Joe Malone

Maurice Joseph "Phantom Joe" Malone (born in Quebec City, Quebec, February 28, 1890 – May 15, 1969, Montreal,Quebec) was a professional centre who played in the National Hockey Association and National Hockey League. He was notable for his scoring feats and his clean play. He scored the second most career goals of any player in major hockey's first half-century.

Playing Career
Malone broke in at the age of nineteen for the Quebec Bulldogs of the Eastern Canada Hockey Association in the 1909 season, scoring eight goals in twelve games. The next season the NHA formed, but Quebec was left out of the loop, so he played for Waterloo in the Ontario Professional Hockey League. Rejoining Quebec in 1911, he was named the team captain and so served for the Bulldogs' seven NHA seasons. Centering linemates such as Eddie Oatman and Tommy Marks, he led the Bulldogs to the Stanley Cups in 1912 and 1913 -- rampaging for a career best nine goals in a Cup match against Sydney -- while recording remarkable scoring marks of 43 goals in twenty games in 1913. His brother Jeff Malone was also played for Quebec in 1913 when they won the Stanley Cup. In 1917 Joe scored 41 goals in 19 games for Quebec.

When the NHL was founded in 1917, Quebec did not operate a team its first season and the teams players were dispersed amongst the other teams. Malone was claimed by the Montreal Canadiens. Playing on what was one of the most powerful forward lines of all time with Newsy Lalonde and Didier Pitre, Malone shifted to left wing to accommodate the great Lalonde, and was the NHL's first scoring leader, registering 44 goals in twenty games, a record total that would stand as the NHL's single season goal scoring mark until 1945 and a record per-game average that stands to this day. .

The season following Malone suffered an injured arm and missed most of the regular season, although he scored six goals in five games in the league final series against the Ottawa Senators; the lingering injury held him out of the ill-fated Cup finals against the Seattle Metropolitans.

Quebec revived its franchise in 1919 and Malone rejoined his club, once more leading the league in scoring with 39 goals, and setting a single game goal-scoring mark which still stands of seven against Toronto on January 31, 1920. However, the team was very weak on the ice -- its goaltender had the poorest goals against average the NHL would ever see (7.13 GAA)-- and recorded a 4-20 record on the season.

The team was relocated to Hamilton for the 1921 season. Despite missing the first four games of the season as well as the franchise's continued poor performance, Malone still finished fourth in league scoring with 28 goals. He finished fourth in scoring the following season as well.

After trading Lalonde the Canadiens traded for Malone in 1923, but at age 33 his skills vanished, and he scored only a single goal that season while generally playing as a substitute. He played nine games without scoring the next season, playing his last game on January 23 against his former mates in Hamilton, before retiring. The Canadiens did not include his name on the Cup in 1924, because he did not play in the playoffs. However, he is credited by the NHL as winning his 3rd Stanley Cup that season.

He finished his career with 343 goals and 32 recorded assists over fifteen professional seasons.

Malone was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1950, and is also a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.

He died of a heart attack May 15, 1969 in Montreal, Quebec.

In 1998, he was ranked number 39 on the List of 100 greatest hockey players by The Hockey News. The list was announced 74 years after his last game and 91 years after his professional debut, making him the earliest player on the list.

Awards

 * Elected to Hockey Hall of Fame in 1950.
 * NHL scoring leader in 1918 and 1920.
 * Stanley Cup Champion 1912, 1913 Quebec Bulldogs, 1924 Montreal Canadiens.

Records

 * Most goals in one game (7), January 31, 1920 at Quebec. Final score: Quebec 10, Toronto 6.
 * Highest goals-per-game average, one season: 2.20 with Montreal, 1917–18 season (44 goals in 20 games).
 * He is the 1st and remains the fastest player in NHL history to score 100 goals in his career- He reached the mark on February 5, 1921 in his 62nd career game.
 * He scored 40 goals in 18 games in 1917-18. Wayne Gretzky is the next fastest to reach the mark; doing so in 35 games in 1983-84.