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NHL battle of the nations 1984–85

Sweden won the 1984–85 nations league ahead of Finland, when every country is weighed by how good its players are rather than how many there are. Counted in raw points Canada won, as always.

The nations league ranks the 5 countries with at least five NHL skaters in five disciplines and adds up the placings.

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1984–85Active season80/82 games
5 countries with at least five skaters. First in a category gets 5 points, second 4 and so on down to 1 for last. The table is the total.
1
SwedenSweden30 players
CGYKent Nilsson99 ptsPHIPelle Lindbergh40 W
Rate2ndTop trio3rdBlue line2ndGoalies1stPer million2nd
20pts
2
FinlandFinland15 players
EDMJari Kurri135 ptsNJDHannu Kamppuri1 W
Rate1stTop trio2ndBlue line1stGoalies4thPer million3rd
19pts
3
CanadaCanada511 players
EDMWayne Gretzky208 ptsWINBrian Hayward33 W
Rate3rdTop trio1stBlue line4thGoalies3rdPer million1st
18pts
4
USAUSA91 players
WSHBobby Carpenter95 ptsBUFTom Barrasso25 W
Rate4thTop trio4thBlue line3rdGoalies2ndPer million5th
12pts
5
CzechiaCzechia9 players
TORMiroslav Frycer55 pts
Rate5thTop trio5thBlue line5thGoalies5thPer million4th
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 5 points, second 4 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 0.58 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.

672 players and 17 354 points in the NHL this season.

Sweden accounts for 6.2% of all NHL points with 4.5% of the players. Sweden has 4.5% of the players and 6.2% of the points, and sits third in raw points.

Total points

CanadaCanada
13 165
USAUSA
1 883
SwedenSweden
1 070
FinlandFinland
419
CzechiaCzechia
196

Goalie wins

CanadaCanada
616
USAUSA
79
SwedenSweden
40
FinlandFinland
1
CzechiaCzechia
0
The nations league's five categories plus raw points and player count. The higher value takes the round.
Sweden
Sweden
1st in the league
3–4
Canada
Canada
3rd in the league

Canada wins 4–3 against Sweden.

0.61Points per game0.58
262Best trio464
0.41Defencemen's points per game0.40
.888Goalies' save percentage.873
2.8NHL players per million inhabitants12.7
1 070Total points13 165
30Players in the NHL511
Sweden against Canada season by season
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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