Who really belongs in the Hall of Fame?

The Worst 25 Skaters in the Hockey Hall of Fame

Every NHL fan knows there are some NHL players who shouldn’t be in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Over the years, some Hall of Famers have been announced and fans have been, like, “What?” incredulous that the player could be inducted, especially ahead of their favourite.

On the other hand, there are players who fans clamour for their induction and they never seem to make it.

We’ll get to the egregious oversights in another list. In this list we count down the absolute worst skaters. (We’ll do a separate list of goalies.)

Does Walter “Babe” Pratt Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Babe Pratt had a reasonably strong career as an offensive D in the NHL with the Rangers, at least in terms of total points. (The early NHL had some D score a lot in 20-ish-game seasons.) Then he was traded to the Leafs, he broke D single-season scoring records and won the Hart.

Pratt’s Hall of Fame case rides almost entirely on his Hart season (and the season after). Does he belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Listen here:

Does Frank Brimsek Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Nicknamed “Mr. Zero,” was the first great American goaltender and the first American NHLer inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He won three awards and made the end-of-season All Star Team in 80% of his (very few) seasons in the NHL.

But he was rarely the best goaltender in a small NHL and a lot of his reputation seems to rest on his rookie season, in which he won the Calder and the Vezina (when it was the Jennings) and led the Bruins to the Stanley Cup.

So, does Frank Brimsek actually belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame for his NHL accomplishments?

Listen here:

Does Joseph Toe Blake Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Ralrton-Purina Company, maker of Chex cereals, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Before Toe Blake was one of the greatest coaches in NHL history, he was a pretty good player and one of the all time great playoff performers.

Listen to us talk about Toe Blake here:

Does Harry Cameron Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Harry Cameron was a dynamic offensive player from the blue line well before that was a common feature of NHL D.

Was he one of the greatest D of his era or of all time or is it more likely that the position had yet to be defined properly?

Listen to us talk about Harry Cameron:

Keith Tkachuk, Eric Lindros, Harry Cameron

Does Harry Oliver Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

The Winnipeg Tribune, Feb. 20, 1923 (pg 14), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Harry Oliver was a WCHL star who mostly didn’t have the same kind of success in the NHL, except during the 1927 playoffs when he led the Bruins to a Stanley Cup.

When we discuss Harry Oliver’s Hall of Fame case, the big thing we struggle with is, was he a big enough star in the WCHL?

Listen to us talk about it here:

Should Neil Colville Be in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Neil Colville was one of the great passers of his era and a member of the last Ranger team to win a Stanley Cup for half a century. He was likely on pace to be one of the better forwards of his era, at least in terms of total assists. When he got back from WWII, however, he was converted to D, and his offensive production fell off a cliff.

We’re a little mystified why Colville is in the Hall of Fame. Listen to us discuss his Hall of Fame case here:

Is Turk Broda a GOAT Goalie?

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/354236326917185287/, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Walter “Turk” Broda was a workhorse with some decent regular season goalie stats. But, when it came to the post-season, especially after Broda returned from World War 2, there was no better goalie in the NHL. Broda’s post-war run is among the greatest playoff performances of any NHL goalie, winning four Stanley Cups in five years, and leading the playoffs in shutouts every year, including the year the Leafs didn’t win the Cup. Broda’s playoff record from when he returned from WWII to his retirement is 32-12. He led the playoffs in GAA four years in a row. There aren’t many other goalies to have dominated in the playoffs like he did.

Listen to us talk about Broda’s GOAT case and Hall of Fame case here:

Is Bill Cowley one of the GOAT?

Ravenswing, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

It’s easy to look at Bill Cowley’s numbers and think he might be one of the greatest offensive NHL players ever, and certainly one of the league’s greatest passers.

But his best years came during World War II when a number of NHL players were in the military and so competition wasn’t as good. Also, Cowley sometimes wasn’t even the first line centre on his own team.

The question isn’t just, does Bill Cowley belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame? It’s how do we evaluate his gaudy numbers given when he played and his role when Milt Schmidt was on the team? And why did it take the Hall 20+ years to induct him?

Listen here:

Does Roy Worters Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Roy Worters had the unfortunate luck of playing for the Pirates and the Americans for the vast majority of his career. He never advanced out the semi finals in the NHL playoffs.

But he won a Hart and a Vezina (when it was the Jennings) and was nominated for the Hart three more times. He was also a star goalie in Junior and in an amateur league before his amateur went pro. It’s possible he was a great goalie on bad teams.

Listen to us discuss Roy Worters’ Hall of Fame case here: