Ranking Every NHL Rookie of the Year (1980s)

 

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10. Steve Larmer (1982-83)

Larmer grabbed the Calder Trophy in 1982-83 as a member of the Chicago Black Hawks (now Chicago Blackhawks), scoring 43 goals and 47 assists. Larmer carved out an impressive Hall of Very Good-level career in the NHL, capturing 441 goals and 571 assists for a total of 1,012 points. His career-best season occurred in 1990-91, as he put up 44 goals and 57 helpers for 101 points. Most of his 1,006 career games came with the Blackhawks, though his brief stint with the New York Rangers enabled him to lift the Stanley Cup in 1994 before retiring one season later. The fact that Larmer takes the bottom spot on this list despite his strong numbers tells you how immensely talented the entire 1980’s rookie class was.

9. Gary Suter (1985-86)

Suter claimed the Calder in 1985-86 with the Calgary Flames, contributing 18 goals and 50 assists as a defenseman in addition to a plus/minus rating of +11. He would improve on that mark in the 1987-88 season for the best showing of his career, adding 21 goals and 70 assists to go along with an impressive +39 plus/minus, finishing the season as a Norris Trophy finalist. The next season, Suter was credited with a Stanley Cup title, though he only played in five games during that playoff run due to a broken jaw. Playing a significant number of games for the Flames, Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks, Suter retired after the 2001-02 season with 203 goals and 641 assists for 844 points. In 1,145 games, Suter also had a career plus/minus of +126.

8. Peter Stastny (1980-81)

The first of several Hall of Famers on this list, Stastny made a big impression on the NHL right after defecting from his native Czechoslovakia, winning the Calder in 1980-81 with the Quebec Nordiques (now Colorado Avalanche) with 39 goals and 70 helpers. He followed the successful rookie campaign up with a career year the following season, getting 46 goals and an outstanding 93 assists to finish fourth in Hart Trophy voting for MVP. For much of the 80’s, Stastny consistently put up over 100 points per season as the NHL’s offensive boom period was in full swing. As the Nordiques hit rock bottom in the early 1990s, Stastny was traded to the New Jersey Devils, but was unable to reach the same level of production he had in Quebec City. He retired after the 1994-95 campaign as one of the best players to never appear in a Stanley Cup Final, amassing 450 goals and 789 assists for 1,239 points in 977 career games. Regardless, Stastny was named a first-ballot inductee to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998.

7. Dale Hawerchuk (1981-82)

The first overall pick of the 1981 draft, Hawerchuk immediately proved that he was worthy of the selection, winning the Calder in 1981-82 with 45 goals and 58 assists for the original Winnipeg Jets. After two more strong seasons, Hawerchuk had his career year in 1984-85, nabbing 53 goals and 77 assists for a stellar 130 points, finishing second in the Hart Trophy race to none other than Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers. Although he was never named a Hart finalist again, Hawerchuk still contributed excellent scoring totals for the remainder of his career, particularly in assists as he had at least 50 assists in every season from 1981-82 through 1993-94. In his final season before retiring, Hawerchuk finally had the chance to play in the Stanley Cup Finals during his brief stint with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1997, but they came up short against the Detroit Red Wings. Playing primarily for the Jets and Buffalo Sabres, Hawerchuk claimed 518 goals and 891 assists for 1,409 points in 1,188 games played. In 2001, Hawerchuk was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, before his #10 jersey was officially retired by the team succeeding the original Jets, the Phoenix Coyotes, in 2007. In addition, he entered the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame in 2012 as well as the current Winnipeg Jets Hall of Fame in 2017, though he never played for the latter franchise.

6. Joe Nieuwendyk (1987-88)

Nieuwendyk burst onto the scene in the 1987-88 season, earning Calder honors with 51 goals and 41 assists as a member of the Calgary Flames. He matched his 51-goal mark in 1988-89, but the 1989 playoffs would be where he really came through for the team. He had a multi-goal game in the Flames’ 3-1 conference-winning match against the Chicago Blackhawks, enabling them to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals. Although Nieuwendyk only scored a goal and an assist in the Finals, he still captured his first title as Calgary knocked out the Montreal Canadiens in six games.

