Does Grant Fuhr Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Does Grant Fuhr belong in the Hall of Fame?

Sure, he has Cups and a Vezina. And he has the record for most goalie games played in a single season.

But he also has extremely mediocre stats compared to his contemporaries, most of whom are not in the Hall of Fame like he is.

Then, there’s this other thing: he’s arguably the first ever African Canadian (or African American) hockey star in history. A true trail-blazer.

So does he belong?

Listen to us debate his case here:

Grant Fuhr’s Career:

• NHL: 1981-2000; 19 seasons, 11 as a starter, 4 as a 1A, 4 as a backup
• Totals:
  • 403W (12th All Time; 6th All Time at his retirement)
  • 295L (17th All Time; 8th at retirement)
  • 114T (15th All Time; 10th at retirement)
  • 25 SO;
  • 48,927 Minutes (14th All Time; 7th at retirement) in
  • 868 Games (11th All Time; 4th at retirement)
  • 128.6 Point Shares (22nd Goalie; 10th at retirement)
  • -36.6 Goals Saved Above Average
• Averages:
  • .887 SV%
  • 3.38 GAA
• Drafted 8th overall in 1981, Fuhr is
  • 1st in Wins
  • 2nd in Losses
  • 2nd in Others
  • 3rd in Save Percentage
  • 3rd in GAA
  • 5th in Point Shares (2nd Goalie)
• Era: Of the 26 goalies to play in at least 410 games between 1981 and 2000, Fuhr is
  • 2nd in Wins
  • 2nd in Losses
  • T-1st in Others
  • 10th in Shutouts
  • 1st in Total Goals Against
  • 1st in Total Shots Against
  • 1st in Total Saves
  • 21st in Save Percentage
  • 18th in Goals Against Average
  • 21st in Goals Saved Above Average
  • 2nd in Minutes
  • 3rd in Goalie Point Shares
  • 1st in Games Played
• 82-game average: 21-16-6; 1 SO; 6.8 GPS
• 3-year peak (1995-98): 31-25-11; 3 SO; 2.57 GAA; .901 SV% [His five best seasons are spread out over 17 years]
• Playoffs:
  • 92W (3rd All Time)
  • 50L (12th);
  • 6 SO;
  • .898 SV%;
  • 2.92 GAA;
  • 44.2 GSAA (12th All Time; 
  • 8,838 Minutes (4th All Time) in 
  • 151 Games (4th All Time)
• Adjusted:
  • 3.04 GAA
  • .905 SV%
• Trades:
  • Traded at 28 with Glenn Anderson (30) and Craig Berube (25) to the Leafs for Vincent Damphousse (23), Peter Ing (22), Scott Thornton (20) and Luke Richardson (22)
  • Traded at 30 with a 1995 Fifth Rounder (nobody) to the Sabres for Dave Andreychuk (29), Daren Puppa (27)and a 1993 First Rounder (Kenny Jonsson) – our 21st Best Maple Leafs Trade of All Time
  • Traded at 32 with Phillippe Boucher (21) and Dennis Tsygurov (24) to the Kings for Alexei Zhitnik (22), Robb Stauber (27), Charlie Huddy (35) and a 1995 Fifth Rounder
  • Traded at nearly 37 for a 2000 Third Rounder (Justin Papineau)

Grant Fuhr was the first black NHL goaltender and the first black player in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Grant Fuhr’s Accomplishments:

• Top 5 in Hart voting once
• Vezina (‘88)
• Top 5 in Vezina voting a further four times
• Top 5 in Calder voting
• Jennings (‘94)
• Top Player:
  • Top 5 Player (by PS) once (‘88)
• Top 10 Player twice (‘96)
• Best Goalie (by GPS) once (‘88)
• Top 5 Goalie twice (‘96)
• Top 10 goalie eight times (‘82, ‘84, ‘85, ‘89, ‘92, ‘93)
• Fuhr holds the record of most goalie games played in a single season
• Wins:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Led the league in Wins twice
    • Top 5 five times
    • Top 10 ten times
  • Single-season totals:
    • 40 wins once
• Shutouts:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Led the league in Shutouts once
    • Top 10 five times
• Shots Against:
  • Led the league in Shots Against twice
  • Top 5 four times
  • Top 10 eight times
• Saves:
  • Total Saves:
    • Led the league in Saves twice
    • Top 5 four times
    • Top 10 eight times
  • Percentage:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Top 5 once
    • Top 10 four times
• Goals Against:
  • GAA:
    • Leader-boards:
      • Top 5 in Goals Against Average once
    • Averages:
      • Under 2.5 once
  • Goals Saved Above Average:
    • Leader-boards:
      • Led the league in GSAA once
      • Top 5 ten times
  • Single-season totals:
    • +35 once (1 of only 23 Goalies)
    • +15 twice
• Minutes:
  • Leader-boards:
    • Led the league in Minutes once
    • Top 5 five times
    • Top 10 six times
  • Single-season totals:
    • +4,000 three times (1 of 10 Goalies)
• All Star:
  • 1st All Star Team once
  • 2nd All Star team once
  • 6 All Star Game appearances
• Adjusted Peak:
  • .913 SV%
  • Goals Versus Average Peak: 118.3
  • Goals Versus Threshold Peak: 380.2

Grant Fuhr’s Great Teams:

• NHL:
  • Starter (tied playoff Wins and led playoffs in Minutes, played every game) on one Champion (‘88 Oilers)
  • Starter (led playoffs in Wins and Minutes) on one Champion (‘85 Oilers)
  • Starter on two Champions (‘84, ‘87 Oilers) and one Final Four (‘91)
• Canada/World Cup:
  • Tournament All Star (led tournament in Wins and Minutes) on one Champion (‘87 Canada)
  • 1A Goaltender on one Champion (‘84 Canada)
• World Championships:
  • Starter on one Runner Up (‘89 Canada)