Who really belongs in the Hall of Fame?
Every NHL player's case analyzed
The narrative is that Mark Messier is the Greatest Leader/Captain in NHL history, probably hockey history and (depending upon who you talk to) maybe even in pro sports history.
So the question isn’t whether or not he belongs in the Hall of Fame, but how good he was. And do his “intangibles” make up for never being a top offensive player ever during the course of his career?
Listen to us talk bout Mark Messier:
Continue reading “Is Mark Messier the Greatest Leader in Hockey History?”No, Dale Hunter does not belong in the Hall of Fame.
So why did we talk about him? Well, he’s 2nd All Time in Penalties in Minutes, for one thing. And there was a time when that, um, meant something.
Listen to us talk about Dale Hunter:
Continue reading “Does Dale Hunter Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”One of the Russian Five, Larionov has had team success wherever he’s gone. But his individual success only ever occurred outside of the NHL. Does he belong?
Listen here:
Continue reading “Does Igor Larionov Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”Anders Hedberg’s Hall of Fame case is very similar to that of his countryman’s, Ulf Nilsson. Both came to North America at the same time. Both dominated the WHA and won Avo Cups. And then they left the Jets together for the Rangers, where they had some team success and less individual success. (And lots of injury problems.)
Are his WHA numbers enough?
Find out:
Continue reading “Does Anders Hedberg Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”Glenn Anderson was the 5th best player on a dynastic hockey team. He then lucked out and got traded to a team which won him a sixth Stanley Cup. He was never the star of any of those 6 teams and he was only ever briefly a top offensive player in the NHL (when he was playing with 4 Hall of Fame skaters).
Yet he’s been in the Hall of Fame for a while.
In our latest episode, we talk about Anderson’s case, and how it centres on two things: his 6 Cups and his ridiculous playoff totals.
Listen here:
Continue reading “Why is Glenn Anderson in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”Rick Martin is one of the most dominant goal scorers in NHL history – he is 11th All Time in Goals Per Game. Yet he is not in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
In this episode we discuss his case and why he’s not already inducted.
Listen here:
Continue reading “Does Rick Martin Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”In Part 5 of our series on Hart Trophy winners, we focus on the years between the merger of the WHA and NHL in 1979 to the first lockout in 1994.
Hockey fans have a thing for nice big round numbers when they rate accomplishments, the most famous of which is “50 goals in 50 games.” The problem is that scoring rates have varied drastically across time, most notably in the period from the NHL-WHA merger to the strike of 1994-95, when everything went crazy.
Continue reading “The Top Inflated Outlier Seasons: Historical Context and the Meaning of 50 Goals/100 Points”Vaclav Nedomansky was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019. Perhaps you’re wondering why. We know we were.
In this episode, we look at his case for induction and try to come up with an explanation as to why he is in and numerous other WHA and European stars are not.
Listen here:
Continue reading “Does Vaclav Nedomansky Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”
By some metrics, Ulf Nilsson was the Greatest Player, or at least Greatest Forward, in WHA history. (APG and PPG, specifically.) But when he moved to the NHL he saw his numbers plummet and his career fall apart due to injuries.
In this episode we discuss whether or not Ulf Nilsson did enough in the WHA for us to say he belongs in the Hall of Fame.
Listen here:
Continue reading “Does Ulf Nilsson Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”
