Lady Byng Trophy

Is Ron Francis One of the Great Centres in NHL History?

Ron Francis undoubtedly belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Skaters who played as long as he did and were as consistently good as he was always get in.

by akulawolf / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)

But the real question is, how good was he? He was never really a top offensive star and his best years came as the second line centre on a team with two of the best forwards in history (and one of the two candidates for best centre ever).

Listen to us debate Francis’ career here:

Does Brett Hull Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

by Johnmaxmena2 [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

Brett Hull is one of the greatest goal scorers in NHL history but he is often accused of being so one-dimensional that he shouldn’t be considered a great player.

In this episode, we discuss his case and whether or not he’s as one-dimensional as many often claim.

Listen here:

Stats:

Does Alexander Mogilny Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Alex Mogilny had one of the best goal-scoring seasons in the history of the NHL and one other pretty dominant season. But the knock on him was his consistency, as he had very mediocre years in between his good years.

Mogilny is also notable for being one of the last USSR players to defect to the States, and having never played internationally for Russia once he did so.

In this episode, we discuss his convoluted case for induction:

Here are his stats:

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:

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:

Nighbor’s Stats:

Continue reading “Frank Nighbor, the First NHL MVP”

Does Pavel Datsyuk Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Pavel Datsyuk was arguably the best two-way forward of his era, able to dominate other teams defensively without taking many penalties, while scoring enough to sometimes rank in the Top 10 in league scoring. He was the NHL’s first “Corsi God,” a player who drove possession so well that, once the NHL started tracking possession numbers, Datsyuk was simply the best player in the league by those metrics.

However, Datsyuk does not have the gaudy offensive numbers of other NHL Hall of Famers, and he was often played as the second best forward on his own team.

So where does Datsyuk rank all time? Listen to us talk about Pavel Datsyuk here:

Datsyuk’s stats:

Continue reading “Does Pavel Datsyuk Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”

Does Martin St Louis Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Martin St. Louis will be formally inducted into the Hall of Fame in October. Yet there are people who strongly believe he either doesn’t belong or that he should have “wait.” (Why someone should have to wait, we don’t know.)

In our latest episode, we talk about how open and shut St. Loui’s Hall of Fame inclusion case truly is even though one of us doesn’t personally like the guy for no particular reason. Listen here:

St. Louis’ stats:

Continue reading “Does Martin St Louis Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”

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:

Here are Kariya’s stats:

Continue reading “Does Paul Kariya Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”

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:

His stats are below:

Continue reading “Does Pierre Turgeon Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”

Stan Mikita

Career:

NHL: 1958-80; 22 seasons, 19 quality
Totals:
- 541G,[1. 6th All Time at his retirement]
- 926A (18th All Time)[2. 2nd All Time at his retirement] for
- 1467P (14th All Time)[3. 3rd All Time at his retirement]
- +159[4. Since 1967-68] in
- 1394 games;[5. 7th at his retirement]
- 143.7 PS[6. 5th at his retirement]
Mikita is 20th All Time in Offensive Point Shares[7. Mikita was also 2nd All Time in Offensive Point Shares]
At his retirement, Mikita was 6th All Time in GPG, 2nd in APG and 5th in PPG[8. Minimum 1,000 games]
Era: Mikita is 3rd in Goals, 2nd in GPG, APG, Points, PPG, OPS, PS and Games, and 1st in Assists[9. Of the 6 players to play in at least 1200 games between 1958 and 1980, as only 3 players played in 1250 games, and only 2 players played in 1300 games over that span]
82-game average: 32G, 54A for 86P
3-year peak:[10. 1966-69] 74-game average of 36G, 60A for 96P
Playoffs: 59G, 91A for 150P in 155 games
Adjusted:
- Hockey Reference:
  - 541G, 937A for 1478P
  - Adjusted 82-game average: 32G, 55A for 87P
  - Adjusted Per Game:
- VsX:
Never traded.