Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

A Review of The NHL In 2022

01/01/2023 at 1:21pm EST

via the NHL PR department,

As we celebrate the start of a new year, here’s an #NHLStats look back at 2022, which saw the most games (1,492 including playoffs) and most comeback wins (648; 43% of all games) in NHL history, and also finished as the highest-scoring year in nearly three decades (6.4 G/GP).

All goals, all the time: There were 8,984 regular-season goals scored across 1,403 games in 2022 (including 97 shootout-deciding goals), the most in a calendar year in League history. The 6.4 goals-per-game rate in 2022 was the highest in a calendar year in nearly 30 years (6.4 G/GP in 1994).


Take off those hats: Fans threw their hats 117 times in 2022 (109 regular-season season, 8 playoffs) – the eighth year in League history with as many and first outside the 1980s. The others: 156 in 1981, 138 in 1988, 126 in 1984, 123 in 1983, 121 in 1985, 121 in 1982 and 118 in 1986.


50-goal scorers galore: Eight players scored 50+ regular-season goals in 2022 (Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, David Pastrnak, Jason Robertson, Kirill Kaprizov, Tage Thompson, Leon Draisaitl & Alex Ovechkin) – the sixth time that has ever happened. The other instances came in 1993 (9), 1992 (9), 1983 (9), 1989 (8) and 1985 (8).

Most 40-goal scorers in NHL history: The NHL had 29 players with 40+ goals in the regular-season in 2022, the most ever (ahead of 27 in 1982).

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Down but not out: A total of 648 games were won in come-from-behind fashion in 2022 with 611 of those coming in the regular season – both totals the most in NHL history. Through the grand total 648 comebacks, fans cheered on 178 multi-goal rallies, were treated to 254 third-period comebacks and saw 63 occur as a multi-goal, third-period comeback (all the highest such totals in League history). The 2022 Stanley Cup Champion Avalanche led the playoffs with 10 comebacks wins, tied for the most in a playoff year in NHL history, and became the first team in NHL history to trail in all four of their series-clinching wins.

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Another year full of offensive output for McDavid: Oilers captain Connor McDavidled all players in regular-season points in 2022, the second straight calendar year he has done so as he matched his 22-point advantage from 2021. Thanks in part to a five-point performance Dec. 30, McDavid became the fifth player in NHL history to record 140+ regular-season points in a calendar year multiple times, following Wayne Gretzky (11x), Phil Esposito (3x), Mario Lemieux (3x) and Jaromir Jagr (2x).


Did someone say 1.71 points per game? Connor McDavid produced at a rate of at least 1.71 points-per-game (67-109—176 in 103 GP, regular season & playoffs combined) for the second straight year after a 1.77 clip in 2021 (53-108—161 in 91 GP). The last player not named McDavid to own a points per game rate above 1.70 was JaromirJagr in 1999 (1.76 P/GP; 68-96—164 in 93 GP). The only other players in League history to produce at a combined rate of 1.70 or higher in consecutive years are Wayne Gretzky (12 straight years from 1980-1991), Mario Lemieux (4 straight years from 1986-1989; 3 straight years from 1991-1993; and 2 straight from 1995-1996) and Phil Esposito (2 straight from 1970-1971).

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800-goal club welcomes third member: Alex Ovechkin made history with a hat trick to hit 800 career goals Dec. 13, making 2022 the third year in NHL history to include a player's 800th goal as he joined Gordie Howe (1980) and Wayne Gretzky (1994) on the exclusive list. The Capitals captain required the fewest games to go from goal No. 700 to goal No. 800 (162 GP). Ten days later, he scored twice in the final game before Christmas to reach 802 career goals and overtake Howe (801). He then went out with a bang by scoring his 30th career regular-season hat trick on New Year’s Eve, boosting his career goal count to 806 – just 88 shy of tying Gretzky (894) for the most in League history. More information on Ovechkin’s historic achievements are available in #NHLStats Packs from when he hit 800 and when he passed Howe.

