Avalanche

Does Jari Kurri Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Or, rather, is Jari Kurri the Greatest Finnish Hockey Player of All Time?

Kurri was a huge offensive star in the ’80s but, of course, he was playing on the wing of the greatest offensive hockey player the world has ever seen.

Listen to us talk about Kurri’s place in history here:

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 Patrick Roy the Greatest Goaltender of All Time?

That’s the question we seek to answer in our latest episode.

Rick Dikeman, CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, via Wikimedia Commons

Roy has longevity and some incredible playoff runs, but doesn’t have the same kind of sustained regular season peaks as some other greats.

Listen to us talk about Roy here:

Does Dale Hunter Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

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:

Does Joe Sakic Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Joe Sakic was one of the great centers of his era, dominating during a hard time to score and then scoring consistently for a very long time. The question isn’t whether he belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame, but where he ranks among the greatest centres of all time.

Listen to us discuss Joe Sakic here:

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:

Does Peter Forsberg Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Peter Forsberg combined elite passing with elite defensive ability and elite effort. His offensive rate statistics put him among the very best centres in the history of the NHL. Add to that his defense, and it feels as though he has a case to be considered one of the best centres to ever play the game.

Listen to us discuss Peter Forsberg:

Does Dave Andreychuk Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

One of the more controversial recent inductions was Dave Andreychuk, a player whose case is based nearly entirely on longevity.

Does he belong? Listen here:

Does Paul Kariya Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Kariya’s career was marred by injuries but he was inducted relatively quickly after his retirement compared to a lot of players who have played fewer than 1,000 games.

Was that warranted?

Where does Kariya rank in his era?

Listen here:

Does Pierre Turgeon Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Pierre Turgeon is our first truly eligible player that we’re considering. And he’s a bit of a litmus test, as he has the most points of any eligible (inactive for 3 years) player not in the Hall of Fame (as well as the most assists). If he belongs, others do to.

But if he doesn’t, maybe he’s a good cut-off point for counting stats.

Listen here: