Does Sergei Makarov belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Sergei Makarov was a star in the USSR for a decade before playing in the NHL. In fact, he might have been the best hockey player in the world not in the NHL for much of the 1980s.

But given how much the Hockey Hall of Fame focuses on NHL experience, did he deserve to be inducted?

Listen here to find out:

Sergei Makarov’s Career:

• NHL:
  • 1989-1995: 6 seasons, 6 quality, plus 4 game comeback in 1996-97
  • Totals:
    • 134G,
    • 250A for
    • 384P in
    • 424 games,
    • +67;
    • 31.1 PS
  • Era: Of the 6 players aged 30 or older to have played in at least 400 games between 1989 and 1995, Makarov is
    • 3rd in Goals, GPG and Offensive Point Shares
    • 1st in Assists and APG
    • 2nd in Points, PPG and Plus/Minus
  • Draft: In his draft class, Makarov, drafted 231st overall, is
    • 24th in Goals,
    • 19th in Assists,
    • 21st in Points and
    • 11th in Plus/Minus despite being
    • 46th in games played (barely ¼ of the games played of the draft class leader, Steve Yzerman)
  • 82-game average of 26G, 48A for 75P, +13
  • 3 year peak (’89-’92): 82-game average of 27G, 58A for 85P, +22
  • Playoffs:
    • 12G,
    • 11A for
    • 23P, +1 in
    • 34 games (⅓ of which were played after he was 35 years of age)
    • Era: Of the 82 skaters 30 and over to play in at least 20 playoff games between 1989 and 1995, Makarov is
      • 16th in Goals
      • 7th in GPG
      • 34th in Assists
      • 29th in APG
      • 26th in Points
      • 24th in PPG
      • 41st in Plus/Minus
  • No possession stats
  • Adjusted:
    • Hockey-Reference:
      • 126G,
      • 226A for
      • 352P
      • Adjusted 82-game average: 24G, 44A for 68P
      • Obviously not on any Per game leader-boards
      • VsX: Doesn’t qualify for the adjustment
  • Trades:
    • Traded the day after he turned 35 to Hartford for future considerations (a 1993 4th Rounder – Jason Smith)
    • Traded 6 days later, at the 1993 draft, with a 1993 1st Rounder (Viktor Kozlov), a 1993 2nd Rounder (Vlastimil Kroupa) and a 1993 3rd Rounder (Ville Peltononen) for a 1993 1st Rounder (Chris Pronger)
• Soviet League:
  • 1976-1989; 13 seasons, 12 quality
  • Totals:
    • 322G (10th All Time),
    • 388A (1st All Time by 50) for
    • 710P (1st All Time) in
    • 519 Games
  • Per Game:
    • Makarov is 1st All Time in PPG (unable to see GPG or APG)
  • 40-game average: 25G, 30A for 55P

Sergei Makarov’s Accomplishments:

• NHL:
  • Calder (1990)
  • Goals:
    • 30 goals twice,
    • twenty goals four times;
  • Assists:
    • 60 assists once,
    • 40 assists three times;
  • Points:
    • 80 points once,
    • 70 points three times,
    • 60 points four times,
    • 50 points five times
  • Plus/Minus:
    • Top 5 in Plus/Minus once
  • All Star:
    • 1st Team All Rookie
    • Rookie of the Month once.
• Soviet League:
  • “Soviet MVP” three times (‘80, ‘85, ‘89)
  • Goals:
    • Led the league in Goals three times
    • Top 5 in Goals eight times times
    • Top 10 in Goals ten times
  • Assists:
    • Led the league in Assists nine times (all but one year of the 1980s) – tied most ever
  • Points:
    • Led the league in Points nine times – most ever

Sergei Makarov’s Great teams:

• Olympics:
  • Top 3 Forward (by points) on one Olympic Runner Up (‘80 USSR),
  • Top 6? Forward (by points) on one Olympic Champion (‘84 USSR)
• Canada/World Cup:
  • Best Forward (by points) on one Canada Cup Runner Up (‘87 USSR),
  • Top 3 Forward (by points) on one Canada Cup Champion (‘81 USSR) and one Bronze (‘84 USSR)
• World Championships
  • Best Forward (led the tournament in points and was awarded “Best Forward”) on one World Champion (‘85 USSR),
  • Best Forward (led the tournament in points but didn’t win the “Best Forward” award) on two World Champions (‘83, ‘86 USSR),
  • Top 3 Forward (“Media All-Star”) on four World Champions (‘79, ‘81, ‘82, ‘89 USSR) and one Runner Up (‘87 USSR),
  • Top 3 Forward (by points) on one World Champion Bronze (‘91 USSR),
  • Top 6? Forward (by points) on two World Champions (‘78, ‘88 USSR),
  • Top 9? Forward (by points) on one World Champion (‘90 USSR)
• World Junior Championships:
  • Top 3 Forward (by points) on two World Junior Champions (‘77, ‘78 USSR)
• European Cup:
  • 11 Championships between ‘79 and ‘89 (HC CSKA Moscow)
• Soviet League:
  • 11 Championships between ‘79 and ‘89 (HC CSKA Moscow)
• Super Series:
  • Makarov was on 5 of the HC CSKA Moscow teams that always beat NHL teams in the 1980s