State of the league – Statistical analysis of the RHL and NHL 2024-25 regular seasons - Part 1

Fellow GMs,

As commissioner, it is both a privilege and a responsibility to examine the trends shaping our game, not only within the RHL but in comparison with our big brother NHL. The 2024-25 regular season has provided us with a wealth of data, insights, and developments that help illuminate where professional hockey is today, and where it may and should be headed.

Our sincere thanks goes to Natural Stat Trick, Hockey-Reference, and the internal teams.csv and players.csv data file for enabling this analysis. These tools allow us to go beyond wins and losses, offering a true look under the hood of the game.

Without further ado, let’s dive into the data.

League parity

President Trophy :
RHL : Pittsburgh 116 pts (52-18-12)
NHL : Winnipeg 116 pts (56-22-4)

Last place :
RHL : Carolina 64 pts (26-44-12)
NHL : San Jose 52 pts (20-50-12)

Best record eliminated from playoffs:
RHL : Montreal 94 pts (40-28-14)
NHL : Calgary 96 pts (41-27-14)

Both leagues crowned dominant regular-season champions: Radapex’s Penguins (and Tyler Toffoli!) led the RHL with 116 points, the exact same mark as the NHL President Trophy winning Winnipeg Jets. At the other end of the standings, the RHL’s Carolina Hurricanes closed their season with 64 points, while the NHL’s San Jose Sharks managed just 52. It’s pretty safe to assume having no coach or general manager until January 20th didn’t help the Canes and we can expect quick progress under the tenure of GM Aaron.

Interestingly, the teams with the best records eliminated from playoff contention were Montreal with 94 points (40-28-14) in the RHL and Calgary with 96 points (41-27-14) in the NHL, almost identical records.

Overtime

% games needing extra time :
RHL : 12.92%
NHL : 13.26%

Games decided in overtime :

RHL : 200 games

NHL : 271 games

Games decided in shootout : 

RHL : 139 games

NHL : 77 games

Overall, 13.26% of NHL games and 12.92% of RHL games required extra time—remarkably close. Where the numbers diverge more dramatically is in how games are decided. The NHL crowned 271 winners in overtime, compared to the RHL’s 200. Consequently, 139 RHL games were decided by shootouts, versus only 77 in the NHL. One of the potential cause of this lies right in the next paragraph.

Scoring

Goals scored :
RHL : 7041
NHL : 7901

Shots :
RHL : 75985
NHL : 74184

Shot %:
RHL : 9,266%
NHL : 10,651%

Players with at least a goal :
RHL : 593 players
NHL : 735 players

The NHL recorded 7901 total goals this year, outpacing the RHL’s 7041, despite the RHL actually taking more shots on net : 75 985 to the NHL’s 74 184. The difference? Shot quality.
The NHL posted a shooting percentage of 10.65%, compared to the RHL’s 9.27%. That gap isn’t just statistical trivia—it reflects how NHL players are converting more often with fewer attempts, suggesting higher precision or better offensive tactics.

593 different players lit the red light at least once in the RHL compared to 735 in the NHL, so we could think our league leaders rack up most of these. Yet, your Maurice Rocket Richard winner failed to reach the sacred 50 goalmark. Nathan MacKinnon topped everyone in the RHL this season with 47 goals while Leon Draisaitl made it to 52 in the NHL. League leaders have been consistently trailing in this category for a few years now : Last season’s Tommy Novak 50 goals mark wasn’t even close to Auston Matthews 69, same for 2022-23 when Jake Guentzel’s 51 was far from McDavid’s 64.

Is it a question of offensive talent or goaltending strength? That’s where the next chapter begins.