I abhor the stupid arbitrary caps they put on numbers of players in a year. Particularly when "first ballot" is some badge of honor.
Like "Well, he's not worth it this year, but he will be in next year when we have more room or something.
The question for every player ever for the Hall should be a simple one. Do you think they belong in the Hall of Fame. Yes or no. Like Pavel Datsyuk playing, we knew we were watching greatness as it happened. Nick Lidstrom was a Hall of Famer at like age 30 with half a career left.
I suppose I just don't understand the hemming and hawing over whether a guy deserves it. Your answer should be a simple "yes" or "no". If a guy needs a long and nuanced argument for why he should make it... he's not a Hall of Famer.
Example:
Steve Yzerman. Obvious Hall of Famer from the second he retired.
Dominik Hasek. Obvious Hall of Famer from the second he retired the first time.
Sakic, Forsberg, Roy. Obvious.
Osgood. Way too much parsing of stats and was it him or was it the team to be obvious, so sorry Chris, no Hall of Fame for you outside of name on the Cup multiple times.