Does Eric Desjardins Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

If you never watched Eric Desjardins play, you might think this is a stupid question (unless you have a lot of faith in the concept of Defensive Point Shares). But, for a time, Desjardins was one of the best defencemen in the NHL.

Did he do enough to warrant induction into the Hall of Fame? Listen to us talk about Eric Desjardins here:

Eric Desjardins, Rob Blake, Herb Gardiner

Eric Desjardin’s Career:

  • 1988-2006; 17 seasons, 16 quality
  • Totals:
    • 136G,
    • 439A for
    • 575P in
    • 1143 games,
    • +198;
    • 114.5 PS;
    • 24:34 ATOI (since 1998-99)
    • Desjardins is 22nd All time in Defensive Point Shares
  • Draft: In his draft class (1987), Desjardins, drafted 38th overall, is
    • 11th in Goals
    • 7th in Assists and Games Played
    • 9th in Points
    • 2nd in Plus/Minus
  • Era: Of the 19 defensemen to play in at least 1000 games between 1988 and 2006, Desjardins is
    • 6th in Goals and GPG
    • 8th in Assists
    • 9th in APG and Points
    • 7th in PPG, Offensive Point Shares and Point Shares (everyone above him on the PS list is in the Hall of Fame)
    • 5th in Plus/Minus
    • 4th in Defensive Point Shares
  • 82-game average: 10G, 31A for 41P, +14; 8.2 PS
  • 3-year peak (1998-2001): 82-game average of 16G, 40A for 56P, +13; 26:27 ATOI; 10.9 PS
  • No possession stats
  • Playoffs:
    • 23G,
    • 57A for
    • 80P,
    • +16 in
    • 168 games;
    • 26:46 ATOI (since 1998-99)
    • Era: Of the 67 D to play in at least 82 playoff games between 1988 and 2006, Desjardins is
      • 7th in playoff Goals
      • 11th in playoff GPG
      • 12th in playoff Assists
      • 21st in playoff APG
      • 11th in playoff Points
      • 17th in playoff PPG
      • 22nd in playoff Plus/Minus
  • Adjusted:
    • Hockey-Reference:
      • 142G,
      • 458A for
      • 600P
      • Adjusted 82-game average: 10G, 33A for 43P (+2 per 82 Games)
      • Per Game: Obviously Desjardins is not on any adjusted per game leaderboards
    • VsX: Doesn’t qualify
  • Trades:
    • Traded at 25 with John LeClair (25) and Gilbert Dionne (25) for a Mark Recchi (27) and a 3rd round pick (nobody)

Eric Desjardin’s Accomplishments:

  • Top 5 in Norris voting twice
  • Top Player:
    • Top 5 Defensive Player (by DPS) three times (‘92, ‘00, ‘03)
  • Goals:
    • 15 goals twice
  • Assists:
    • 40 assists twice
  • Points:
    • 50 points twice
  • Plus/Minus:
    • Top 10 in Plus/Minus once
  • All Star:
    • 2nd Team All Star twice
    • 3 All Star Games
  • VsX Peak: doesn’t qualify

Great Teams:

  • NHL:
    • Best Player? On one Final Four (‘00 Flyers)
    • Best D (by points) on one Champion (‘93 Canadiens) and one Final Four (‘95 Flyers)
    • Top 2 D (by points) on one Runner Up (‘97 Flyers)
    • Top 4 D (by points), though he played in only 1/3rd of the games, on one Runner Up (‘89 Canadiens)
  • Canada/World Cup:
    • Top 4? D (by points) on one Canada Cup Champion (‘91 Canada) and one World Cup Runner Up (‘96 Canada)
  • World Juniors:
    • Top 2? D (by points) on one World Junior Champion (‘88 Canada)

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