Steve Yzerman doesn't hold the single-season record in shooting percentage, even if he's the first player most fans would think of. Want more fun? Yzerman only appears on the top-10 list once in that category.
No, Paul MacLean is the Detroit Red Wings all-time leader in single-season shooting percentage, putting 36 shots into the net during his lone season with the franchise in 1988-89. That was good for a 24.3 shooting percentage, and, funnily enough, it went down the same year Yzerman set the record for most single-season goals.
But this wasn't out of the ordinary for MacLean, who was Mr. Reliable throughout his entire 10-year career as a full-time NHL player. And when you look at MacLean's stats, his record-breaking year with the Wings wasn't his career best.
Go back to the 1983-84 season, and MacLean ended the campaign with a 25.3 shooting percentage. He was so accurate with his shot, that he only dipped below the 20.0 mark three times in those 10 seasons, in 1982-83, 1985-86, and 1990-91.
Paul MacLean's lone season with the Detroit Red Wings was no different
When the Red Wings traded for MacLean, they should've known they were getting a player with an accurate shot. One who was selective, too, since he barely averaged two per game, finishing with 1,514 shots on goal through 719 contests.
Besides his 36 goals, MacLean finished the year with 35 helpers and 71 points. He was always a threat to score on the power play, finding twine 16 times while his other 20 goals came at even strength.
He even more than doubled his assists total on the man advantage, putting up just six helpers, which, at the time, was a career low at 5-on-4 until the 1990-91 season. But overall, when you look at his entire statistical chart, 1988-89 was nothing special for MacLean, and it was just another season from his scoring standards.
MacLean returned to the St. Louis Blues, a team he played a single game for in 1980-81, in a trade on June 15th, 1989, where he'd ride out the last two seasons of his career. He may've only played in Hockeytown for a short time, but he more than left his mark on the team during a season that saw Steve Yzerman light up the league with those 65 goals.
More from Octopus Thrower