NHA – Who really belongs in the Hall of Fame?

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

Angus Carroll’s Blog, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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.

Does Tommy Dunderdale Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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:

Does Bert Corbeau Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Bert Corbeau was, by some metrics, one of the best D of his era. In this episode, we discuss whether or not he should be inducted.

Listen here:

Does Cully Wilson Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Cully Wilson was a notorious goon of a hockey player. He is also one of the rare early pros to have success in all four major pro leagues. Does he belong in the Hall of Fame?

Listen to us talk about Cully Wilson:

Before the Hart: Who Should Have Been MVP?

If the Hart had existed throughout the entirety of the NHL, these guys should have won in the years it didn’t actually exist:

Newsy Lalonde: 2 Harts
Joe Malone, Punch Broadbent, Georges Boucher: 1 Hart each
1 year where we have no fucking clue who deserved it

Here are the details:

Does Tommy Smith Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Tommy Smith is a player we really had never heard of.

Why? Because he played 10 games in the NHL. He scored 1 point.

But Tommy Smith is one of the best players in the history of the NHA.

Additionally, he dominated every amateur and semi-pro and early pro league he was in.

He probably belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Listen to us talk about Tommy Smith:

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:

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:

James Odie Cleghorn

Odie Cleghorn’s brother is a famous Hall of Fame hockey player. Was Odie also deserving?

In this episode, we discuss whether or not Odie Cleghorn has a comparable case to some other NHA/1920s players who were questionably inducted.

Odie’s stats are as follows:

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: