Nordiques

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:

Does Peter Stastny Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Peter Stastny is a legend; one of the NHL’s first European-trained stars and in the Top 10 All Time in both APG and PPG.

Tsunami330, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

But he was never close to the best player in league – he has one Top 5 Hart finish in his entire career – and he was never a star in best-on-best international competition.

So, does he deserve his reputation as one of the great players of the 1980s?

Listen here:

Does Dale Hunter Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

No, Dale Hunter does not belong in the Hall of Fame.

So why did we talk about him? Well, he’s 2nd All Time in Penalties in Minutes, for one thing. And there was a time when that, um, meant something.

Listen to us talk about Dale Hunter:

Does Mats Sundin belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Mats Sundin was inducted into the Hall of Fame very quickly. But there’s controversy over his induction because, unlike many Hall of Famers, Sundin’s case is one built on a consistency argument, not a “peak” or greatness argument.

We talk about Sundin’s case here:

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:

Does Peter Forsberg Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Peter Forsberg combined elite passing with elite defensive ability and elite effort. His offensive rate statistics put him among the very best centres in the history of the NHL. Add to that his defense, and it feels as though he has a case to be considered one of the best centres to ever play the game.

Listen to us discuss Peter Forsberg: