#81 - Alex Delvecchio

Alex Delvecchio (Murillo Pyramid Rank = #81)

Adjusted Stats

1950-1951  Det       1 GP      0 goals       0 assists       0 points        0.00 PPG
1951-1952  Det*     76 GP    21 goals     31 assists     51 points      0.67 PPG
1952-1953  Det       82 GP    24 goals     65 assists     89 points      1.08 PPG
1953-1954  Det*     81 GP    17 goals     27 assists     44 points      0.54 PPG
1954-1955  Det*     81 GP    24 goals     44 assists     69 points      0.85 PPG
1955-1956  Det       82 GP    36 goals     37 assists     72 points      0.88 PPG
1956-1957  Det       56 GP    21 goals     33 assists     55 points      0.98 PPG
1957-1958  Det       82 GP    27 goals     49 assists     76 points      0.93 PPG
1958-1959  Det       82 GP    24 goals     43 assists     67 points      0.82 PPG
1959-1960  Det       82 GP    23 goals     34 assists     57 points      0.70 PPG
1960-1961  Det       82 GP    32 goals     42 assists     74 points      0.91 PPG
1961-1962  Det       82 GP    31 goals     51 assists     83 points      1.01 PPG
1962-1963  Det       82 GP    24 goals     53 assists     77 points      0.95 PPG
1963-1964  Det       82 GP    30 goals     39 assists     69 points      0.84 PPG
1964-1965  Det       80 GP    31 goals     53 assists     84 points      1.05 PPG
1965-1966  Det       82 GP    37 goals     45 assists     82 points      1.00 PPG
1966-1967  Det       82 GP    21 goals     46 assists     66 points      0.81 PPG
1967-1968  Det       82 GP    27 goals     59 assists     85 points      1.04 PPG
1968-1969  Det       78 GP    28 goals     65 assists     92 points      1.19 PPG
1969-1970  Det       79 GP    24 goals     54 assists     78 points      0.99 PPG
1970-1971  Det       81 GP    22 goals     35 assists     57 points      0.70 PPG
1971-1972  Det       79 GP    21 goals     47 assists     69 points      0.87 PPG
1972-1973  Det       81 GP    18 goals     52 assists     70 points      0.87 PPG
1973-1974  Det       12 GP    1 goal         4 assists       5 points        0.44 PPG

Adjusted Playoff Stats

1951-1952  Det*     8 GP      0 goals        4 assists      4 points        0.54 PPG
1952-1953  Det       6 GP      2 goals        4 assists      6 points        1.02 PPG
1953-1954  Det*     12 GP    3 goals        9 assists      12 points      0.98 PPG
1954-1955  Det*     11 GP    9 goals        10 assists    18 points      1.67 PPG
1955-1956  Det       10 GP    7 goals        3 assists      10 points      1.00 PPG
1956-1957  Det       5 GP      3 goals        2 assists      5 points        1.00 PPG
1957-1958  Det       4 GP      0 goals        1 assist        1 point         0.23 PPG
1959-1960  Det       6 GP      2 goals        6 assists      8 points        1.38 PPG
1960-1961  Det       11 GP    4 goals        6 assists      10 points      0.92 PPG
1962-1963  Det       11 GP    3 goals        6 assists      9 points        0.81 PPG
1963-1964  Det       14 GP    3 goals        8 assists      12 points      0.83 PPG
1964-1965  Det       7 GP      2 goals        3 assists      5 points        0.78 PPG
1965-1966  Det       12 GP    0 goals        12 assists    12 points      0.97 PPG
1969-1970  Det       4 GP      0 goals        2 assists      2 points      0.46 PPG

Career - 1769 GP, 564 goals, 1008 assists, 1571 points, 0.89 PPG
Career-Highs - 37 goals (65-66); 65 assists (68-69); 92 points (68-69); 1.19 PPG (68-69)
Avg. (23 seasons) - 77 GP, 25 goals, 44 assists, 68 points, 0.89 PPG
Peak Avg. (61-69) - 81 GP, 29 goals, 51 assists, 80 points, 0.98 PPG, 0 Cups

Playoff Career - 121 GP, 38 goals, 76 assists, 114 points, 0.94 PPG
Playoff-Highs - 9 goals (54-55); 10 assists (54-55); 18 points (54-55); 1.67 PPG (54-55)

Accolades - 3 Lady Byng Trophies
All-Star Teams - 2-time 2nd-team
3-time Stanley Cup Champion

Alex Delvecchio was an earlier generation's Ron Francis: he was never (or rarely) considered elite at his position, but he was remarkably durable, and as the seasons wore on, he kept creeping up the career scoring list, despite the fact that no one ever really noticed him. Delvecchio was a class act, much like Francis, and a lifelong Red Wing, so he moves up in my  books perhaps higher than he should be (I have a weakness for players who spent their entire career with one team). He wasn't elite, but he probably makes it onto the second team of the Props For Sticking Around all-star team.

I went back and forth on who to rank higher: Delvecchio, or Sid Abel, who checks in about thirty spots later on the Pyramid. Abel was the Red Wings' #1 center during the early-1950s, when the Wings were tearing up the league, while Delvecchio was more of an excellent second-line center. It was Abel who centered the legendary Production Line with Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay. But in the end, Delvecchio's longevity has to be acknowledged and rewarded: he has 1,571 career adjusted points, putting him eleventh all-time, whereas Abel's peak was far shorter.

Even though Delvecchio's greatest team success came when he was fairly new to the league (in the early 50s), his best years production-wise came centering Gordie Howe throughout the 1960s, after Abel had retired. In the remarkable 1968-1969 season, Delvecchio at 36 had 92 points and was +43, while Howe at 40 had 114 points and was +45. It will be a while before we see two players of that age put up such excellent seasons on the same team.

Delvecchio is like the center version of a Ciccarelli, Gartner or Andreychuk...never blowing anyone away with his peak, but sticking around for so long that the career numbers leap out at you. Normally, I punish players like that and rank them lower, but since the Red Wings saw fit to retire Delvecchio's number (truly an honour considering how storied a franchise they are), and since it's quite clear that Delvecchio was a class act throughout his playing career (judging by the three Lady Byngs), I think it's fair to rank him this high. As with Francis, if you were building a franchise, Delvecchio would be the perfect guy to have as your second-line center.