After being a solid scoring threat throughout the early 1990s, Nieuwendyk was traded to the newly-relocated Dallas Stars prior to the 1995-96 campaign. He maintained about the same level of play for his first four seasons with the team, but he would find another gear during the 1999 playoffs. Throughout the postseason, Nieuwendyk had a total of three multi-goal games (including game three of the Finals) as the Stars took down the Sabres in six games for their first Stanley Cup in franchise history and Nieuwendyk’s second. The Stars would make it to the Finals again in 2000, but were unable to complete the back-to-back run as they were defeated by the Devils.

Speaking of which, Nieuwendyk would eventually be traded to the Devils at the trade deadline of the 2001-02 season, though he remained in New Jersey for the 2002-03 campaign. This turned out to be a wise decision, as they went on to reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the third time in eight years. Although Nieuwendyk was injured before the Finals began, he scored three goals and six assists in the previous rounds and was credited with his third Stanley Cup as the Devils eliminated the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (now Anaheim Ducks) in seven games. This not only gave him the distinction of winning three Stanley Cups with three different teams, but also winning each Cup in a different decade. Nieuwendyk announced his retirement during the 2006-07 season, finishing with 564 goals and 562 assists for 1,126 points in 1,257 games to go along with his three championships. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011, with his #25 jersey being officially retired by the Calgary Flames in 2014.

5. Luc Robitaille (1986-87)

After being drafted to little fanfare in the ninth round of the 1984 draft by the Los Angeles Kings, Robitaille showed every other team that they made a mistake in the 1986-87 season, winning the Calder with 45 goals and 39 assists. He went even further in 1987-88, improving to 53 goals and 58 assists for his first of many first-team All-Star nominations. Robitaille’s second such honor came the very next season, scoring 46 goals and 52 assists as the Kings suddenly became a serious Stanley Cup threat with Wayne Gretzky also on the roster. In 1989-90, Robitaille potted 52 goals and 49 assists to earn the first-team All-Star award yet again, as the following season saw him win it for the fourth consecutive year with 45 goals and 46 helpers.

Despite getting an impressive 44 goals and 63 assists in 1991-92, Robitaille’s first-team All-Star streak came to an end, though if there was any doubt that came of this, it was promptly washed away in 1992-93. That season, Robitaille posted a career-high 63 goals, while his 62 assists was just one off of the personal best he set the previous season. The dominance carried over into the playoffs, as he and the Kings pushed their way into the Stanley Cup Finals, but were defeated by the Montreal Canadiens in five games. Unfortunately, the 1992-93 campaign would be the last of Robitaille’s five first-team All-Star seasons, though he consistently posted good scoring totals for most of the second half of his career. His most notable late-career regular season showing was in 2000-01 (still with the Kings), as he contributed 51 assists for the fifth 50-assist season of his career.

In 2001-02, Robitaille found himself on the Detroit Red Wings, who easily took the Western Conference’s #1-seed in the playoffs. Although Robitaille was not as big of a contributor to the 2002 run as he had been for Los Angeles in 1993, the Red Wings still took care of business with a five-game Finals win over the Carolina Hurricanes to give Robitaille his first Stanley Cup ring. He eventually retired after the 2005-06 season, claiming 668 goals and 726 assists for 1,394 points in 1,431 games played, over 1,000 of which coming as a member of the Kings. Robitaille’s #20 jersey was officially retired by the Los Angeles Kings in 2007, as he would join the Hockey Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 2009.

4. Brian Leetch (1988-89)

Leetch earned the Calder in 1988-89 as a defenseman for the New York Rangers, getting 23 goals and 48 assists with a +8 plus/minus rating in 68 games. He would face a sophomore slump the next season, but quickly shook it off in 1990-91 after claiming 16 goals and a whopping 72 assists with all 80 games played, taking a +2 plus/minus in the process. This effort was good enough for a fourth-place spot in the Norris Trophy voting for the league’s top defenseman, but he would win the award himself in 1991-92. Nabbing 22 goals and a career-best 80 assists, Leetch was the last defenseman to score 100 points in a season until Erik Karlsson did so for the San Jose Sharks in 2022-23. If that wasn’t enough, Leetch also posted a plus/minus of +25 while playing in all 80 games.

While the individual accolades were great, Leetch and the Rangers still had work to do in ending the team’s decades-long championship drought. After a tough preceding year for the Rangers, Leetch and the team came back strong as ever in the 1993-94 season as he had a career-high 23 goals to go along with 56 assists, while his +28 plus/minus in all 84 games allowed him to finish fifth in the Norris race. As the Rangers easily made the playoffs with the best record in the NHL, Leetch went off in the postseason as he collected 11 goals and a playoff-leading 23 assists, with his spectacular +19 plus/minus also leading the postseason field. The Rangers defeated the Vancouver Canucks in seven games to win the Stanley Cup Finals, as Leetch was also awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

In the 1995-96 season, Leetch emerged as a Norris finalist once again, finishing third with 15 goals and 70 assists after playing in all 82 games, holding a +12 plus/minus as well. He built off of that in 1996-97 as he not only picked up the first-team All-Star for the second time in his career, but also claimed his second Norris Trophy with 20 goals and 58 assists in all 82 games, taking an outstanding +31 plus/minus along the way. Leetch finished inside the top-five in Norris voting one more time in 2001-02 before his retirement following the 2005-06 season. The 1994 Stanley Cup champ wrapped up his brilliant career with 247 goals and 781 assists for 1,028 points in 1,205 games, all but 76 played as a Ranger. Before his Hockey Hall of Fame induction in 2009, Leetch’s #2 jersey was officially retired by the New York Rangers in 2008.

3. Tom Barrasso (1983-84)

Starting his NHL career at just 18 years old, Barrasso proved that the competition was not too tough for him, winning the Calder in the 1983-84 season despite playing in just 42 games for the Buffalo Sabres. In the games he did play, however, Barrasso was as close to a brick wall as one could hope for in the offense-dominated league at the time, taking 26 wins along with a .893 save percentage and a pair of shutouts to take a first-team All-Star spot and the Vezina Trophy for the league’s best goaltender. He followed it up the next season with 25 victories and a league-leading five shutouts in 54 games, taking a .887 SV% to win the Jennings Trophy in addition to a runner-up spot in the Vezina race.

Still with the Sabres (though not for long) in 1987-88, Barrasso was a Vezina finalist once again after winning 25 games and two shutouts for a .896 SV% in 54 appearances. Just 17 games into the 1988-89 campaign, Buffalo sent their veteran netminder to the Penguins in a trade which soon paid dividends for the Steel City. In 1990-91, Barrasso got 27 wins in just 48 games during the regular season, with the Penguins in the postseason after claiming the Patrick Division title. Splitting some of the net with backup goaltender Frank Pietrangelo, Barrasso got 12 of the team’s 16 wins on the path to Pittsburgh’s first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history. In the team’s six-game set against the upstart Minnesota North Stars (now Dallas Stars), Barrasso posted an impressive .930 save percentage.

There was no championship hangover for Barrasso in 1991-92, with the Boston native taking 25 wins in 57 games as the Penguins were in the playoffs once again. While they came up short of the division title this time around, Pittsburgh was still a formidable playoff opponent with Barrasso being a big part of that, winning all 16 games and being pulled from the net in favor of backup Ken Wregget only once. The Penguins swept the Blackhawks in four games to secure back-to-back Stanley Cups, with Barrasso getting a .908 SV% including a shutout in game three. The Penguins had their strongest regular season effort in franchise history during the 1992-93 season, as they went on a record-breaking 17-game winning streak lasting from March 9^th to April 14^th, 1993. The record has not been surpassed as of this writing, as Barrasso started 14 of those games while maintaining a .923 SV% during that span. Thanks in large part to this stretch, Barrasso led the NHL with 43 wins as he took another runner-up finish in the Vezina voting.

