Does Nicklas Backstrom make the HHOF?

[Oneiro]

He should because the bar is super low now.

His health is the only reason he's not making it obvious points wise.

 

[elmaco]

Imagine in a 100 years, people are looking back at the history of hockey. They talk about the Crosby/Ovi era, they talk about Lemieux coming back from cancer, they talk about McDavid's legacy, they talk about the 80s Islanders, they talk about the Broad Street Bullies, they talk about Carey Price at his peak, they talk about the career of Gretzky (Kurri, the trade, etc), they discuss how Brodeur and Roy revolutionized the game, how teams had to adjust to the trap system and the butterfly style, how Orr inspired future generations of dmen, how every kid wanted to copy Bure...

Where does Backstrom fit into that history beyond being a footnote? What has he done to be immortalized into the history of hockey.

Easy no for me. He just hasn't had the impact on the game that a Hall of Famer should have.

Being Ovi's centerman for most of his career, i think that is prestigious, has a cup too.

 

[olli]

Caps fan voting no.

Love him, but he doesn't have much of a trophy collection.

He was at best the third best forward on the 2018 team.

Why wouldn’t he have been decisively the 3rd best forward?

 

[Yozhik v tumane]

But even forgetting the Sedins...what about Alfie who has nothing (I dunno what a Calder is worth)

No MVPs (or even finalist)
No scoring titles
No Cups...not known as a strong playoff performer (Backstrom has a better PPG in playoffs too)
No Selkes.

This was probably true prior to 2007 but Alfie did add a Conn Smythe-worthy playoff run to his resume. Tied with his Pizza linemates for points, while clearly leading the playoffs in goals, and being the only member of his famous line to produce against the Ducks in the finals. Had the Sens managed to win or at least extend the series to 7 games, he was the clear Smythe favorite.

 

[GRob83]

As a Caps fan, Peter Bondra is more deserving and he's been passed over for decades despite being a 500 Goal scorer, 2nd in goals and 1st in SHG's during the dead-puck era (94-04), led the league in goals 2X, has the 17th highest goals per game of all the 500 goals scorers in NHL history and a World Championship for Slovakia. All while being an 8th round draft pick at the age of 22 and the first NHL game he ever saw in person was the 1st one he played in.

 

[Dr John Carlson]

Why wouldn’t he have been decisively the 3rd best forward?

I would take Lars Eller as the 3rd best forward in that Cup year. Backstrom got his points but his impact didn't match the production, partially because of his broken finger. A huge portion of his production came on the powerplay, for example.

Eller, meanwhile, was everywhere. Most importantly, he was even more everywhere when he replaced the injured Backstrom at 2C in the Tampa series.

Oh right, and he also scored 2 of the 3 most important goals for the team in that entire run.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

I'm surprised by how many people are questioning Backstrom. Quoting myself from last year:

Players who have scored 1,000+ points for a single franchise (NOTE - as of December 2023):

• In the Hall (34): Bourque, Bucyk, Esposito, Perreault, Iginla, Francis, Mikita, Hull, Savard, Sakic, Stastny, Modano, Howe, Yzerman, Delvecchio, Lidstrom, Gretzky, Kurri, Messier, Dionne, Robitaille, Lafleur, Beliveau, Richard, Gilbert, Alfredsson, Trottier, Bossy, Potvin, Clarke, Lemieux, Federko, H. Sedin, D. Sedin
• Locks (9): Jagr, Ovechkin, Crosby, Malkin, Kane, Kopitar, Thornton, Stamkos, Bergeron
• Not yet eligible (4): Getzlaf, Elias, Marleau, Backstrom
• Not in despite being eligible 10+ years (1): Taylor

As of December 2023 [edit from December 2024 - the only person who would have joined this list is McDavid], there have been 48 players in NHL history who scored 1,000+ points for a single franchise.

Of the 35 players who are eligible for the Hall, 34 of them have been inducted. There are 9 more players who are virtually certain to be inducted (most of them will make it on the first ballot).

Of the four "questionable" players, I suspect all of them will eventually get in.

(What advantages does Backstrom have over Dave Taylor, the only long-time eligible player not in the Hall? Backstrom achieved his similar career totals in an era that was significantly lower scoring, he was a solid contributor to a Stanley Cup winner, he had more years in the top ten in scoring, and was better defensively).

 

[kp61c]

He shouldn't but i won't be surprised if they shamelessly squeeze him in.