Another 50+ goal year for No. 8: Ovechkin scored 52 regular-season goals in 2022, the eighth time he has tallied 50+ regular-season goals in a calendar year – tied with MikeBossy for the highest such total in NHL history (ahead of WayneGretzky and MarioLemieux with seven apiece). Other 2022 achievements by Ovechkin included overtaking Jaromir Jagr for third place in League history (March 15), passing Gretzky for the most road goals in League history (Nov. 29) and overtaking GordieHowe for the highest goal total by a player with one franchise (Nov. 5).

ICYMI: Here’s what it looks like to score 800 goals...

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California Dreamin’ goal scorers: Two of the top four regular-season goal scorers in 2022 were born in California: Auston Matthews (San Ramon, Calif.; 1st) and Jason Robertson (Arcadia, Calif.; 4th). Matthews grew up in Arizona and Robertson played minor hockey in the Golden State until he was 10 years old. Matthews became the first U.S.-born player in NHL history to score the most regular-season goals in a calendar year more than once, after also topping the list in 2021. The only other U.S.-born players to finish with the most goals in a calendar year were Pat LaFontaine (1992), John LeClair (1998; tied) and Joe Pavelski (2014).

Sunbelt States take over goals list: Forwards Tage Thompson (Phoenix, Ariz.; 6th) and Matthew Tkachuk (Scottsdale, Ariz.; t-10th) each finished among the top 10 in regular-season goals in 2022, with Thompson’s 53-goal count ranking as the highest ever in a calendar year by a player born in Arizona. Overall, four of the top five U.S.-born goal scorers in 2022 were born in either Arizona or California, with ChrisKreider (Boxford, Mass.) the only exception.


2022-23 Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy winner:AustonMatthews scored 40 goals in his first 46 regular-season games of 2022 en route to becoming the first U.S.-born player in League history to tally 60 in a season (April 26). He finished with 58 regular-season goals overall in 2022 and his 0.70 goals-per-game rate tied DavidPastrnak for the highest in the NHL (min. 30 GP).

45-spot improvement on NHL’s goal list:JasonRobertson finished fourth in the NHL in regular-season goals in 2022, a drastic improvement over 2021 when he finished in a tie for 49th overall with 27 goals in 74 games. In the past 30 years, just six other players age 23 or younger have scored as many goals as Robertson (56 in 89 GP) in a calendar year: Steven Stamkos (61 in 2010), Sidney Crosby (60 in 2010), Alex Ovechkin (60 in 2008), Jaromir Jagr (65 in 1995), Teemu Selanne (69 in 1993) and Pavel Bure (60 in 1992).


Two big years, two big splashes:Matthew Tkachuk (46-75—121 in 87 GP) and Johnny Gaudreau (38-81—119 in 88 GP), who spent the first half of the year as teammates in Calgary before a blockbuster trade and free agent signing, finished second and third, respectively, in regular-season points in 2022. Their totals were the second- and third-highest in a calendar year by a U.S.-born player in NHL history, behind only Pat LaFontaine (61-79—140 in 1992; 79 GP). AustonMatthews (58-57—115 in 83 GP) finished with the fourth-highest total on that list. Gaudreau’s 81 assists were the second-most ever by a U.S.-born player in a calendar year, behind only CraigJanney (82 in 1992).

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Colorado reaches mountaintop in 2022: The Avalanche went 39-11-5 (83 points) from Jan. 1 to the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where they posted a dominant 16-4 record to win their third championship in franchise history. Cale Makaradded a Conn Smythe Trophy to his growing list of NHL achievements, while Joe Sakic was named winner of the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award.

Champs join elite company with 70 wins this year: The Avalanche recorded 74 total wins in 2022 (58 regular season, 16 playoffs), the second-highest combined total in NHL history behind the 2013 Blackhawks (80).

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NHL stages three outdoor games in 2022: The calendar year opened with the Winter Classic at Target Field in Minneapolis between the Blues and Wild – the first NHL outdoor game in front of fans in more than 22 months. Two other outdoor showdowns took place, with the Lightning and Predators meeting in the Stadium Series at Nissan Stadium in Nashville (Feb. 26) and Maple Leafs challenging the Sabres for the Heritage Classic at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton (March 13). At least three more open-air contests are slated for 2023, starting with the 2023 Discover NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 2, followed by the 2023 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series on Feb. 18 and at least one next season after the recent announcement of the 2023 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic on Oct. 29.

