Does Rob Blake Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Rob Blake was one of the star offensive defencemen of his era.

But he likely didn’t deserve his Norris Trophy the year he won it.

Does he still belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Listen to us talk about Rob Blake here:

Rob Blake’s Career:

• NHL: 1989-2010; 20 seasons, 14 quality (by DPS)
• Totals:
  • 240G (10th D All Time),
  • 537A (22nd D) for
  • 777P (18th),
  • -4 in 1270 games;
  • 24:54 ATOI (since 1998-99)
  • 127.5 PS (21st D)
  • Blake is 11th All Time in Offensive Point Shares among defencemen
• Per Game: Blake is
  • 13th All Time in GPG and
  • 18th in PPG among defencemen
• Draft: In his draft class (1988), Blake, drafted 70th overall is
  • 11th in Goals
  • 7th in Assists
  • 9th in Points
  • 41st (ish) in Plus/Minus
  • 8th in Games Played
• Era: Of the 9 defencemen to play in at least 1250 games between 1989 and 2010, Blake is
  • 1st in Goals and GPG
  • 4th in Assists and PS
  • 3rd in APG
  • 2nd in Points, PPG and OPS
  • 8th (2nd last) in Plus/Minus and DPS
• 82-game average: 16G, 34A for 50P, 0
• 3-year peak (1999-02): 82-game average of 20G, 45P, 65P, +11; 27:57 ATOI
• Possession (since 2007-08, 3 seasons):
  • 48.6% Corsi For
  • -5% Relative Corsi For
  • 48.9% Fenwick For
  • -4.5% Relative Fenwick For
• Playoffs:
  • 26G,
  • 47A for
  • 73P, 0 in
  • 146 games
  • Era: Of the 69 D to play in at least 82 playoff games between 1989 and 2010, Blake is
    • 3rd in playoff Goals
    • 6th in playoff GPG
    • 17th in playoff Assists
    • 23rd in playoff APG
    • 16th in playoff Points
    • 15th in playoff PPG
    • 46th in playoff Plus/Minus
• Adjusted:
  • Hockey-Reference:
    • 255G,
    • 551A for
    • 807P
    • Adjusted 82-game average: 16G, 136A for 52P (+2P per 82 games)
    • Per Game: Among D, Blake is
      • 10th All Time in adjusted GPG
  • VsX:
    • Goals: doesn’t qualify
    • 593A
    • 744P
    • Per Game: Doesn’t qualify [we haven’t figured out D-only VsX per game rankings]
• Trades:
  • Traded at 31 with Steve Reinprecht (24) for Adam Deadmarsh (25), Aaron Miller (29), Jared Aulin (18), a 2001 1st Rounder (David Steckel) and a 2003 1st Rounder (Brian Boyle)

Rob Blake’s Accomplishments:

• Norris (‘98)
• Top 6 in Norris voting a further six times
• Top 5 in Calder voting
• Top Player:
  • Top 10 Player (by PS) once (‘02)
  • Top 5 Defensive Player (by DPS) once (‘02)
• Goals:
  • 20 goals twice,
  • 15 goals seven times (1 of only 17 D ever)
• Assists:
  • 40 assists four times
• Points:
  • 60 points once,
  • 50 points seven times (1 of only 24 D ever)
• All Star:
  • 1st Team All Star once
  • 2nd Team All Star three times
  • 1st Team All Rookie
  • 7 All Star Game appearances
• VsX Peak:
  • Best 7 Seasons: doesn’t qualify
  • Best 10 Seasons:
    • Goals: doesn’t qualify
    • Assists: 242nd All Time
    • Points: doesn’t qualify

Rob Blake’s Great Teams:

• NHL:
  • Best D on one Champion (‘01 Avalanche),
  • Top 2 D on one Runner Up (‘02 Avalanche) and one Final Four (‘10 Sharks),
  • Top 4 D (by points) on one Runner Up (‘93 Kings)
• Olympics:
  • Best? D (by points) on one Olympic Champion (‘02 Canada)
• World Cup:
  • Top 4? D (by points) on one World Cup Runner Up (‘96 Canada)
• World Championship:
  • “Best Defenceman” (tournament award) on one World Champion (‘97 Canada),
  • Top 4? D (by points) on one World Champion (‘94 Canada),
  • Reserve or injured? (by games played) on one World Champion Runner Up (‘91 Canada)