Does Kris Letang fall into the category of a Hall of Famer to you?

[kingsholygrail]

If that was actually a standard, there would be like 1200 d-men in.

As someone who has watched Letang’s whole career, there’s not a chance I would put him in the HOF.

It's not my standard. Lowe is in.

 

[SomeDude]

It's not my standard. Lowe is in.

Because he’s kissed butt and hung around for decades like Dick Duff.

 

[AnInjuredJasonZucker]

First ballot HFHOFer.

 

[buffalowing88]

Welcome to the hall of very good Kris. He played his prime in an era where he didn’t win a single Norris but guys like burns, subban and giordano did. Letang likely played against some of the weakest competition for Norris in the past 40 years and still couldn’t win one.

Hmm, I'd say the past decade has been very weak but I would place Letang in the generation prior. Doughty, Keith, Karlsson, Weber, etc. was a good group.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Kevin Lowe is in--so I do not see why he does not get in. Thought about it for awhile.

 

[Midnight Judges]

He'll likely get in. The bar is generally lower than people want it to be.

 

[Jets]

The story... of how I met Kris Letang on Christmas Eve

It's very hard to explain to my family and relatives how much HFBoards mean to me. I do have a bit obsession about this community, as prove this post - that I'm writing on a Christmas night, after hours of reading different post about hockey and whatnot. I have been lurking here for a decade...

forums.hfboards.com

 

[byrath]

Borderline career, the cups make him a near-lock.

 

[The Panther]

I can't see any reason why he would get in...?

My take would be that he has above-average but not elite offensive skills, and slightly below-average defensive skills (currently, he may be the worst defender in the NHL, but he's old).

In the three regular seasons the Pens won the Cup, he barely broke above even in plus/minus. Had a few good playoff runs in there (won 2 Cups), but nothing overwhelming.

He's basically Reed Larson.

 

[BillyOcean]

If Patrick Marleau gets in, Letang should.

 

[S1N4TR4]

negative

 

[eojsmada]

He'll likely get in. The bar is generally lower than people want it to be.

I agree...the standard is lower than it probably should be. As well, the folks who vote for it are mostly interested in promoting players who have recognition versus an actually worthy career.

 

[Hivemind]

Zero individual awards, only a Norris finalist once. He's got the longevity, but lacks the peak.

 

[BlueSeal]

... no.

 

[Terry Yake]

no, but if guys like lowe and housley are in then letang will probably get in at some point too

 

[Russian_fanatic]

745 points in 1098 regular season games
90 points in 149 playoff games
2 cups
Top 5 Norris voting x2

He gets in.

 

[HFpapi]

Letang for me is in the same category as guys like Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski. At the end of their career, you can look at their overall numbers and squint your eyes and think you see a HOF'er but at no single point during their careers as it was unfolding did I think I was watching a HOF player or one of the games truly elite players. (obviously Letang has cups tho and they don't).

Letang was never seriously considered among the elite with guys like Keith, Weber, Doughty, Chara, Hedman, Karlsson etc and the element he really excelled at (offence), he was usually too injured to have that manifest as high scoring seasons.

If he played full seasons he probably has eight or nine 60-70 point seasons and gets in but he didn't, he was always missing just enough games to prevent that.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Borderline career, the cups make him a near-lock.

Kevin Lowe factor

 

[Crow]

People used to pump his tires like crazy for a while pretending their D would be terrible without him but the pens also won without him playing entirely.

I wouldn’t hate seeing him get in but I don’t quite think he belongs.

 

[Regal]

If he had had a playoffs like he did in 2016 in the other two cups I would say probably yes, but it’s hard to put him in with the career he’s had. I think he still might because of the association with the Crosby Pens but I think they’ll probably stop at Sid, Geno and Fleury (who I also don’t think should get in but will).

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

As is probably no. But imo he should have won the Norris and Conn Smythe in 2016. That was his absolute peak and he was dominant that year. Would have made it comfortably with those.

 

[Jeune Poulet]

People talk about how he was beaten by guys like Giordano and Subban but longevity and being constantly good matters too.

Letang has been the #1 D for a pretty outstanding number of years, munching 25 minutes a game most of his career.

Subban had a brighter peak and was a beauty to watch at his best, but quickly lost his shine and in his last few years, couldn't have outskated a kid unless it was for a donut.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Considering the low bar for entry into the HoF, he likely gets in with his 3 Cups and him being seen as one of the key core members during the 3 Cups.

 

[Pancakes]

I dunno about Hall of Fame but he does deserve to have his number retired by the team imo.

 

[centipede2233]

Zero individual awards, only a Norris finalist once. He's got the longevity, but lacks the peak.

basically the patrick marleau of d men but with cups, I say no to HoF to both