 goals 28 assists 66 points 0.83 PPG
1966-1967 Tor* 74 GP 22 goals 34 assists 56 points 0.75 PPG
1967-1968 Tor/Det 70 GP 32 goals 32 assists 64 points 0.91 PPG
1968-1969 Det 82 GP 55 goals 32 assists 87 points 1.06 PPG
1969-1970 Det 80 GP 43 goals 37 assists 80 points 1.00 PPG
1970-1971 Det/Mtl* 77 GP 32 goals 44 assists 76 points 0.99 PPG
1971-1972 Mtl 80 GP 45 goals 56 assists 101 points 1.27 PPG
1972-1973 Mtl* 82 GP 38 goals 54 assists 92 points 1.12 PPG
1973-1974 Mtl 75 GP 31 goals 50 assists 81 points 1.08 PPG
Adjusted Playoff Stats
1958-1959 Tor 12 GP 6 goals 5 assists 10 points 0.86 PPG
1959-1960 Tor 10 GP 3 goals 1 assist 4 points 0.41 PPG
1960-1961 Tor 5 GP 1 goal 1 assist 2 points 0.45 PPG
1961-1962 Tor* 12 GP 6 goals 6 assists 12 points 0.99 PPG
1962-1963 Tor* 9 GP 0 goals 2 assists 2 points 0.22 PPG
1963-1964 Tor* 14 GP 4 goals 12 assists 16 points 1.13 PPG
1964-1965 Tor 6 GP 0 goals 3 assists 3 points 0.55 PPG
1965-1966 Tor 4 GP 1 goal 0 assists 1 point 0.26 PPG
1966-1967 Tor* 12 GP 3 goals 7 assists 10 points 0.86 PPG
1969-1970 Det 4 GP 0 goals 0 assists 0 points 0.00 PPG
1970-1971 Mtl* 20 GP 13 goals 12 assists 25 points 1.24 PPG
1971-1972 Mtl 6 GP 3 goals 2 assists 5 points 0.78 PPG
1972-1973 Mtl* 17 GP 8 goals 12 assists 20 points 1.20 PPG
1973-1974 Mtl 6 GP 1 goal 2 assists 3 points 0.49 PPG
Career - 1330 GP, 616 goals, 654 assists, 1268 points, 0.95 PPG
Career-Highs - 58 goals (60-61); 56 assists (71-72); 101 points (71-72); 1.27 PPG (71-72)
Avg. (17 seasons) - 78 GP, 36 goals, 38 assists, 75 points, 0.95 PPG
Peak Avg. (66-74) - 78 GP, 37 goals, 42 assists, 80 points, 1.03 PPG, 3 Cups
Playoff Career - 137 GP, 49 goals, 65 assists, 113 points, 0.82 PPG
Playoff-Highs - 13 goals (70-71); 12 assists (63-64); 25 points (70-71); 1.24 PPG (70-71)
Accolades - Calder Trophy
All-Star Teams - 3-time 1st-team, 6-time 2nd-team
6-time Stanley Cup Champion
There is a case to be made that Frank Mahovlich is the greatest player to ever play for the Toronto Maple Leafs (the only legitimate competition among forwards might be Mats Sundin, and I'll give the edge to Mahovlich for playing at LW and winning multiple championships). That Mahovlich might rank somewhere between 25th and 35th on my list of the all-time great players and is topped by about six or seven Montreal Canadiens tells you all you need to know about the differences between the two franchises.
That is not to detract from Mahovlich. Many people believe that, had he been properly managed in Toronto, he would have achieved heights comparable to Bobby Hull. The iron-fisted Punch Imlach insisted on running a defensive-oriented team in Toronto, and although that resulted in a decent amount of Cup championships for the Leafs (something about that sentence seems strange), it no doubt cost Mahovlich further glory in the stats department. As per usual in Toronto, the fans didn't seem to appreciate what they had in front of them (think Mats Sundin 35 years later)...whenever he didn't score, the fans booed mercilessly. Imlach and later Harold Ballard treated Mahovlich with a level of disrespect unbecoming of the man who was their best player during four championship runs (the last that the franchise would ever have, by the way).
And so Mahovlich ended up with the Detroit Red Wings, and later the Montreal Canadiens, where in the final eight years of his career he would score at a better rate than he ever had with the Leafs. What's that, you say? The Maple Leafs treating a player poorly and then watcing as he went on to success with another franchise? The more things change, I suppose, the more they stay the same. The only difference is that Mahovlich at least had achieved championship success with the Leafs before being shipped off.
When you consider that Mahovlich was averaging 35+ goals and 80+ points in the supposed "twilight" of his career, one shudders to think about the numbers he could have put up with a more supportive organization. Still, we have glimmers: 58 goals and 101 points in 1960-61, and other seasons of 44, 39 and 38 goals. Interestingly, three of his 40+ goal seasons came after leaving Toronto, as did two more championships, these coming in the post-expansion era with Montreal.
Despite the fact that Mahovlich, by all accounts a true gentleman and class act, was reigned in with the Leafs, his accomplishments are still excellent. Six Stanley Cup championships, four during his peak, 616 career goals and 1268 points, both in the top ten among left-wingers. Three times he was named the league's best left-winger, and another six made the second All-Star team. No doubt Mahovlich would have had eight or nine first-team appearances if he hadn't had the misfortune of being in the league at the same time as Bobby Hull. Still, Mahovlich will probably take his six Cup rings to Hull's one as consolation.
So Mahovlich is one of the top five left-wingers of all-time, no question. If for no other reason (and there are plenty of other reasons), Mahovlich earns a place on my list for being one of the best players on the last Toronto Maple Leafs team to carry Lord Stanley's Cup. That is surely worth something.
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