Does Vincent Damphousse Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

By offensive numbers alone, it sure looks like there’s no much of a case for Vincent Damphousse to be included in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

However, some of us remember him as being particularly reliable defensively.

Was he? Did he do enough on that end? Have we forgotten how good he was because he never won the Selke, or are we mis-remembering?

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Frank Nighbor, the First NHL MVP

Frank Nighbor was awarded the first ever Hart Trophy for the NHL’s Most Valuable Player. He must have been pretty good.

But did he deserve that trophy? How good was he really?

Listen to us discuss Frank Nighbor:

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Does Rod Brind’Amour Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Rod Brind’Amour was a borderline offensive star in his early years and a consensus star defensive forward in the latter half of his career, winning the Selke twice. He is -39 for his career.

Was Brind’Amour that elite defensively? Was he a good enough all around player to be inducted?

Listen to us discuss Brind’Amour’s Hall of Fame case:

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Does Frank Foyston Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Frank Foyston was a star in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) but never really reached the same level in the NHA, WCHL or NHL, all of which he played in for at least 39 games.

Do players like Foyston, who only excelled in one of the early pro leagues, truly belong in the Hall of Fame?

Listen to us talk about Frank Foyston here:

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Does Jack Darragh Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

As with all our old timers, the question for us is, “How good was Jack Darragh?” Was he really a great player or was he merely someone who the voters fondly remembered?

In this episode, we examine his case. Listen here:

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Does Chris Pronger Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Chris Pronger was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame even while under contract to an NHL team. What was the rush inducting while he was still technically active? Was he really that good.

In this episode we discuss Pronger’s career and his HOF case.

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Does Eddie Gerard Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Eddie Gerard won a bunch of Stanley Cups. And by one metric he might have been the best defenceman in the early NHL.

Was he? Does he deserve to the be in the Hockey Hall of Fame? We discuss his case on our latest episode.

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Does Jack Walker Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Of all the players to be featured on The Back Check so far, Jack Walker has, by far, the least impressive stats we’ve seen. So why the hell is in the Hall of Fame?

Listen here to hear if we can figure it out:

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Does Eric Lindros Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

How great was Eric Lindros really?

Was he all hype or did he live up to some of it? Is the only thing keeping him from the GOAT conversation his concussion history?

Listen to us talk about Lindros here:

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Does Newsy Lalonde Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

The question with Newsy isn’t whether or not he belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame but rather, is Newsy Lalonde one of the Greatest of All Time?

Newsy’s dominance of the early NHL is unrivaled but where does he rank all time?

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