December 2020 Archives

Is Pat LaFontaine the Greatest American Hockey Player of All Time?

Håkan Dahlström, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Some people believe Pat LaFontaine is the Greatest American Hockey Player of All Time. (The A-GOAT? The GAOAT?) This is despite an injury-shortened career and no Stanley Cups.

Does this claim hold up to scrutiny?

Listen to us talk about LaFontaine here:

Top 10 Worst Vancouver Canucks Trades Ever

Following up on our Best 21 Trades in Vancouver Canucks History we now get to the worst.

This article ranks trades by net Point Shares lost. For a full explanation of the methodology see our Best 25 Trades in Toronto Maple Leafs History list.

Is Ray Bourque the Greatest D of All Time?

Ravenswing, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Ray bourque is the career leader in goals, assists and points for a D, he has 5 Norris Trophies and he has more end-of-season All Star team appearances than anyone other than Gordie Howe.

So where does he rank all time among the greatest defencemen ever? Is he #2? Is he not even in the Top 5 as one of us used to believe?

Listen to us talk about Bourque here:

Is Paul Coffey the Greatest Offensive Defenceman of All Time?

Paul Coffey’s offensive stats are just staggering. He owns the single season goals record for a defender and almost topped Orr’s points record. He had both an extremely high offensive peak and also did things consistently through his career that few have ever done before. If he was healthier at the end, he probably would be the highest scoring D in NHL history.

But, especially in the ’80s, there were huge concerns about his defense. And some people still believe he should have played forward.

So where does he rank all time? Does such a player belong in the Hall of Fame?

Listen to us talk about Paul Coffey here:

Does Larry Murphy Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Larry Murphy played forever and won a bunch of Cups. But he never won a Norris and never made a 1st All Starm Team.

Does Larry Murphy Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Listen to us discuss his case here:

Does Valeri Kharlamov Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Valeri Kharlamoov never played in the NHL.

This website is about players who have played in the NHL, or players who played in the forerunners of the NHL.

But Kharlamov was inducted, in great part due scaring Canada at the ’72 Summit Series. (Kharlamov also died very young.)

So, does he belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Listen to us try to talk about this case here:

Does Cam Neely Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Meowwcat, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cam Neely is one of only 8 players to unofficially score “50 Goals in 50 Games”. (He did it in the Bruins’ 66th game of the season, so it doesn’t count in the NHL’s eyes.) And, when healthy, he was one of the most dominant goal-scorers of his era. On the Bruins…

But his career numbers are not as good as you think they are and, beyond some 2nd All Star Teams, he didn’t really get much acknowledgement as an elite player during his career.

So, does Cam Neely belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame? Listen to us discuss his case here:

Does Peter Bondra Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Peter Brondra is one of the best Slovak players of all time and scored 500 goals at a time it was pretty hard to do so. Had the Rocket Richard Trophy existed he would have won it twice.

So, does he belong in the Hall of Fame? Listen to us talk about his case here: