Rocket Richard Trophy

Does Gordie Drillon Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Hockey publicity photo c 1940(Life time: pre-1949, copyright expired), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Did you know that Gordie Drillon was one of the greatest goal scorers in early NHL history?

He was indeed. And we think he has a pretty slam dunk Hall of Fame case. Listen to us talk about him here:

Does Irvine Ace Bailey Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Ace Bailey was briefly the best forward in the league. But he had only really great year and three good years. And he didn’t perform well in the playoffs

Listen to us talk about Ace Bailey’s Hall of Fame case:

Is Bobby Hull the Greatest Left Wing of All Time?

Many 21st century hockey fans likely think the answer to the question “Who is the Greatest Left Winger of All Time?” has an easy answer, Alex Ovechkin.

But it’s possible we don’t remember how dominant Bobby Hull truly was. Hull won 2 Hart trophies and 3 Art Ross trophies. But he was a Hart finalist for most of a decade. Additionally, he was, by most standards, the best offensive player of his era, both in the regular season and, crucially, in the playoffs.

And then he went to another league and dominated it in his late 30s. (It’s possible his departure to the WHA colours how we think of his career.)

So, is Bobby Hull the Greatest LW of All Time? Listen here:

Is Phil Esposito one of the Greatest Centres of All Time?

Boston Bruins, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Why is it that we (our generation anyway) have trouble thinking of Esposito as one of the greatest hockey players of all time? Is it because he was on the same team as Bobby Orr, whose legend has endured far better? Is it because of Esposito’s extraordinarily unathletic physique? Is it because everything he did has since been done multiple times by multiple players so those records feel less important?

We have no idea, but Espo was the most dominant offensive player between Howe and Gretzky. (We read somewhere that Lafleur was the most dominant offensive player between Howe and Gretzky, but we don’t see evidence to back that up.)

Sure, Espo benefited from playing more games per season in the newly expanded league (someone was going to set records) and, yes, he benefited from playing with the Greatest of All Time, but lesser players wouldn’t have excelled the way he did, over such a long period of time.

Listen to us talk about Esposito here:

Is Mike Bossy the Greatest Goal Scorer of All Time?

New York Islanders/NHL, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Mike Bossy is 1st All Time in Goals Per Game, was Top 5 in GPG in all but one season of his NHL career and is the only player other than Gretzky to score 50 goals 9 straight times.

But nobody is hurt by Hockey Reference’s adjustment for era more than Mike Bossy. So arguably nobody benefited from playing when they did more than Bossy.

So, is Mike Bossy the greatest goal scorer in NHL history?

Listen to us talk about Mike Bossy’s Hall of Fame case 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 Roy Conacher Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Roy Conacher scored the second most goals of his era, behind only Maurice Richard. And he also won an Art Ross.

But it took the Hall of fame decades to induct him, and he wasn’t inducted until the late 1990s.

In this episode, we discuss Roy Conacher’s case for the 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 Brett Hull Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

by Johnmaxmena2 [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

Brett Hull is one of the greatest goal scorers in NHL history but he is often accused of being so one-dimensional that he shouldn’t be considered a great player.

In this episode, we discuss his case and whether or not he’s as one-dimensional as many often claim.

Listen here:

Stats:

Does Vincent Lecavalier Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Vincent Lecavalier is one of those classic “one great year” cases; he was a dominant player for a season or two but, for much of the rest of his career, he was merely good. Was Lecavalier’s peak good enough for him to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Listen to us talk about Vinny Lecavalier here:

If you prefer to listen through iTunes, click this link.

Lecvalier’s stats are below: