Oilers

Does Norm Ullman Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Ralrton-Purina Company, maker of Chex cereals, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Norm Ullman was one of the league’s all time leading scorers when he left the NHL.

But two of the players above him on that list were his teammates. And he was a second line player for a substantial section of his career. Also, he never won a Cup.

So, does Norm Ullman belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Listen here:

Is Wayne Gretzky the Greatest Hockey Play of All Time?

Gretzky is The Great One. But some of us think Bobby Orr was better.

So maybe he’s the greatest forward ever. But then there’s Gordie Howe.

So maybe he’s the greatest centre ever. But then some people think Lemieux is.

For this episode, we spend it talking entirely about how incredible Gretzky was.

Listen here:

Does Jari Kurri Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Or, rather, is Jari Kurri the Greatest Finnish Hockey Player of All Time?

Kurri was a huge offensive star in the ’80s but, of course, he was playing on the wing of the greatest offensive hockey player the world has ever seen.

Listen to us talk about Kurri’s place in history here:

Does Grant Fuhr Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Does Grant Fuhr belong in the Hall of Fame?

Sure, he has Cups and a Vezina. And he has the record for most goalie games played in a single season.

But he also has extremely mediocre stats compared to his contemporaries, most of whom are not in the Hall of Fame like he is.

Then, there’s this other thing: he’s arguably the first ever African Canadian (or African American) hockey star in history. A true trail-blazer.

So does he belong?

Listen to us debate his case here:

Is Paul Coffey the Greatest Offensive Defenceman of All Time?

Paul Coffey’s offensive stats are just staggering. He owns the single season goals record for a defender and almost topped Orr’s points record. He had both an extremely high offensive peak and also did things consistently through his career that few have ever done before. If he was healthier at the end, he probably would be the highest scoring D in NHL history.

But, especially in the ’80s, there were huge concerns about his defense. And some people still believe he should have played forward.

So where does he rank all time? Does such a player belong in the Hall of Fame?

Listen to us talk about Paul Coffey here:

Does Curtis Joseph Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

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

Cujo is 7th All Time in Wins and was, by Goalie Point Shares, the Most Valuable Goalie in the league for three straight seasons and yet is not in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

So, does he belong?

Listen to us talk about him here:

Is Kevin Lowe the Worst Player to be Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Normally with our subject lines we ask “Does so and so belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame”? But, with Kevin Lowe, it’s hard to ask that question seriously even though he’s been inducted.

And that’s because, as you’ll see below, Kevin Lowe’s case for Hall of Fame induction rests on one thing and one thing alone: he won some Cups.

So listen to us rant about Kevin Lowe in this episode of our podcast:

Is Mark Messier the Greatest Leader in Hockey History?

The narrative is that Mark Messier is the Greatest Leader/Captain in NHL history, probably hockey history and (depending upon who you talk to) maybe even in pro sports history.

So the question isn’t whether or not he belongs in the Hall of Fame, but how good he was. And do his “intangibles” make up for never being a top offensive player ever during the course of his career?

Listen to us talk bout Mark Messier:

Why is Glenn Anderson in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Glenn Anderson was the 5th best player on a dynastic hockey team. He then lucked out and got traded to a team which won him a sixth Stanley Cup. He was never the star of any of those 6 teams and he was only ever briefly a top offensive player in the NHL (when he was playing with 4 Hall of Fame skaters).

Yet he’s been in the Hall of Fame for a while.

In our latest episode, we talk about Anderson’s case, and how it centres on two things: his 6 Cups and his ridiculous playoff totals.

Listen here:

Does Doug Weight Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Until very recently, Doug Weight was one of the Top 5 American passers in the history of the NHL, and he did so while playing his prime in the Dead Puck (Clutch and Grab) era, at one point scoring over 100 points in a season.

We both fondly remember Weight from those classic Oilers-Stars series of the late ’90s and early ’00s. But does he really deserve a spot in the Hall of Fame?

Listen to our discussion 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

Weight’s stats: