Who really belongs in the Hall of Fame?
Every NHL player's case analyzed
Art Coulter was a D who played right before the Original Six but who was inducted in the 1970s.
His Hall of Fame case is based on his end-of-season All Star Team finishes and once being Top 3 in Hart voting. But they took forever to induct him.
Listen to us discuss Art Coulter’s mysterious Hall of Fame case here:
Continue reading “Does Art Coulter Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”Billy Burch won the Hart in a year when he was the 3rd best offensive player on his own team and the 6th best overall. That’s basically his only case for Hall of Fame inclusion.
But what if he did something else?
Listen to us talk about Billy Burch’s Hall of Fame case here:
Continue reading “Does Billy Burch Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”Pierre Pilote is, by some metrics, one of the greatest NHL D of All Time. He has more Norris Trophies (3) than all but four other D. And only 6 D have appeared on more end-of-season All Star Teams.
So obviously Pierre Pilote belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame. But where does he rank among the best D ever?
Listen to us talk about Pierre Pilote here:
Continue reading “Is Pierre Pilote one of the Greatest Defencmen of All Time?”Djcz, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
There is a never-ending debate among hockey fans as to which player of Gretzky, Lemieux and Orr was the greatest. There are certain areas where each stands supreme.
Our vote is for Orr because we think he played the more difficult and more important position and because he revolutionized the position as well. (Also, the skating.) But at least one of us thinks there’s room for debate.
Listen to us talk about Bobby Orr:
Continue reading “Is Bobby Orr the Greatest Hockey Player of All Time?”
Harry Lumley belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame because he was the All Time Wins Leader at his retirement. But, was he really that good?
Most of his career, the league didn’t track shots. Once, they did, Lumley’s numbers started not looking so good (though he was getting old).
We discuss his career here:
Continue reading “Does Harry Lumley 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?”Many 21st century hockey fans likely think the answer to the question “Who is the Greatest Left Winger of All Time?” has an easy answer, Alex Ovechkin.
But it’s possible we don’t remember how dominant Bobby Hull truly was. Hull won 2 Hart trophies and 3 Art Ross trophies. But he was a Hart finalist for most of a decade. Additionally, he was, by most standards, the best offensive player of his era, both in the regular season and, crucially, in the playoffs.
And then he went to another league and dominated it in his late 30s. (It’s possible his departure to the WHA colours how we think of his career.)
So, is Bobby Hull the Greatest LW of All Time? Listen here:
Continue reading “Is Bobby Hull the Greatest Left Wing 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?”Bert Olmstead was one of the premier passing wingers of his era, leading both the regular season and playoffs in assists two times. He also won five Stanley Cups.
But his playoff numbers are significantly worse than his regular season numbers, despite the Cups. And he never made a end of season 1st Team in a league with only 6 franchises.
So, does Bert Olmstead belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame? Listen to us discuss here:
Continue reading “Does Bert Olmstead Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”
