Does Harry “Hap” Holmes Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Hap Holmes appears to have some pretty mediocre regular season numbers – pedestrian GAAs and losing records in two of the four professional leagues he played in.

However, Holmes won a Stanley Cup in four professional leagues he played in. He is the only player in Stanley Cup history to win a Cup with four different teams. (Which makes him the only one to do it in four different leagues.) He was the starter on all four of those teams. Between 1917 and 1920 he was in the Stanley Cup final every single year, regardless of what team he was on.

Was he just lucky? Listen to us talk about Hap Holmes’ Hall of Fame case here.

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Does Tommy Dunderdale Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Tommy Dunderdale was a PCHA star and is the career leader in Goals. He wasn’t the greatest player in league history – that’s Cyclone Taylor – but he may have been the forward.

Does a PCHA star belong? Listen to us discuss Tommy Dunderdale’s Hall of Fame case:

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Does Herbie Lewis Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Herbie Lewis led the playoffs in Goals twice. So, as the second old timer inducted by the Veteran’s Committee, it makes some sense he was admitted to the Hall of Fame.

But did he do enough else to really belong? He was never really a regular season star.

In this episode, we discuss Herbie Lewis’ Hockey Hall of Fame case:

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Does Carson Cooper Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Carson Cooper was a senior hockey star that went pro a few years later than his contemporaries. He was briefly a star in NHL but soon declined. Does he belong in the Hall of Fame?

Listen to us talk about Carson Cooper here:

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Does George Hay Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Whether or not you think George Hay belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame depends a lot on how much weight you put on a player scoring at a point-per-game pace in the Western Canada Hockey League. It’s worth noting that Hay lost the scoring race to both Duke Keats and Bill Cook in different WCHL seasons – i.e. he was never clearly the best offensive player in the WCHL/WHL. Nor was he ever a true star in the NHL: His brief NHL career isn’t particularly distinguished compared to the careers of his contemporaries, given the size of the NHL at the time.

Listen to us talk about George Hay:

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Does Frank Fredrickson Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Fredrickson entered the NHL in his 30s but, before that, he was an absolute star of the PCHA, perhaps the 3rd best player in its history.

Is that good enough for him to be in the Hall of Fame?

Listen to us talk about him in our latest episode:

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Does Lester Patrick Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame as a Player?

To say Lester Patrick played in the NHL is a bit of an exaggeration – he played two games over two seasons in his mid 40s while he was the coach of the Rangers. His career as a player was mostly spent in the PCHA (which he co-founded).

Lester Patrick is one of the major figures in the early history of hockey. His role as a builder is so important you could argue there were few others as important.

But how about his career as a player? Was he a Hall of Famer?

We discuss that in our latest episode:

Lester Patrick’s stats:

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Does Gordon Duke Keats Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Duke Keats was, by many measures, the best player in the history of the WCHL. Does that mean he belongs in a Hockey Hall of Fame containing mostly NHL players?

In our latest episode, we discuss Keats’ case. Listen here:

Keats’ stats:

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Does Edward Reg Noble Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Reg Noble’s biggest claim to fame is that he set the NHL career record in games played and, when he retired he was way ahead of the next player.

Does he belong in the Hall of Fame? We talk about him here:

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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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