#64 - Dickie Moore

Dickie Moore (Murillo Pyramid Rank = #64)

Adjusted Stats

1951-1952  Mtl       39 GP   25 goals   21 assists   46 points      1.18 PPG
1952-1953  Mtl*     21 GP   3 goals     9 assists     12 points      0.57 PPG
1953-1954  Mtl       15 GP   2 goals     6 assists     8 points        0.49 PPG
1954-1955  Mtl       78 GP   23 goals   29 assists   51 points      0.66 PPG
1955-1956  Mtl*     82 GP   16 goals   55 assists   71 points      0.87 PPG
1956-1957  Mtl*     82 GP   39 goals   39 assists   78 points      0.95 PPG
1957-1958  Mtl*     82 GP   46 goals   62 assists   108 points    1.32 PPG
1958-1959  Mtl*     82 GP   51 goals   68 assists   119 points    1.45 PPG
1959-1960  Mtl*     73 GP   27 goals   51 assists   78 points      1.08 PPG
1960-1961  Mtl       67 GP   42 goals   41 assists   83 points      1.24 PPG
1961-1962  Mtl       67 GP   23 goals   26 assists   49 points      0.73 PPG
1962-1963  Mtl       78 GP   29 goals   31 assists   61 points      0.77 PPG
1964-1965  Tor       45 GP   3 goals     5 assists     8 points        0.17 PPG
1967-1968  Stl        30 GP   6 goals     4 assists     10 points      0.33 PPG

Adjusted Playoff Stats

1951-1952  Mtl        11 GP   1 goal      1 assist      3 points        0.26 PPG
1952-1953  Mtl*      12 GP   3 goals     2 assists    5 points        0.43 PPG
1953-1954  Mtl        11 GP   7 goals     10 assists  17 points      1.54 PPG
1954-1955  Mtl        12 GP   1 goal       6 assists    7 points        0.61 PPG
1955-1956  Mtl*      10 GP   3 goals     6 assists     9 points       0.90 PPG
1956-1957  Mtl*      10 GP   3 goals     7 assists     10 points     1.00 PPG
1957-1958  Mtl*      10 GP   4 goals     6 assists     10 points     1.00 PPG
1958-1959  Mtl*      11 GP   5 goals     11 assists   16 points     1.45 PPG
1959-1960  Mtl*      8 GP     6 goals     4 assists     10 points     1.29 PPG
1960-1961  Mtl        6 GP     3 goals     1 assist       4 points       0.75 PPG
1961-1962  Mtl        6 GP     4 goals     2 assists      6 points      0.99 PPG
1962-1963  Mtl        5 GP     0 goals     1 assist       1 point        0.20 PPG
1964-1965  Tor        5 GP     1 goal      1 assist       2 points       0.44 PPG
1967-1968  Stl         18 GP    7 goals    7 assists     14 points     0.78 PPG

Career - 841 GP, 335 goals, 447 assists, 782 points, 0.93 PPG
Career-Highs - 51 goals (58-59); 68 assists (58-59); 119 points (58-59); 1.45 PPG (58-59)
Avg. (14 seasons) - 60 GP, 24 goals, 32 assists, 56 points, 0.93 PPG
Peak Avg. (55-63) - 77 GP, 34 goals, 47 assists, 81 points, 1.06 PPG, 5 Cups

Playoff Career - 135 GP, 48 goals, 65 assists, 114 points, 0.84 PPG
Playoff-Highs - 7 goals (53-54); 11 assists (58-59); 17 points (53-54); 1.54 PPG (53-54)

Accolades - 2 Art Ross Trophies
All-Star Teams - 2-time 1st-team, 1-time 2nd-team
6-time Stanley Cup Champion

Dickie Moore's regular-season offensive numbers wouldn't appear to put him among the elite at left-wing, so I was surprised when The Hockey News ranked him as the fourth-best LW in history. Another case of nostalgia? In this case, no, because while Moore's offensive averages for his career are underwhelming (he has the lowest points-per-season average of any non-defenceman on the Pyramid), the peak of his career was transcendent.

Two anecdotal points about Moore that I can't confirm or deny: those who saw him play say that he was, in an intangible way, the "straw that stirred the drink" with those great Montreal Canadiens teams of the late-1950s. Beliveau and Harvey may have gotten more press, but Moore apparently could both agitate his opponents and pot a timely goal when needed. The other point is that Moore's career was significantly hampered by injuries...multiple leg injuries and a concussion. One of his nicknames was "Wounded Knees", never a good sign.

Nevertheless, his five-year peak coincided with the Habs' five straight championships. He won two scoring titles during that stretch, including a remarkable 1958-1959 season, in which he had 119 adjusted points. To compare that to other great LW's career-high: Ovechkin had 124, Bucyk 120, Bobby Hull 119. At his best, Moore was right along with them (although he's ranked lower because his dominant stretch wasn't as long).

No need to dwell on Moore's brief stints with the Maple Leafs and Blues. Here's why he belongs this high on the Pyramid (even if it's not quite as high as The Hockey News had him): for five straight years, Moore averaged 90 points in the regular season and won the Stanley Cup each of those years on one of the greatest teams ever assembled (Beliveau, Harvey, Plante, Geoffrion, the two Richards). And most importantly, during the five championship runs, Moore had 55 adjusted points in 49 playoff games, including a remarkable 16 in 11 games during the 1959 playoffs. So while Moore's career numbers may not be there with Robitaille, Shanahan, Bucyk, etc., he accomplished everything that needs to be accomplished within the game.