THN ARCHIVE: Brett Hull was quote gold in playing days; he was one of the best pure shooters/goal scorers in NHL history

There was no doubt that St. Louis Blues great Brett Hull was outspoken. Someone who would never deter from speaking his mind, some liked his candid honestly, some didn't; he didn't care.

But one thing that was always appreciated, no matter who Hull's running mate was -- Adam Oates was the best and most successful one -- was the ability to find the soft spots on the ice and snipe pucks.

In this cover story from THN’s Jan. 24, 1992 edition – Vol. 45, Issue 18 – THN correspondent Al Morganti outlined Hull's goal-scoring prowess, his chase for Gretzky's records, ability to score 50 in 50 games and his outspoken personality.

(And remember, for full access to THN’s exclusive 76-year archive, you can subscribe to the magazine.)

SOLID GOAL

Blue’s Hull in league of his own by scoring game in and game out

Vol. 45, No. 18, Jan. 24, 1992

By Al Morganti

His dad said his head is not screwed on straight; his general manager accused him of being a floater; his best friend and set-up man is embroiled in a contract dispute that could wipe out the best scoring combination in hockey; and he came into the season with a crew of new critics who did not appreciate statements he made about the Canada Cup.

In other words, this season was set up as a trap for Brett Hull. Some trap-Brett Hull is on the loose again.

He has overcome a relatively slow start to reaffirm himself as the most consistent goal-scoring machine in NHL history. True, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux might have better goals-per-game averages, but nobody in the league’s modem era (since 1943-44) has scored goals in a higher percentage of games than Hull over the past two-and-a-half seasons.

Since 1989-90 (including 44 games this season), Hull had scored at least one goal in 154 of the Blues’ 227 regular-season and playoff games. That’s at least one goal in 67.8 per cent of the Blues’ games.

During 1989-90 and 1990-91, Hull scored in 67.8 per cent of St. Louis’ games (124 of 183 games) which is better than the best back-to-back percentages for Gretzky and Lemieux. The top two-season run for Gretzky was 1981-82 and 1982-83, when he scored in 65.2 per cent of Edmonton’s games (118 of 181), while Lemieux’s best back-to-back combination was 1987-88 and 1988-89 when he scored in 61.5 per cent of Pittsburgh’s games (101 of 164).

Just before the all-star break, the Blues cruised through the east coast, and Hull opened the trip with a hat trick at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers. It was his fourth hat rick of the season, three of which have come against the New York teams, including one in each of his first two games against the Islanders.

The hat trick gave him 43 goals in 42 games and extended his consecutive goal-scoring streak to 10 games, three short of the league record. It also revived talk of 50 goals in 50 games (something he did last season), and even a suggestion he could break Gretzky’s record of 92 goals in 1981-82. “Nothing is impossible,” Hull said, “but if Wayne didn’t do it, I don’t know if anybody could do it.”

One day later, Gretzky said that if anybody can break the record, it is Hull. “But in my opinion,” Gretzky said, “to have a shot at it, you’ve got to have 50 goals in the first 40 games, because the checking gets a lot tighter.”

Hull was held without a goal in game No. 43 against the New Jersey Devils but got back on track two nights later with a goal against the islanders to extend his point streak to 21 games and maintain his goal-a-game pace. No matter how tight the checking, Hull has a better chance than any player in modem NHL history to come away with the goal, and after that Rangers’ game he had scored 201 goals in his last 200 games. In essence, he’s as close as any player has come to giving a team a 1-0 lead at the start of the game.

“He’s like a shark,” said Mike Richter, the Rangers goalie victimized by the hat trick. “I really think the key is to stop him early. I think if you can frustrate him early, it might get him off his game a little. But once he smells blood, he’ll get one, two, three. You don’t think he could smell that hat trick?”

Although Hull led the NHL in hat tricks two seasons ago with five, and was second (to Theoren Fleury of the Calgary Flames) with four last year, the more impressive stat is the consistency. Twenty-nine games with one goal last season and 20 this season are the building blocks.

“To me,” Richter said, “the most impressive part of this season is the pressure he has had to deal with: there is a pressure to produce that many goals. I mean, he sets a precedent each year. It’s like he has put himself in a position where he has to beat himself each year.”

Hull doesn’t look at it in that manner.

“I think there is a difference between looking at raw numbers, and pushing yourself to succeed,” he said. “I look at the next game, or maybe I’ll look at a road trip. If it’s a division game, I’ll think to myself that it’s important that I help the team in a key divisional game. Or a road trip like this, I’ll think that I’ve got to help the team get better on the road. Then, yes, I start thinking of 50 in 50 again.”

There were a few reasons to think Hull might not do it again this season. Even before the season began he caused some concern with a bad attitude about the Canada Cup and then he scored just two goals in eight games. Critics wondered if Hull was going to flop this season-at least flop by his standards.

“People were on me because of the Canada Cup; people were on me because of the slow start; and even my dad was talking…So, it’s nice to have the satisfaction of shutting people up,” he said. “I’m going to approach the game the way I want and people can say whatever they want.”

One of those people was Bobby Hull, who suggested his son had better get his head on straight or he would have to go back to being “Dennis Hull’s brother.” Brett knows his dad’s head is on about as straight as the little girl in The Exorcist, which is why he wasn’t devastated by the remark but it still stung. ”It kind of hurts a little,” Brett said, “but you’ve got to know my father, so you just kind of tuck it away and leave it alone.”

What was harder to leave alone was the impression he gave at the Canada Cup. While many players approached the tournament with a For-God-And-Country attitude, Hull approached it more like a weekend softball tournament.

“It was a little bit too ridiculous for me,” Hull said. “People looked at it like it was the Stanley Cup finals. That’s a little too much for me. I don’t think bitter is the right word. I was very disappointed that I took two months out of my summer for it. I would have liked to have thought that they thought of me as the NHL MVP. I didn’t want any special treatment but I expected to play!

“I remember, I had two shifts in one period against the Russians. I’m sitting at the end of the bench, thinking; ‘Hello, remember me.’ I could have been at the golf course in Duluth, (Minn.) having a helluva time. And I’m sitting there talking to (goalie) John Vanbiesbrouck. I mean, it was ridiculous. There’s no questions that after that, and after some of the things I said about the tourney that some people were expecting me to (fail) this season.”

This season has been stressful on more than a personal level for Hull. It was expected St. Louis and the Chicago Blackhawks would be battling for first place in the Norris Division this season. Instead, they have been fighting for second behind the Detroit Red Wings.

Just how well the Blues fare over the remainder of the season will depend largely on Hull’s productivity. And that will be influenced by the outcome of linemate Adam Oates’ contract dispute. (See page 18 for story on Oates.)

They are recognized as the most-feared forward combination in the NHL but Oates threatened to walk out if progress wasn’t made on a new contract by the All-Star Game, Jan. 18. Hull is firmly behind his center.

“Somebody had better double-check their thinking,” Hull said, “because what we’ve got going on the ice, and off the ice, just doesn’t happen every day.”

Like many stars, Hull is finding that no matter how many goals he scores, he will have to bear the biggest burden of the losses.

“There is no real down side,” said Hull, “but it’s tough when the team is struggling and you’re Brett Hull and you’re supposed to be leading the team every night and sometimes you try your hardest and you just can’t do it.

“And, heck, there are a lot of things I have to work on. Look, I’ve got 43 goals, and I’m a minus-1. If you’re going to be a leader, you’ve got to be a plus player and I want to be a leader. I’ve got to learn (defense) because one day I won’t be able to score and I’ll have to check.”

In the meantime, he just keeps pouring in the goals, night after night, like nobody in the modem history of the NHL. 

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