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NHL battle of the nations 1973–74

Canada won the 1973–74 nations league ahead of Sweden, when every country is weighed by how good its players are rather than how many there are. Sweden sits second. Counted in raw points Canada won, as always.

The nations league ranks the 3 countries with at least five NHL skaters in five disciplines and adds up the placings.

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1973–74Active season78/82 games
3 countries with at least five skaters. First in a category gets 3 points, second 2 and so on down to 1 for last. The table is the total.
1
CanadaCanada402 players
BOSPhil Esposito145 ptsPHIBernie Parent47 W
Rate2ndTop trio1stBlue line2ndGoalies1stPer million1st
13pts
2
SwedenSweden6 players
LAKJuha Widing57 pts
Rate1stTop trio2ndBlue line1stGoalies3rdPer million2nd
11pts
3
USAUSA23 players
VANGerry O'Flaherty42 ptsSTLJim Watt0 W
Rate3rdTop trio3rdBlue line3rdGoalies2ndPer million3rd
6pts
How the nations league is counted

Every country with at least five NHL skaters is ranked in five disciplines. First in a discipline is worth 3 points, second 2 and so on down to 1 for last. The league table is the sum. A shared placing gives the same points.

  • Points per gameAll the nation's skaters' points divided by their games, evened out toward the NHL average.
  • Best trioThe three best scorers' points combined.
  • Defencemen's points per gameThe defencemen's points per game, evened out the same way.
  • Goalies' save percentageThe goalies' save percentage, evened out toward the NHL average. A country without a goalie comes last.
  • NHL players per million inhabitantsHow many NHL players the country has per million inhabitants.

The rate disciplines are evened out so that a small country cannot win on one hot player: we add 400 games (300 for defencemen, 1,500 shots for goalies) at the NHL's own average before dividing. This season the NHL average is 0.51 points per game and player. A country with many games is barely affected; one with few is pulled toward the middle.

A player counts for his birth country, except Swedes, who count as Swedish wherever they were born. Players born in Sweden who represent another country count for no country. Regular season only, and only players with at least one game.

438 players and 10 451 points in the NHL this season.

Canada accounts for 92.3% of all NHL points with 91.8% of the players. Sweden has 1.4% of the players and 1.8% of the points, and sits third in raw points.

Total points

CanadaCanada
9 643
USAUSA
293
SwedenSweden
185

Goalie wins

CanadaCanada
520
SwedenSweden
0
USAUSA
0
Pick a rivalCanadaCanadaUSAUSA
The winner's flag above Sweden's placing. Sweden has won 5 of the last 30 seasons.
RussiaRussia7 titlesCzechiaCzechia7 titlesSwedenSweden5 titlesCanadaCanada4 titlesFinlandFinland3 titlesSlovakiaSlovakia2 titlesUSAUSA1 titleGermanyGermany1 title
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