2022-23 NHL season opens in Prague: The Predators and Sharks opened the campaign by contesting an NHL Global Series back-to-back at O2 Arena in Prague, Czechia, the League’s first regular-season games played overseas since 2019. Colorado and Columbus also clashed in a doubleheader at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland, less than a month later.

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A milestone year: Sixteen players reached the 1,000-game milestone in 2022, with Kings defenseman AlexanderEdler becoming the last to do so New Year’s Eve. That made 2022 the third calendar year in League history with as many players celebrating that achievement (also 16 in 2009 and 18 in 2002).

Keepin’ it 1,000: Three players reached 1,000 career points in 2022, all of whom happened to do so with one franchise: Nicklas Backstrom (March 9), Patrice Bergeron (Nov. 21) and Steven Stamkos (Dec. 1).

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Multiple record book changes under NHL “Ironman”: After 36 years of Doug Jarvis holding the record for the NHL’s “Ironman”, 2022 saw two players take sole possession of the most consecutive games played with Keith Yandle taking over the record on Jan. 25 and passing it to Phil Kessel on Oct. 25. Kessel also became the first player in NHL history to skate in 1,000 consecutive games and enters 2023 – the 15th calendar year of his streak – with an active run of 1,021 straight contests.

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Atop The Teams: Over 46% of teams (15/32) were led in scoring by a player aged 25 or younger in 2022: Anaheim (Troy Terry: 25), Arizona (Clayton Keller: 24), Buffalo (Tage Thompson: 25), Carolina (Andrei Svechnikov: 22), Columbus (Patrik Laine: 24), Dallas (Jason Robertson: 23), Edmonton (Connor McDavid: 25), Minnesota (Kirill Kaprizov: 25), Montreal (Nick Suzuki: 23), New Jersey (Jack Hughes: 21), Ottawa (Brady Tkachuk: 23), Philadelphia (Travis Konecny: 25), St. Louis (Robert Thomas: 23), Toronto (Mitchell Marner: 25) and Vancouver (Elias Pettersson: 24).

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Competitive balance is the name of the game in the NHL: A total of 29 of 32 teams have held a playoff spot in 2022 (min. 10 GP). As of games played through Dec. 31, 21 of 32 teams (65.6%) are above .500-point percentage this season.

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Save it for Igor: Call it a breakout year for Igor Shesterkin, who became the third Rangers goaltender to win the Vezina Trophy and ranked tied for the second most regular-season wins among all goaltenders in 2022 (with Linus Ullmark) – the list is topped by Jake Oettinger, who joined Terry Sawchuk (44 in 1951), Jonathan Quick (40 in 2009), Mike Liut (40 in 1980) and Roger Crozier (40 in 1965) as the fifth netminder in NHL history with 40 or more in a calendar year before age 25. Shesterkin (6) also had the highest save percentage (min. 10 GP) and was tied for third in shutouts behind Darcy Kuemper (8) and Ilya Sorokin (7).

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Red hot finish: On Jan 1, 2022, three months into the 2021-22 season, the Devils had 29 points to rank seventh in the Metropolitan Division and 25th in the League. Fast forward nearly 12 months and New Jersey has 48 points so far in 2022-23 to sit second in its division and sixth in the NHL. The club was propelled by a 13-game winning streak, which tied the longest in franchise history; their longest win streak in 2021-22 was three straight victories.

News on Hughes:Jack Hughes led all Devils players in goals and points in 2022. Hughes became the fourth player in NHL history to lead their team in points during a winning streak of at least 10 games at age 21 or younger. The others: Stephane Richer, Tyler Seguin and Aleksander Barkov.

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Unprecedented Year for Women in the Game: 2022 was a monumental year of change to the landscape of hockey, one that saw multiple teams name their first female assistant general manager, scouts and player development roles be filled, along with a full-time member of the coaching staff. Prior to 2022, no woman had held the role of assistant general manager, now there are six: Emilie Castonguay (VAN), Cammi Granato (VAN), Meghan Hunter (CHI), Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser (TOR), Kate Madigan (NJD) and Alexandra Mandrycky (SEA). Full details of a year that features more women in hockey operations than ever before can be found here.

