Does Paul Kariya Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Kariya’s career was marred by injuries but he was inducted relatively quickly after his retirement compared to a lot of players who have played fewer than 1,000 games.

Was that warranted?

Where does Kariya rank in his era?

Listen here:

Paul Kariya’s Career

• NHL: 1994-2010; 15 seasons, 13 quality
• Totals:
  • 402G,
  • 587A for
  • 989P, +
  • 31 in 989 games;
  • 109.3 PS;
• Per Game:
  • 20:57 ATOI (since 1998-99)
• Draft: In his Draft Class (1993), Kariya, drafted 4th overall, is
  • 2nd in Goals,
  • 1st in Assists and Points and
  • 16th in Plus/Minus despite being
  • 16th in Games Played
• Era: Of the 58 players to play in at least 950 games between 1994 and 2010 Kariya is
  • 7th in Goals, GPG and OPS,
  • 6th in Assists,
  • 4th in APG,
  • 5th in Points,
  • 3rd in PPG,
  • 11th in Point Shares
  • despite being 40th in Games Played
• 82-game average: 34G, 48A for 82P, +3
• 3-year peak (1995-98): 82-game average of 55G, 59A for 114P, +28
• Possession (since 2007-008):
  • 52 CF%,
  • 3.5 CF%Rel,
  • 52 FF%,
  • 2.8 FF%Rel
• Playoffs:
  • 16G,
  • 23A for
  • 39P,
  • -7 in
  • 46 games;
  • 21:12 ATOI (since 1998-99)
  • Era:Of the hundreds of skaters to play in at least 41 playoff games between 1994 and 2010, Kariya is
    • 111th in Goals
    • 31st in GPG
    • 119th in Assists
    • 38th in APG
    • 114th in Points
    • 24th in PPG
    • Not in the Top 200 in Plus/Minus or Games Played
• Adjusted:
  • Hockey-Reference:
    • 445G,
    • 633A for
    • 1078P
    • Adjusted 82-game average: 37G, 52A for 89P (+7P per 82 games)
    • Adjusted PPG: Not in the Top 25; However, if the qualifier is set to 820 Games, Kariya is
      • 17th All Time in Adjusted PPG
  • VsX:
    • 429G
    • 672A
    • 970P
    • Per Game: Not in the Top 25
• Never traded.

Paul Kariya’s Accomplishments

• Top 5 in Hart voting once
• Lady Byng (’96, ’97)
• Top Player:
  • Top 10 Player (by Point Shares) once (’97)
  • Top 5 Offensive Player (by Offensive Point Shares) once (’97),
  • Top 10 four times (’96, ’99, ’00)
• Goals:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in Goals once,
    • Top 10 four times
  • GPG leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in GPG twice
  • Single-season totals:
    • 50 goals once,
    • 40 goals thrice,
    • 35 goals four times,
    • 30 goals seven times,
    • 25 goals eight times,
    • 20 goals nine times
• Assists:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in Assists once,
    • Top 10 twice
  • APG leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in APG once,
    • Top 10 three times
  • Single-season totals:
    • 60 assists once,
    • 50 assists six times,
    • 40 assists eight times
• Points:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in Points three times,
    • Top 10 four times
  • PPG leader-boards:
    • Top 5 in PPG twice,
    • Top 10 three times
  • Single-season totals:
    • 100 points twice,
    • 90 points thrice,
    • 80 points six times,
    • 70 points seven times,
    • 60 points nine times,
    • 50 points ten times
• Top 10 in Plus Minus once
• All Star:
  • 1st Team All Star three times,
  • 2nd Team Twice
  • 1st Team All Rookie
  • 7 All Star Games.
• VsX Peak:
  • Best 7 Seasons:
    • Goals: 72nd All Time
    • Assists: 71st All Time
    • Points: 71st All Time
  • Best 10 Seasons:
    • Goals: 76th All Time
    • Assists: 79th All Time
    • Points: 69th All Time
• Non NHL:
  • NCAA: Hobey Baker Award (’93)

Paul Kariya’s Great Teams:

• NHL:
  • Top 3 Forward on one Runner Up (’03 Mighty Ducks)
• Olympics:
  • Best Skater? (by points) on one Olympic Runner Up (’94 Canada),
  • Top 6? Forward (by points) on one Olympic Champion (’02 Canada)
• World Championships:
  • Best Skater (by points) on one World Champion (’94 Canada),
  • Top 3 Forward (by points) on one World Champion Runner Up (’96 Canada)
• WJCs:
  • Best Skater (by points) on one World Junior Champion (’93 Canada)
• NCAA:
  • Best Player? (by points) on one NCAA National Champion (’94 Black Bears).