After a couple of injury-plagued seasons severely limited his playing time, Barrasso had an exceptional bounceback season in 1997-98. Getting 31 wins in 63 appearances, he also captured a career-high .922 SV% to become a Vezina finalist for the fifth time in his career. While injuries caught up with him in the latter part of his career, leading to his retirement after the 2002-03 season, Barrasso amassed 369 victories, 38 shutouts and a career .892 save percentage in 777 games (primarily for the Sabres and Penguins) to go along with his two Stanley Cup rings. Despite having a notoriously frosty relationship with the media, Barrasso was finally inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2023.

2. Ray Bourque (1979-80)

Bourque took home the Calder Trophy shortly after being drafted eighth overall by the Boston Bruins, scoring 17 goals and 48 assists in all 80 games with an incredible +52 plus/minus that would remain his personal best for the remainder of his career. However, don’t let that trick you into thinking he never reached those heights again, as Bourque had much more left after placing fourth for the Norris. In 1981-82, he would officially be a Norris finalist with 17 goals and 49 points with +21 p/m in 65 games. This set off a string of four consecutive years as a Norris finalist. After nabbing 22 goals and 51 assists with a +49 p/m in 65 games, Bourque came right back in 1983-84 with a career-high 31 goals along with 65 assists in 78 games with a +51 p/m mark. In the 1984-85 season, Bourque put up 20 goals and 66 helpers, claiming a +30 p/m in 73 games played.

After several years of being forced to settle for second fiddle, Bourque broke through for the first of many Norris awards in 1986-87, with this season also earning him a first-team All-Star for the first time as well as he had 23 goals and 72 assists with a +44 p/m in 78 games. Bourque kept up the momentum in 1987-88 with another Norris title, thanks to his 17 goals and 64 assists for a +34 p/m in 78 games. The Bruins made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, but lost to the Oilers in four complete games with one game suspended with the score tied 3-3 due to a power outage. The 1989-90 season played out a lot like 1987-88 for Bourque and company, as Bourque grabbed his third Norris Trophy and finished second for the Hart Trophy just as he had two years earlier. With Bourque taking 19 goals and 65 assists with a +31 p/m for another first-team All-Star nod, the Bruins embarked on a rematch with the Oilers in the 1990 Finals, but lost in five games.

Bourque grabbed back-to-back Norris Trophies thanks to 21 goals and a career-high 73 assists in 76 games with a +33 p/m rating to take another first-team All-Star. He came up just short of a third straight Norris in 1991-92, getting 21 markers and 60 assists with a +11 p/m in the full 80 games, but received quite the consolation prize as he was awarded the King Clancy Trophy for overall leadership. Bourque settled for runner-up again in 1992-93 after scoring 19 goals and 63 assists in 78 games for a +38 p/m, but would reclaim his Norris title the next season as well as first-team All-Star honors with 20 goals, 71 assists and a +26 p/m in 72 games played.

While a lockout shortened the 1994-95 season, Bourque still made the most of it with 12 goals and 31 assists in 46 games, taking a +3 p/m for his 12^th career selection as a Norris finalist. Playing in all 82 games of the 1995-96 campaign, he compiled 20 goals and 62 assists with +31 p/m to earn another runner-up spot in the Norris voting, but would miss 20 games in 1996-97 as the Bruins ended up finishing dead last in the NHL standings. He recovered to play in all 82 games in 1997-98, then got back into the Norris finalist rhythm with 10 goals and 47 assists in 1998-99.

At the trade deadline of the 1999-2000 season, Bourque was traded to the Colorado Avalanche and stayed with the club for the 2000-01 campaign. In his lone full season in Colorado, Bourque maximized the opportunity with seven goals and 52 assists with a +25 p/m in 80 games, capturing the runner-up spot in the Norris voting once again. The Avalanche claimed the best record in the league thanks in large part to Bourque’s contributions, but work was still left to be done. In the playoffs, Bourque worked his magic with four goals and six assists with a +9 p/m, culminating in his first Stanley Cup victory in what would be his final season, as Colorado took down the Devils in seven games. This led to one of the most emotional celebrations in Stanley Cup history, as team captain Joe Sakic handed the trophy to Bourque so he would be the first to lift it. In 1,612 career games, over 1,500 of which coming with the Bruins, Bourque scored 410 goals and 1,169 assists for 1,579 total points, along with a career plus/minus of +527 and a Stanley Cup title. His #77 jersey was officially retired by the Bruins in 2001, while the Avalanche also retired his #77 despite playing less than 100 regular season contests with the team. Obviously, Bourque was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 2004.