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NHL Edge Tracking Technology: As of Dec. 19, the hardest shot in a regular-season game in 2022 was by Tage Thompson (101.69 mph) on Nov. 8. The longest distance travelled in a regular-season game that ended in regulation was by Thomas Chabot (24,747.67 ft) on March 14 and when including contests that required overtime, Connor McDavid skated the longest distance at 28,312.67 feet Dec. 15. McDavid also had the most total distance skated by a player in regular-season games at 1,609,733.65 feet.

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U.S. Media Deals Drive Fan Engagement: Year one of the League’s landmark media deals with ESPN (Walt Disney Company) and TNT (Warner Bros. Discovery) included more games available to fans and saw higher ratings (record-setting in some cases):

* The 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs had expansive reach with 65.9M fans watching all or part of the playoffs across North America.

* The 2021-22 NHL Regular Season was the most-watched since 2016-17 and the most-watched full season on cable since the 1993-94 season.

* On cable (ESPN/TNT), female viewership during the 2021-22 regular season was up 61% from the previous season.

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Business is booming: The business of the NHL is stronger than ever, with revenues for the 2021-22 season at a record high ($5.4 billion):

Huge roster of Corporate Partners (70): The League has renewed and signed new corporate partnerships over the last 18 months valued at three quarters of a billion dollars, and has a roster of more than 70 corporate partners, with new partners including BioSteel, Caterpillar and Hyundai.

Jersey Sponsor Branding Program Begins: The NHL launched its Jersey Sponsor Branding program at the start of the 2022-23 season, which allows for Clubs to secure deals for jersey advertising partners and creating new revenue opportunities. To date, 12 Clubs have announced deals (Washington, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Vegas, St. Louis, Minnesota, Montreal, Winnipeg, Arizona, Boston, Toronto and Florida) with more to come in 2023.

Reverse Retro 2022: Building on the success of the 2020 Reverse Retro program, adidas and the NHL collaborated with all 32 teams to design Reverse Retro 2022 jerseys that call back to unique historic moments in each Club’s history. Fueled by adidas Reverse Retro matchup nights and designs and colors never seen before on the ice, the new collection quickly became a top-selling item of the year.

“The Next Golden Era is Now” Campaign: The NHL launched a new creative ad campaign for the 2022-23 season. “The Next Golden Era Is Now” campaign showcases the players and playing styles that make today’s game exciting and competitive and inspire young and burgeoning hockey players. The spots remind fans to appreciate the moment when it’s happening.

Debut of Digitally Enhanced Dasherboards: A first-of-its-kind approach to dynamic dasherboard advertising was launched at the start of the 2022-23 season, The DED technology allows for the digital replacement of camera-visible arena dasherboards within local, national, and international NHL game broadcasts, ushering in the next wave of innovation to create new opportunities for Clubs and League business partners. DED offer a clearer and less-cluttered viewing experience, more creative flexibility, and additional activations to engage fans.

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NHL EDGE (Puck and Player Tracking Technology) Enters Next Phase: With all 32 arenas equipped with and utilizing the NHL’s Puck and Player Tracking Technology, NHL EDGE was introduced as the system’s umbrella brand in the 2021-22 season, and the League’s blue-chip technology partners (AWS, Apple, SAP, Sportradar, Rogers and Verizon), broadcast partners, Clubs and key stakeholders began leveraging the data to create new metrics and digital experiences, driving fan engagement and generating monetization opportunities. The system received a prestigious Alpha Award for Best Sports Innovation at the 2022 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, recognizing not only the design and architecture of the NHL EDGE technology solution, but the impact it has on the sport.

Implementation of 5G Infrastructure In-Arena: Another pillar of the NHL’s technology strategy is the deployment of 5G technology in NHL arenas. To date, 20 U.S. NHL arenas have Verizon 5G solutions and four Canadian NHL arenas have Rogers 5G network installed. The 5G technology will allow the NHL and its partners to capture, curate, and distribute new content & experiences to enhance the NHL fan experience both inside and outside of the arena.

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About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

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