Conn Smythe Trophy

Is Bob Gainey the Greatest Defensive Forward of All Time?

Bob Gainey does not have your conventional Hockey Hall of Fame case, his offensive numbers are worse than a defensive defenceman. (Of the NHL players who are +200 for their career, Gainey has the lowest PPG of any forward.)

But, as legend has it, the Selke Trophy was invented for Bob Gainey. Until Bergeron won his most recent Selke, nobody had as many Selkes as Gainey. And then he has that Conn Smythe too.

In this episode, we talk about Bob Gainey’s Hall of Fame case:

Is Billy Smith one of the Greatest Goalies of All Time?

Billy Smith’s playoff accomplishments are legendary.

But are his stats good enough for him to be discussed among the greatest NHL goalies ever?

Listen to us discuss Billy Smith’s Hockey Hall of Fame case and where he ranks all time:

Hall of Fame class of 1993: Edgar Laprade, Guy Lapointe, Steve Shutt and Billy Smith

Is Larry Robinson one of the Greatest Defencemen of All Time?

Larry Robinson is the All Time Leader in Plus Minus and has a pretty remarkable career.

Yet sometimes he feels a bit forgotten, surrounded as he was by Hall of Fame Teammates on the Greatest Hockey Team of All Time.

Where does he rank among the All Time Greats? Does he even make your list?

Listen to us talk about Larry Robinson here:

Does Bryan Trottier Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Bryan Trottier won six Cups, a Hart, an Art Ross, a Conn Smythe (and should have won a second) and was among the all time leading scorers in NHL history when he retired.

Really the only blemish on his career is that adjustments for era hurt him a little bit.

So it’s obvious he belongs in the Hall of Fame and the question really is, where does he rank all time among NHL centres?

Listen to us talk about Trottier here:

Is Mario Lemieux the Greatest of All Time?

Through a career riddled by injuries – including one induced retirement – Lemieux was one of the most dominant forwards the game has ever seen. He temporarily led the NHL in both career Goals Per Game and Points Per Game, despite debuting after Gretzky and despite playing more of his career in the Dead Puck Era.

Tony McCune, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

But Lemieux never reached Gretzky’s accomplishments either in terms of his peak or his longevity. He has fewer scoring titles and Cups than Gretzky, and Gretzky achieved Lemieux’s offensive feats many times over.

Listen to us discuss whether or not Lemieux is the Greatest Hockey Player of All Time, the Greatest Centre of All Time, or something else, here:

Is Wayne Gretzky the Greatest Hockey Play of All Time?

Gretzky is The Great One. But some of us think Bobby Orr was better.

So maybe he’s the greatest forward ever. But then there’s Gordie Howe.

So maybe he’s the greatest centre ever. But then some people think Lemieux is.

For this episode, we spend it talking entirely about how incredible Gretzky was.

Listen here:

Does Justin Williams belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Justin Williams is Mr. Clutch, he has the best Game 7 stats in the history of the sport. He has a Conn Smythe and he as 3 Cups, which is a lot for a 21st century player.

But his regular season stats are paltry. And did he deserve that Conn Smythe?

In this episode, we discuss whether or not Justin Williams belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame:

Does Brad Richards Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Brad Richards has a Conn Smythe, two Cups, a World Cup and had a couple pretty good regular seasons.

But his regular season numbers are pretty inconsistent. And he was never considered one of the top players in the league.

So, does he belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame? Listen to us talk about him here:

Does Butch Goring Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Magickallwiz at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Butch Goring won four Stanley Cups and a Conn Smythe trophy. And he’s got more awards than Clark Gillies. But he’s not in the Hall of Fame.

That could be because he probably didn’t deserve that Conn Smythe. And his regular season and playoff numbers are hardly elite.

Listen to us discuss Goring’s case 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: