Who really belongs in the Hall of Fame?
Every NHL player's case analyzed
Bucyk retired as one of the Top 5 scorers in NHL history. And he set the single season record for a Left Winger.
But does his career look as good as it does because of his incredible longevity? Because he was never the best player on the Bruins when they were good.
Listen to us discuss John Bucyk’s Hockey Hall of Fame case here:
Continue reading “Does Johnny Bucyk belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”Allan Stanley played a really long time, won a bunch of Stanley Cups and was briefly considered one of the best D in the NHL.
But his name doesn’t come up very often in discussions of great D of the past.
So, does Allan Stanley belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame? Has he been unjustly forgotten?
Listen here:
Continue reading “Does Allan Stanley Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”JC Tremblay won 5 Stanley Cups and an Avco. His Norris Trophy finishes are 2,3, 4,5,5. He won the Murphy (the WHA equivalent of the Norris) twice.
But he is not in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
In this episode, we wonder why. Listen here:
Continue reading “Does JC Tremblay Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”
Marc Tardif was one of the best players in WHA history, winning two MVP awards and dominating the regular season. He also won a Championship.
His NHL career was less successful, though he did win two Stanley Cups.
So, does Marc Tardif belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?
Continue reading “Does Marc Tardif Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”
Norm Ullman was one of the league’s all time leading scorers when he left the NHL.
But two of the players above him on that list were his teammates. And he was a second line player for a substantial section of his career. Also, he never won a Cup.
So, does Norm Ullman belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?
Listen here:
Continue reading “Does Norm Ullman Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”
Rod Gilbert is certainly someone deserving of the title “Mr. Ranger.” Along with Brian Leetch and Henrik Lundqvist, he has a claim to the title of Greatest New York Ranger of All Time (certainly if length of career with the franchise is taken into account).
But he was never one of the best players in the league during the regular season and his playoff numbers are not great.
So the question is, is his importance to the Rangers franchise and his compelling story of overcoming injury enough to put him in the Hall?
Listen to us talk about Rod Gilbert’s Hall of Fame case here:
Continue reading “Does Rod Gilbert belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”
Cournoyer didn’t have the most dominant regular season career and it’s likely that, had he not played for the Habs, he wouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame with his regular season numbers.
But then, there are his playoff numbers. Safe to say, anyone who leads an entire era in playoff goals and sets a single season record in playoff goals is going into the Hall of Fame.
Listen to us talk about The Roadrunner here:
Continue reading “Does Yvan Cournoyer Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”
Ken Dryden played for only 8 seasons.
But in those 8 seasons, he won six Stanley Cups as a starter (playing in nearly every game when they won those cups), five Vezina trophies, the Conn Smythe and the Calder. He was a 1st Team All Star six times and only missed the end-of-season All Star teams his first season, when he played in six games.
To play devil’s advocate, he played for the Greatest Hockey Team of All Time. And he might not have deserved his Conn Smythe.
So, is Ken Dryden the Greatest Goalie of All Time?
Listen here:
Continue reading “Is Ken Dryden the Greatest Goalie of All Time?”If you didn’t see him play, it’s possible Stan Mikita’s resume is better than you think it should be. In addition to winning multiple Hart trophies, Art Ross trophies and the Stanley Cup, he’s likely the 2nd best centre of the ’60s and among the best centres of the ’70s.
So it’s clear Stan Mikita belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame. The question is, where does Stan Mikita rank among centres all time?
Listen here:
Continue reading “Is Stan Mikita a Top 5 Centre All Time?”Why is it that we (our generation anyway) have trouble thinking of Esposito as one of the greatest hockey players of all time? Is it because he was on the same team as Bobby Orr, whose legend has endured far better? Is it because of Esposito’s extraordinarily unathletic physique? Is it because everything he did has since been done multiple times by multiple players so those records feel less important?
We have no idea, but Espo was the most dominant offensive player between Howe and Gretzky. (We read somewhere that Lafleur was the most dominant offensive player between Howe and Gretzky, but we don’t see evidence to back that up.)
Sure, Espo benefited from playing more games per season in the newly expanded league (someone was going to set records) and, yes, he benefited from playing with the Greatest of All Time, but lesser players wouldn’t have excelled the way he did, over such a long period of time.
Listen to us talk about Esposito here:
Continue reading “Is Phil Esposito one of the Greatest Centres of All Time?”
