Montreal

Does Serge Savard Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

There are basically only 3 post-Bobby Orr defensive defencemen in the Hockey Hall of Fame. (And Savard actually is a contemporary of Bobby Orr, so maybe there are only two.) It’s hard to get in as a defensive defenceman when so many D score now.

On the other hand, there are few NHL players in NHL history to have a higher career plus minus than career points total. Savard is one of those players. And if Savard had never played for the Jets, his utterly insane plus minus would be even higher than his total points.

Is it possible that Savard’s remarkable goal differential is a product of his Hall of Fame teammates? In part, sure. But it’s a chicken or egg question, isn’t it?

So, does Serge Savard belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Listen to us discuss it here:

Is Guy Lafleur one of the Greatest of All Time?

For 6 seasons – more than half a decade – there was arguably no better hockey player on earth than Guy Lafleur. And there is arguably no better team in NHL history than Lafleur’s Canadiens of the late ’70s.

For the rest of his career, Lafleur was, um, not the best hockey player in the world. And so the question is, was he good enough in those six seasons to rank among the very, very best forwards in history, who managed longer peaks but less consistency?

Listen to us talk about Guy Lafleur’s case for one of the Greatest of All Time here:

Is Tony Esposito one of the Greatest Goalies of All Time?

We recorded this just after he died, so RIP.

Tony Esposito has one of the best regular season careers of any NHL goalie ever, not just in germs of his peak but in terms of how long he was among the best goalies in the league (at least by Goals Saved Above Average). Also, he helped change goalie masks for the better.

Yet his playoff numbers are significantly worse. He underperformed in one of his two good playoff runs and he was only ever on one truly great international team, as a backup.

So, it’s obvious Tony Esposito belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame but where does he rank all time?

Does Buddy O’Connor Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Buddy O’Connor as Montreal Canadien
team publicity photo
1940s
Montreal Canadiens
(Life time: pre-1949. copyright expired)

Buddy O’Connor was the first ever Hall of Fame inductee of the old Veteran’s Committee. He is one of only 4 Rangers to ever win the Hart Trophy.

But we’re not sure O’Connor deserved his Hart. And, if he didn’t deserve the trophy, his case isn’t so good. He had some good seasons but he was arguably never the best player in the league.

So, does Buddy O’Connor belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame? Listen to us discuss it here:

Does Steve Shutt Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

5 Cups, scored 60 goals, Steve Shutt probably belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame, right?

Well, Shutt probably wasn’t as good as you remember: not a point-per-game player and all his best years came playing with Guy Lafleur.

So, does Steve Shutt actually belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Listen here:

Is Guy Lapointe one of the Geastest Defencemen of All Time?

Is Guy Lapointe one of the greatest defencemen of all time?

He never won a Norris, but his career partially overlapped with Bobby Orr’s. And he won 6 Stanley Cups and a Canada Cup.

So where does he rank all time?

Listen to us discuss Guy Lapointe here:

Is Lionel Conacher Canada’s Greatest Athlete of All Time?

Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Lionel Conacher was one of the best defenders of his era.

But that’s not what impresses when you look back at his career. Rather, it’s his incredible versatility.

Listen to us talk about the greatest Canadian athlete of the first half of the 20th century here:

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 Denis Savard Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Denis Savard put up some gaudy regular season point totals in the ’80s and some impressive playoff numbers to boot.

But was he ever really among the best players in the league?

Listen to us discuss whether or not Denis Savard belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame:

Does Rod Langway Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Rod Langway won two Norris trophies and finished 2nd in Hart trophy voting to Wayne Gretzk once. He totally belongs, right?

However, Langway is the basically only purely defensive defenseman to win the Norris trophy in the trophy’s history. (Or, if you prefer, he’s the only purely defensive defenseman to win it since Bobby Orr transformed the position.)

Listen to us discuss whether or not he belongs: