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

[benfranklin]

Would take a weak year for him to get in so its possible.

 

[Pablo El Perro]

I wouldn't argue against it, given Lowe, but he's a slight miss to me.

 

[McDrailers]

People actually think MAF doesn’t get in? That’s insane.

As for Letang? Maybe. I personally think if you let him in he becomes the new measuring stick after Lowe. Great player yes but not HOF IMO

 

[Hockey Outsider]

To reiterate: 5th in ice time per game among D-men on the Penguins for the 2009 cup, and missed the entire 2017 cup run with an injury.

I was going to post the same comment. In his defense, Letang was excellent in 2016. He would have been my pick for the Conn Smythe over Crosby. But in 2009, based on average ice time per game, he was the Pens #5 defenseman (#6 at even strength, #6 on the penalty kill - but #2 on the powerplay). And, like you said, he missed the 2017 playoffs entirely.

(For what it's worth, I think Letang was a HOF calibre player, albeit a lower-tier one, but he didn't have a HOF career. Had he not been injured in 2017, a second Stanley Cup as a #1 defenseman would have been significant. He was only a Norris finalist one time - very few defensemen have gone to the HOF with just a single season as a finalist. But he had a good chance of winning it in 2013 had he not been injured, and there were several seasons where he played well enough to be a finalist, but injuries prevented that - 2012, 2015, etc).

 

[featherhawk]

MAF is a lock..letang has opp. to be a lock this year with a great year.

 

[karltonian]

Yes he belongs in the hof.

 

[Regal]

I’d say anyone with a Norris goes ahead of Letang, especially since he was never a 1st team all-star.

That being said, I don’t understand how Gio and Sunny won Norris trophies.

I mean, Gio’s win was one of the least contested wins in recent memory. He had 165 of 171 first place votes

 

[GMR]

He shouldn’t make it but he’ll get in. He’s better than Kevin Lowe.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

What was his highest Norris finish? Did he ever finish top 3 even?

Anyway, he’ll get in but really shouldn’t . Very good player but not a HoFer in my eyes

People actually think MAF doesn’t get in? That’s insane.

As for Letang? Maybe. I personally think if you let him in he becomes the new measuring stick after Lowe. Great player yes but not HOF IMO

MAF shouldn’t either but he’ll get in for compiling plus that charity Vezina he won during the COVID

 

[dr robbie]

I was always in the camp that both MAF and Letang needed personal hardware to separate themselves enough from the pack to get the HOF nod.

MAF got his Vezina and I think he's pretty much a lock at this point.

Letang hasn't gotten anything personal and I think he's still short on the resume in my opinion. That said, he was part of a popular team and anchored himself to the two-headed monster. Wouldn't be surprised if they still admit him.

 

[Voight]

Has a dman who won 3 or more cups as a #1 dman not got in?

He wasn't the #1 defensemen in 2009 and he didn't play at all in 2017.

 

[Voight]

I was always in the camp that both MAF and Letang needed personal hardware to separate themselves enough from the pack to get the HOF nod.

MAF got his Vezina and I think he's pretty much a lock at this point.

Letang hasn't gotten anything personal and I think he's still short on the resume in my opinion. That said, he was part of a popular team and anchored himself to the two-headed monster. Wouldn't be surprised if they still admit him.

IMO as much as it pains me to say it, MAF was going to get in even if he hadn't won that Vezina. He had a ton of wins which the counting stats crowd loves, is well-liked by the media and his fellow peers and gained a lot of goodwill when he went to Vegas.

 

[Toby91ca]

No shot

No individual hardware outside of the Masterton, little international hardware outside of two golds at the WJC, was never really in the conversation for best defenseman in the league.

He's essentially a shittier Brent Seabrook resume wise. Seabrook isn't getting in so no way Letang does.

Look, I wouldn't have Letang in my HOF, but my bar is simply higher than the actual bar. If you take all the Dmen currently in the HOF, how many have individual hardware? How many have international hardware? How many were in the conversation for best defenseman in the league? To say he has no shot based on those comments doesn't seem to make any sense at all.

Reference to his resume being a shittier Brent Seabrook is simply laughable. What, exactly, is your argument for Seabrook having a better resume. He has Olympic Gold, Letang does not....is that the only argument?

Letang has 749pts and counting vs. Seabrook's 464
Letang played in the allstar game 6x vs. Seabrook's 1x
Letang was a 2nd Team Allstar 2X.....nothing for Seabrook
Letang had Norris voting finishes of 3,4,6,6,7,7,8,9,9,17, Seabrook had 13,17,20
Letang had Hart votes 20,23.....nothing for Seabrook

Am I missing something?

 

[Toby91ca]

Well, the NHL recognizes Konstantinov, just like Letang, as Stanley Cup Champions for the seasons they didn't play in the final.

Dionne is not.

Well....Konstantinov getting his name on the 1998 cup and Letang getting his on the 2017 cup aren't exactly the same thing. The league came up with requirements to have your name on the cup and those requirements suggested playing 1 game in the finals or playing at least half of the regular season....they deem that has having contributed to the team getting there. So, Letang gets that cup normal route in terms of having contributed. Konstantinov's name is there due to the Wings petitioning the league and getting special exception to add it even though the last game he played was 6 months prior to that season even starting. I don't disagree with having his name added, but it's quite a different situation.

That said...suggesting Letang was the #1 Dman on 3 cup wins is not correct either.

 

[Toby91ca]

I’d say anyone with a Norris goes ahead of Letang, especially since he was never a 1st team all-star.

I don't think it's that clear cut, but even if it was....doesn't mean too much.

The Norris has been handed out to 32 different players in history, 9 of which are either still playing or not eligible for induction yet....so that means the Norris has been handed out to 23 different players who are HOF eligible.....there are 89 Dmen in the HOF....so clearly winning a Norris is nowhere near a pre-requisite.

Also, how many HOF Dmen do you think were ever 1st team all-stars? I didn't bother checking, but I'm sure it's not a high percentage.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Letang is definitely close to the borderline of making it, but I think that he will end up getting in for multiple reasons:

1. Longevity of Success... He's consistently been among the best defensemen in the league for his entire career. He was never the clear cut top defenseman in the league, but always in the top 12-15ish for close to 20 years now.

2. Three Stanley Cups.. Regardless of whether or not one wants to recognize him as having won 3, or points out that he didn't play in the 2017 cup, he was still a big part of the team's core. It's not like he was healthy-scratched half the season and got gifted a free cup. When it comes down to it, his name is on 3 cups and he was an important part of the core.

3. Connection to Crosby and Malkin... I can't imagine the NHL would pass up a chance to have the three of them get inducted together, assuming they're eligible at the same time, of course. I don't think this should be a criteria, but it undoubtedly will be.

4. Personal struggles... Returning to form and remaining one of the better defenseman after one stroke is incredible... Recovering from TWO strokes (the 2nd of which he only missed 12 days in 2023) is unheard of. Shortly after returning from the 2nd the stroke Letang also lost his father about a month later. These events together got him his second Masterton nomination and 1st win.

 

[Nogatco Rd]

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.

Do you think he’ll get in nonetheless? I kinda think he does

 

[SomeDude]

Do you think he’ll get in nonetheless? I kinda think he does

Yea, probably. May have a to wait a few years. I could be wrong, but I believe I read before that he has interest in joining media after he’s done, likely with RDS, which will help keep his name relevant.

 

[Pengwins]

Yes, he's a lock. He will be top 20 in points for a dman and won 3 Cups as a #1Dman