1. Mario Lemieux (1984-85)

After being taken with the first overall pick of the 1984 draft amidst a ton of hype, Lemieux showed why this was the case in 1984-85 as he scored 43 goals and 57 assists in his Calder-winning debut season. His stats jumped off the page even more in the 1985-86 season, getting 48 goals and 93 assists to finish second in Hart Trophy voting. However, Lemieux would break through in 1987-88, winning the Hart handily with a league-leading 70 goals along with 98 helpers to win the Art Ross Trophy as well with 168 points. This season also gave Lemieux his first career first-team All-Star award. He took the runner-up spot for the Hart in 1988-89, but dominated in every other regard as he topped the NHL with 85 goals and 114 assists for 199 points on the season, winning the Art Ross and first-team All-Star for the second time each.

With Barrasso now entering the fold, the Penguins were building a serious Stanley Cup threat. This came to fruition in the 1990-91 season, though Lemieux was out for most of it with a back injury. However, he returned in time for the playoffs, where he made up for lost time with 16 goals and 28 assists during the Stanley Cup-winning run, his 44 points earning him Conn Smythe honors. Lemieux again dealt with injuries in 1991-92, though the situation wasn’t as bad as he still amassed 44 goals and 87 assists to win his third Art Ross title with 131 points. Pittsburgh was just as dominant in the 1992 playoffs, sweeping Chicago for the Cup as Lemieux scored 16 goals and 18 assists despite missing six games. Even so, Lemieux collected another Conn Smythe Trophy as he lifted the Stanley Cup along with it.

As mentioned earlier, the 1992-93 Penguins squad is best remembered for the record-setting 17-game win streak, and Lemieux was certainly a big part of that as he claimed 27 goals and 24 assists during the month-long rampage. This included a five-goal performance against the Rangers, with back-to-back four-goal games against the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers. This enabled him to win his second Hart Trophy with 69 goals and 91 assists, while the 160 points gave him his fourth Art Ross crown to go along with another first-team All-Star nomination. All of this came after missing 24 games due to undergoing cancer treatment, which thankfully went into remission, and was also awarded the Bill Masterton Trophy for his perseverance. However, fatigue and other injuries forced Lemieux out of the lineup for much of the next two seasons, but he would come back in spectacular fashion in 1995-96 with a league-topping 69 goals and 92 assists to win another first-team All-Star and a third Hart Trophy. Lemieux was the last player to lead the NHL in both goals and assists until Connor McDavid accomplished the feat for the Oilers in the 2022-23 season.

In 1996-97, Lemieux netted 50 goals and a league-leading 72 assists for another first-team All-Star selection, with his 122 points earning him his sixth Art Ross Trophy. Lemieux had announced his retirement shortly before the end of the season, and the Hockey Hall of Fame waived their usual three-year waiting period so he could be elected in right away in 1997. With the Penguins in tough financial straits and facing a potential relocation, Lemieux became the majority owner of the team in 1999. However, his playing career was not quite done, as he came out of retirement during the 2000-01 season. In just 43 games, the now owner-player had one of the most insane seasons in NHL history with 35 goals and 41 assists to finish second to Sakic in the Hart Trophy race. Despite battling nagging injuries, Lemieux continued to play through the 2005-06 campaign before retiring for real with 690 goals and 1,033 assists for 1,723 points in just 915 games, all of which with the Penguins. In addition to the previously mentioned Hall of Fame induction, Lemieux’s #66 jersey was also officially retired by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1997, though it was obviously temporarily unretired for Lemieux’s return.