Top 10 NHL players on the Hockey Hall of Fame borderline
(Ed. Note. What We Learned shall return next Monday. Here's Ryan Lambert on the Hockey Hall of Fame cases for several players.)
One of the most fun-slash-infuriating things to think about in this sport is which players belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Sometimes, it seems like they'll let just about anyone in (every third-line guy from the Canadiens of the late '50s), and other times an answer is so obvious that you can't believe it took that long for him to get in (Pavel Bure).
But the good part of that problem, if you want to call it “good” in the first place, is that it becomes a lot more difficult to guess who's going to make it in one day. That, in turn, sparks a good amount of debate as to who's going to make it. Here again, there are the slam-dunk players who are in the league right now — Pavel Datsyuk, Sidney Crosby, Jaromir Jagr, etc. — that “debating it” isn't worth your time.
But then there are the borderline cases, guys some would swear on a stack of bibles 100 percent belong to be immortalized in the Hall, while others would look at their names and scoff audibly. Here are the 10 current players whose current HHOF cases are most intriguing, ranked from least likely selection at No. 10, to most likely at No. 1.
10. Jason Spezza
The case against: I get the feeling that in seeing this list, people did that “scoffing audibly” thing I just talked about. Spezza has a reputation as a bit of a hanger-on, and a guy who's not all that durable. His teams have often been only okay, and only twice has he gotten out of the first round of the playoffs. Most people wouldn't consider him a top-10 center of his era.
The case for: His numbers are surprisingly great. As in, among players who were in the league through the end of last season, Spezza's points per game was sixth, at 1.002. That puts him behind only Crosby, Malkin, Ovechkin, Jagr, and Selanne. (His points per game in the playoffs? 0.93.) And despite the fact that it feels as though he's been in the league forever, he just turned 31 in June. Will his scoring slow down? Sure it will, but the chances that he breaks both 1,000 games and points seems quite high. He's a sneaky-dominant scorer for his era.
The verdict: I doubt he makes it, at least based on his current reputation and career, but it wouldn't be preposterous.
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9. Tim Thomas
The case against: A playing career of only 378 games across portions of just eight seasons, of which he was only dominant for four or five. Possibly a “product of the system” behind Claude Julien's meat-grinder defense in Boston. After all, look at what Tuukka Rask and any Boston backup has done since Julien took over. Also, kind of a jerk and no one in the league seems to like him much.
The case for: That thing about being dominant? He was absurdly dominant. From 2007-08 to 2011-12, his save percentage was the best in the league among goalies with at least 200 games. He won a Stanley Cup, he won two Vezinas, and his worst save percentage by far in that time was .915. He saved the Bruins a lot of goals.
The verdict: Obama broke him. His peak, high though it may have been, was entirely too brief.
8. Patrik Elias
The case against: Never have you ever been able to say “Patrik Elias is one of the best forwards in this league.” He's had just one season north of 90 points, and he's only 20th in active points per game. Doesn't score a ton, doesn't set up a ton. Another guy whose success might be seen as a “product of the system,” he's never even been the best player on his own team.
The case for: Patrik Elias has been very good for a very long time. He just completed a 53-point season in 65 games as a 37-year-old and basically seems ageless. He's won two Stanley Cups and could be seen as integral in both cases. Played the entire front half of his career on what is (perhaps unfairly) seen as a defense-first in the Dead Puck Era but still hangs around among the best active producers producers regardless.
The verdict: This guy is basically the perfect test case for Hall of Fame candidacy. I'd really doubt he gets in.
7. Sergei Gonchar
The case against: He's Russian. Also, a shell of what he used to be. Like Elias, you could never say Sergei Gonchar was one of the best blue liners in the league. The ability to stick around for a long time is not necessarily a Hall of Fame-worthy skill in and of itself.
The case for: Again, look at the production: 1,253 games and his third point this coming season will be his 800th. He would become just the 16th defenseman in league history to reach that mark, and all but Phil Housley, Gary Suter, and Doug Wilson made the HHOF cut. He's first among active defensemen in points per game (0.64 per), and unlike those previous three he didn't play in the high-scoring days of the '80s and early '90s. He also won a Cup, if you care about that sort of thing.
The verdict: If I had a vote he would get it, but probably not on the first ballot unless his class wasn't that good.
6. Shane Doan
The case against: This is another guy like Elias, but without the championship pedigree at the NHL level. Underwhelming production (40th among active players in points per game), captaining a team that through no fault of his own is perpetually an also-ran. His case, too, benefits almost entirely from the fact that he's just been around forever (1,315 games and counting).
