During the summer months at FanSided NHL, we like to break things up with theme weeks, and this week's focus has been all about records. There are so many different topics that qualify, and one that doesn't get enough mention is Jaromír Jágr's historic 2005-06 season. It is hard to believe that the future Hall of Famer's magical campaign was 20 years ago, and just typing that out makes me feel older than I am, 34 in a few weeks, but who's counting? Anyways... given the season Artemi Panarin had just a few years ago, I thought today was a perfect day to reflect.
Jágr's record setting season will be tough, if not impossible, to top
The 2005-06 season was an interesting time in the NHL, as it saw the league return to action after the 2004-05 season was lost to a lockout. The return to play not only brought the players back, but it incorporated some new rules which helped increase scoring.
The league eliminated the two-line pass rule, the offensive zone got bigger with the goal line and blueline moving back two feet each (four feet increase in total space), it incorporated a trapezoid behind the net to prevent goalies from slowing down the game, and there was an uptick in power plays which led to even more scoring.
During the 2003-04 season, teams averaged 348 power play opportunities over an 82-game season, and that number jumped to 480 in 2005-06. By raw goals, the 2005-06 season had the most total goals at the time (7,443 in 1,230 games) and that equates to 6.05 goals per game.
With all of these factors considered, it makes a lot of sense that Jagr was able to capitalize in the enviroment in which he played, resulting in setting two new franchise records.
Jágr ended the 2005-06 season with 54 goals, 69 assists, and 123 points in 82 games played. He was second in the league in goals and points, and finished third in assists. Prior to Jágr's herculean effort, Adam Graves was the single-season record holder for goals with 52, and Jean Ratelle's 109 point campaign in 1971-72 was the best total scoring season in the history of the Blueshirts.
Jágr is one of the game's best all-time offensive players, but there's reason to believe that his performance was aided by the rule changes and overall environment of the game. For starters, he had not eclipsed 100 points since the 2000-01 season, and it seemed to be all down hill from 2005-06.
The following year he had 96 points in 82 games, and his last year with the Rangers saw him tally 71 points in 82 games. He then went to the KHL for a short stint, and to his credit, he did have two seasons in which he scored 60 or more points... including a 66-point campaign at age 43 with the Florida Panthers.
Artemi Panarin got really close and fell just short
Panarin was one of the most prolific offensive players in Rangers history, and he made two attempts at history for the Rangers. During the 2019-20 season shortened by COVID, he had 32 goals and 95 points through 69 games. If you took his points per game average and projected it over a full season, Panarin was on a 112 point pace. Impressive, but still way short of Jágr's mark.
The 2023-24 season saw Panarin come even closer, and this time he ended on a line of 49-71-120 which saw him fall four points short of the single-season points record, and six goals short of the single-season goals record.
When looking back on his season, Panarin just needed to find a way to be slightly better in order to best Jágr. For example, he had 15 points in nine games to start the season, and then he had 16 points over the next 12 which was technically a dip. He followed that up with 19 points in 14 games, and then 16 points in 14 games. Again, just the slightest of dips in productivity. Then came a late surge that saw 16 points in 11 games, 25 points in 14 games, and finally 13 points in the final eight games of the season.
The month over month differentials show that Panarin was capable of ramping it up, but ultimately he ended within spitting distance of history. Given that Panarin played as well as he did, and still fell short, it is hard to see a talent come along that could make a serious push for Jágr's records. It would require a talent like Connor McDavid or Nikita Kucherov, but the odds of either of them walking through the door anytime soon is as likely as an incumbent on the roster making a run for the records. Not impossible by any stretch... but highly unlikely.
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