The Washington Times has climbed aboard one of this season's most popular stories, following earlier features at USA Today, the New York Times and elsewhere:
It all started on a 500-acre sod farm in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Henry Staal built a rink -- 50 feet by 100 feet complete with boards -- and watched his four sons develop their hockey skills. Little did Henry know that one day he would be the father of the new first family of hockey.The prodigiously gifted Staal brothers are all the rage in the NHL, and with good reason. They are the latest family to stake a claim in the most brotherly of professional sports.
- 22-year-old Eric has already set the bar so high that his current 25-goal season is considered a bit of an off year.
- 20-year-old Marc is a dominant force in junior hockey and a can't-miss NHL defenseman.
- 18-year-old Jordan has exceeded all expectations as a rookie in Pittsburgh.
- The pressure soon shifts to 16-year-old Jared, in his first year of junior hockey.
The brother angle is one of hockey's enduring stories. Of course, the greatest of all stud farms operated out of Viking, Alberta, where Louis and Grace Sutter sent six of seven sons to the NHL. Their careers spanned a quarter of a century. Impressive, but not unimaginable for a game that does a roaring trade in brother acts.
By my count, 15 pairs of siblings have appeared in the NHL this season, including two sets of identical twins - Daniel and Henrik Sedin, and Henrik and Joel Lundqvist.
Going back over NHL history, a Wikipedia page lists 141 sets of brothers (along with 100 father-son pairs and assorted extended family combos). An old Hockey Digest article sets the brother count at 220 clans.
The Hockey Digest piece also includes a rarely cited fact: From the NHL's all-time leading scorers, six of the top eight had brothers who also appeared in the league.
- Tony Esposito is a Hall of Fame goaltender.
- Gilbert Dionne carved out a respectable career, playing over 200 games.
- Alain Lemieux was the prototypical journeyman.
- Vic Howe and Paul Messier are footnotes.
Q: What's the highest-scoring NHL brother combo of all time?
Q: What's the highest-scoring pair of NHL brothers?
A: The Gretzkys. Wayne: 2,857 points; Brent: 4 points.
Update: As Jacob and millertyme point out in the comments, the original question was worded wrong. Correction made on Feb. 21.
Comments
this answer is incorrect, the sutters had 2935 points
Sorry dude, i counted too , sutters had 2935, that answer is wrong
You’re right. The question was phrased wrong. It should have referred to a pair of NHL brothers, not a “brother combo.”
i’m not sure how many points they have but the stastney bros.must be close
look at the question it says pair not family so yes the gretzky’s are the highest scoring PAIR of brothers
I actually think the first answer was correct the math was just off since it didn’t include playoff points.
Gretzkys: 2857 + 4 + 382 = 3243
Sutters: 2934 + 275 = 3209
Now if Gary Sutter had decided to go pro, maybe the Sutters would have pulled this out. Or if Vic Howe had the touch and longevity of his brother.
But as it stands, the Gretzkys appear to win the contest in my books!
when you add gretzkys playoff numbers THE GRETZKYS WIN !~~!
However, The Richards won a combo of 18 cups… Thats five more than the leafs, seven more then the wings and 14 more than the Sutters and Gretzkys.