Players that are not in the HHOF that should be inducted?

[VanIslander]

Johnny Gottselig.

 

[VanIslander]

One of many great performances by Tikkanen:


And his career detailed:

 

[DitchMarner]

One of many great performances by Tikkanen:


And his career detailed:

I can't see Tikkanen being inducted. I mean, I guess there are people that would rather have a prime Tikkanen than a prime Andreychuk or Ciccarelli or Gartner, but the "compiler" is an established HHOF archetype. Of players who are in the Hall, who would be the closest in terms of role, style and impact to Tikkanen?

 

[MadArcand]

Gainey?

I can't see Tikkanen being inducted. I mean, I guess there are people that would rather have a prime Tikkanen than a prime Andreychuk or Ciccarelli or Gartner, but the "compiler" is an established HHOF archetype. Of players who are in the Hall, who would be the closest in terms of role, style and impact to Tikkanen?

Gainey & Carbonneau?

 

[Crosby2010]

i think the difference is the league/HHOF/hockey establishment has more at stake if fleury goes rogue

if roenick says some stupid stuff? well then a guy made some off colour comments. if barrasso airs grievances? then an old crank acted like an old crank.

if fleury goes off book, a lot of different things could happen. and i think him saying something idiotic are the least of their worries. but if he names names? well then lanny has a problem with that. so many people with friends in high places, orwho are friends with people who are friends with people in high places, are implicated in how the system failed fleury.

The problem is Fleury has made politics his entire personality. Whether one agrees with his views or not, it's unlikely the HHOF is keen to give him a platform for that stuff. And even before he was like this, he was always kind of an asshole that rubbed a lot of folks the wrong way.

I think it's possible he gets in someday, but there's a reason he's been waiting so long.

I think Fleury is (as well as Roenick before he got in) the epitome of the anti-establishment. I guess we can throw Don Cherry in that mix too. And that is probably why he hasn't gotten in yet. But despite the crap he got in his youth and the lack of people watching over him who should have been, he's a couple of decades from being an alcoholic and in all honesty when has there ever been a time when someone aired their grievances in their acceptance speech? Like I said, if Roenick and Barrasso didn't do it, I think that is a pretty high bar.

When CCR got inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 they hated each other. A lot of bad blood had happened between John Fogerty and the other two surviving members, Stu Cook and Doug Clifford. Real ugly legal stuff, and it was happening right at that time too. Fogerty dealt with class when he was up there, as did the other two. Fogerty said something to the effect of "We may have disagreed on some things but at one point we created a lot of great music." These were people that did not want to even share the same room as each other but they were still grateful to be inducted. So I think that is pretty much what would happen with Fleury and anyone else in the HHOF. You are honoured at your induction, I just can't remember a negative moment in an induction speech if that is what they are worried about. I guess for some Fleury has enough of a borderline career where they can justify keeping him out, but I think he's a lot better than some forwards in there.

 

[JackSlater]

Same answer every time this topic comes up but the glaring hole in the HHOF is pre-NHL European and especially Soviet greats. There are no NHL greats who have been missed and with recent inductees like Lowe, Carbonneau, Turgeon etc. you can see that they are just grabbing extras to throw in at this point. Guys like Firsov, Bobrov, Martinec etc. are actually guys who should make the HHOF. Even the guys they were very late on like Makarov and Nedomansky played twilight seasons in the NHL, and Yakushev obviously got in before some other Soviets because of his particularly prominent role in the Summit Series.

 

[carjackmalone]

Tim Kerr has the numbers as does Rick Martin

 

[Crosby2010]

Tim Kerr has the numbers as does Rick Martin

Martin just didn't do it long enough. You want a guy like that to be in there. But the funny thing is when you talk about famous line names like the "French Connection" or the "Triple Crown" line, there are only two players out of 6 from those lines in the HHOF. Martin is one where you figure he gets in had he only been able to play for longer. Was still a point per game guy when he retired at 30. Would have comfortably hit 500+ goals. Instead he got 385. And he doesn't have that insane peak or playoff resume that puts him over the top with that sort of short career. Kerr is someone who cracked 50+ goals 4 years in a row. That's amazing. But he pretty much did nothing outside of those 4 years. 1989 was a solid year, but that's it. Great playoff run in 1989 but the Flyers got to the Cup final in 1985 and 1987 without him since he was injured much of those playoff years. Didn't play a game in the 1987 Cup final. I doubt the Flyers win, but it was a 7 game series after all. But again, 370 career goals. Just too short of a career. He's a bit like Leclair but Leclair had those years before and after his prime where he just wasn't very good anymore. Didn't do enough, and that's where Kerr falls.

Same answer every time this topic comes up but the glaring hole in the HHOF is pre-NHL European and especially Soviet greats. There are no NHL greats who have been missed and with recent inductees like Lowe, Carbonneau, Turgeon etc. you can see that they are just grabbing extras to throw in at this point. Guys like Firsov, Bobrov, Martinec etc. are actually guys who should make the HHOF. Even the guys they were very late on like Makarov and Nedomansky played twilight seasons in the NHL, and Yakushev obviously got in before some other Soviets because of his particularly prominent role in the Summit Series.

Let's throw the most obvious choice, Boris Mikhailov, into that mix. Is there a better player on the outside of the HHOF? With his contemporaries on that 1972 Soviet team in there how does he not get in there as well? Is it still the kick with the skates in Game 7 of that series? If so, that's been over 50 years now. All is forgiven. It was a war, a battle of a series and I can vividly remember an interview with Tony Esposito where he said some of the guys in that series hit a level of emotion where they were never the same afterwards (for better or worse I am not sure?). So I mean, put him in already. He was clearly a Soviet great.