The case for: You can set your watch to a 50-point guy and he's beloved in the media for all the phony-baloney, dirt-dog reasons the media and hockey old-timers usually loves guys like him. Then there's the international success: Gold at two World Championships, and another at the World Cup. He was an Olympian as well (albeit for a team that humiliated itself in Turin). When it comes to the Hockey Hall of Fame, that's not nothing.
The verdict: Not a chance based on his NHL contributions, but that international career and status as a beloved “Good Guy Of The Game” could get him in. It shouldn't, but it might.
5. Daniel and Henrik Sedin
The case against: Weirdly, they have long been seen as big-time losers who couldn't even get their local media to consider them legitimate first-line guys for years. Might have only been good because there are two of them.
The case for: They've each been league MVP, which is something else. They never won a Cup but they've brought the Canucks a lot of success over the years (certainly more so than Markus Naslund). Henrik is currently 23rd in points per game among active players, while Daniel is 26th. This despite a rotating cast of linemates because it doesn't matter who plays with them, from Jason King to Alex Burrows, they're scoring anyway. Both also have Olympic and World Championship gold medals.
The verdict: They're in for me — with ease — but you can definitely see the crotchety old weirdos who vote for this kind of thing having something against them for some indiscernible reason.
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4. Martin St. Louis
The case against: There's not much there to go against him, other than the fact that he was on a lot of bad teams for a lot of years.
The case for: He has a closet full of shiny stuff at home. Won a Cup, won a World Cup, won an Olympic gold medal. Two-time Art Ross winner (plus 102- and 99-point seasons in which he didn't win that award). The 2003-04 MVP from both the media and players. Three Lady Byngs. He'll break 1,000 points this season, and he's almost a point a game in the playoffs. He's currently 12th in the league in points-per-game.
The verdict: First-ballot for me, but if you're going to leave out the next few guys — and some people would because they are idiots — then you can't very well let St. Louis in.
3. Roberto Luongo
The case against: Also (unfairly) seen as a loser, which might just be a Vancouver thing. Played a ton of his career in Florida, where careers tend to be ignored in best-case scenarios. Never won a Vezina, never won anything in the postseason.
The case for: He's the best goaltender of his generation. Sorry, he is. Career .919 save percentage, in 803 games plus whatever comes next. He's been around forever, and playing at an absurdly high level pretty much since Day 1. Starting goaltender for an Olympic gold, two-time World Championship winner, World Cup winner.
The verdict: No doubt about it but I bet he has trouble getting in on the first ballot.
2. Joe Thornton
The case against: Oh my god has a bigger loser than Joe Thornton ever even lived? He can produce all he wants in the regular season but when the playoffs roll around his teams always die in the most miserable ways possible. Terrible leader. Will never score four goals in a game (but maybe that's a positive). Only 173 goals because he's a coward who refuses to shoot the puck. He's also soft as hell. People actually think all this stuff.
The case for: Where to start? He has 1,194 points in 1,207 games, and seems like he might never slow down to anything less than “70 in 82” for a season. It's remarkable. Former MVP, led the league in assists three years in a row. And despite his reputation as a choker when games matter most, he's one of only 12 active players to break 100 career postseason points. International success? He's got it. World Junior gold, Olympic gold, World Cup gold.
The verdict: Joe Thornton rules. If he doesn't get in on the first ballot, we might as well burn the Hall to the ground.
1. Jarome Iginla
The case against: He doesn't have a Cup. That's literally it.
The case for: The last time he didn't score 30 goals in a full season was 1999-2000. Two-time 50-goal guy, two-time Rocket Richard winner, one-time Art Ross winner. Should have won two Harts, but settled for a Ted Lindsay. Went 52-44-96 in 2001-02 with Dean McAmmond and Craig Conroy on the top line. He is the Calgary Flames. Dragged a team with Oleg Saprykin getting significant minutes to a Cup Final, and only lost in a Game 7 after his team probably won Game 6. He has 560 career goals in the regular season, and 37 more in the postseason. Two straight Memorial Cups, two Olympic golds, a World Championship, a World Cup, and a World Junior title (the last of these as he led the tournament in goals and points). Great humanitarian, great leader, great sportsman.
The verdict: Only a complete idiot would doubt his candidacy, and his status as one of the greatest hockey players of all time should be unquestioned. He's a legend in every sense of the word. But because he spent his prime playing alongside a bunch of stiffs, we apparently have to have this debate.
Ryan Lambert is a Puck Daddy columnist. His email is hereand his Twitter is here.
