Jean Ratelle

center · 1960-61 to 1980-81 · NYR, BOS · 1,403 games

Every comparison Jean Ratelle leads among NHL skaters since 1917-18: 17 claims in 6 families, the best first. A row leads its field now, or set a record that was later broken. Each links to its board.

assists

set it6 straight games with 2+ assists in his first 600 gamesa record when he got there, 1st of 120 careers, past 5 · held from game 590 to 1280 · broken by Wayne Gretzky, 8, Jan 21, 1987 · said 1 other way6games

assists · a season

set it12 games with 2+ assists in NYR's first 30 games of 1971-72a record when he got there, 1st of 5,348 player-seasons, past 10 · held from game 26 to 47 (1 gap) · broken by Wayne Gretzky 1981-82, 13, Dec 5, 198112games

points

set it8 straight games with 2+ points in his first 700 gamesa record when he got there, 1st of 87 careers, past 6 · held from game 580 to 770 · broken by Mike Bossy, 11, Nov 11, 1986 · said 1 other way8games

penalty minutes

leads1,263 games with no penalty minutes in his first 1,400 games, playoffs included1st of 102 careers, next 1,254 · leads from game 1390 to 14001,263games

points · a season

set it18 games with 2+ points in NYR's first 29 games of 1971-72a record when he got there, 1st of 5,309 player-seasons, past 17 · held from game 25 to 29 · broken by Phil Esposito 1973-74, 24, Dec 20, 197318games

plus-minus · a season

set it5 straight games with 2+ plus-minus in NYR's first 40 games of 1971-72a record when he got there, 1st of 1,786 player-seasons, past 4 · held from game 16 to 44 · broken by Jari Kurri 1983-84, 6, Jan 3, 19845games

A lead is an interval: the stretch of N where he is first, worded at one N inside it. "One of 4" is a tie for first. A record "when he got there" was first among the careers that had reached that point by then. The field is every NHL skater career since 1917-18, or every player-season where he dressed for half the team's games so far. The method is in the board's notes.