Does Lorne “Gump” Worsley Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Gump Worsley spent half his career playing for bad teams.

But then he got traded to the Habs, won some Vezinas, and could have won at least one Conn Smythe if the votes had gone differently.

The big question about Worsley is which part of his career should we take seriously: the regular season goalie without a winning record or the goalie who was among the best in the world for a time?

Listen to us talk about Gump Worsley’s Hall of Fame case here:

Continue reading “Does Lorne “Gump” Worsley Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”

Does Dave Keon Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

For some Dave Keon is perhaps the best defensive forward of the 1960s and one of the Greatest Maple Leafs of All Time.

For others, Keon’s per game numbers leave a lot to be desired. And his offensive numbers during the 1967 playoffs do not justify his Conn Smythe.

So, does Dave Keon belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

List to us discuss his Hall of Fame case here:

Continue reading “Does Dave Keon Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”

Does Leo Boivin Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

TGC-Topps Gum Cards, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

With the exception of a strong playoff run in 1957, Leo Boivin had a decent career that sure doesn’t look like a Hall of Fame one.

He never won an individual award or the Stanley Cup and he only ever finished Top 5 in Norris voting once. (And he played most of his career during the Norris-trophy era.)

He is among the most controversial Hockey Hall of Fame inductees ever. And so in this episode we ask whether or not Leo Boivin belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Listen to us talk about his Hall of Fame case here:

Continue reading “Does Leo Boivin Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”

Does Mike Gartner Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Washington Capitals / NHL, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Mike Gartner retired with the 5th most Goals of All Time. Yet he was never a star player and is derided in some corners of the internet as a “compiler”, i.e. a guy who was just very good and very healthy.

Does Mike Gartner actually belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Listen to us discuss his case here:

Continue reading “Does Mike Gartner Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”

Does Larry Murphy Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Larry Murphy played forever and won a bunch of Cups. But he never won a Norris and never made a 1st All Starm Team.

Does Larry Murphy Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Listen to us discuss his case here:

Continue reading “Does Larry Murphy Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”

Does Matt Cullen Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Why are we even writing about Matt Cullen? Obviously he doesn’t belong in the Hall of Fame, right?

Well, he’s 20th All Time in NHL Games Played. And he has 3 Stanley Cups at a time when that’s pretty rare.

So, the question is, are the standards so low now that he might make it in?

Listen to us talk about Matt Cullen’s (lack of a) Hall of Fame case here:

Continue reading “Does Matt Cullen Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”

Does Jean-Guy Talbot Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Ralrton-Purina Company, maker of Chex cereals

Now that Kevin Lowe is in the Hockey Hall of Fame, we decided to look at someone else with a lot of Cups who isn’t in yet: Jean-Guy Talbot.

Listen to us discuss his case here:

Continue reading “Does Jean-Guy Talbot Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”

Does Bobby Smith Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Bobby Smith was a star for the North Stars and then the Habs. But he has pretty mediocre offensive numbers given when he played. But then he has remarkably high playoff point totals.

So does he belong or not?

Listen to us talk about Bobby Smith here:

Continue reading “Does Bobby Smith Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”

Does Dino Ciccarelli Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Infamously, Dino Ciccarelli was the sole NHL player inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2010. Why was he deserving of a year to himself? What makes him so special? Or did the HOF make a mistake?

Listen to us talk about Ciccarelli’s case here:

Error occurred when trying to fetch the file using wp_remote_get(). cURL error 6: Could not resolve host: the-back-check.pinecast.comedia

Ciccarelli’s stats:

Continue reading “Does Dino Ciccarelli Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”

Does Mike Modano Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Mike Modano never scored more than 93 points in a single season and yet some people regard him as one of the greatest American-born hockey players ever, if not the absolute greatest.

Others look at his offensive output and think he’s horribly overrated.

Which is it? Does he belong or has he been horribly overrated?

Listen here:

Continue reading “Does Mike Modano Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?”