Penguins

Does Tim Horton Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Tim Horton is now famous for Tim Horton’s than he is for hockey. But, while he was alive, he was reputed to be the strongest player in the league. He won four Stanley Cups (leading the Leafs in points one layoff) and is one of the greatest D in Leafs history.

But is also a bit of a proto Brad Park: he was a runner up in Norris trophy voting twice, with four other Top 4 finishes, but never won the award. He was also a minus on a couple of the Cup winning teams he played for.

So, does Tim Horton belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Listen here:

Does Andy Bathgate Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

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

Andy Bathgate won the Hart (though we don’t agree) and he was arguably the 2nd best regular season RW of his era (if you don’t count the years he overlapped with Richard).

But his playoff numbers are not great and the only Cup he won he had quite a diminished role.

So, does Andy Bathgate belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Listen here:

Does Leo Boivin Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

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:

Does Bryan Trottier Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Bryan Trottier won six Cups, a Hart, an Art Ross, a Conn Smythe (and should have won a second) and was among the all time leading scorers in NHL history when he retired.

Really the only blemish on his career is that adjustments for era hurt him a little bit.

So it’s obvious he belongs in the Hall of Fame and the question really is, where does he rank all time among NHL centres?

Listen to us talk about Trottier here:

Is Mario Lemieux the Greatest of All Time?

Through a career riddled by injuries – including one induced retirement – Lemieux was one of the most dominant forwards the game has ever seen. He temporarily led the NHL in both career Goals Per Game and Points Per Game, despite debuting after Gretzky and despite playing more of his career in the Dead Puck Era.

Tony McCune, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

But Lemieux never reached Gretzky’s accomplishments either in terms of his peak or his longevity. He has fewer scoring titles and Cups than Gretzky, and Gretzky achieved Lemieux’s offensive feats many times over.

Listen to us discuss whether or not Lemieux is the Greatest Hockey Player of All Time, the Greatest Centre of All Time, or something else, here:

Does Joe Mullen Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Joe Mullen was among the first American NHL stars and the first American player to reach 500 goals. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in his fist year of eligibility.

But his regular season stats aren’t actually that great and are substantially helped by the era he played in.

So, does Joe Mullen belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame? Listen 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 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:

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:

Is Ron Francis One of the Great Centres in NHL History?

Ron Francis undoubtedly belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Skaters who played as long as he did and were as consistently good as he was always get in.

by akulawolf / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)

But the real question is, how good was he? He was never really a top offensive star and his best years came as the second line centre on a team with two of the best forwards in history (and one of the two candidates for best centre ever).

Listen to us debate Francis’ career here: