Yeah, and no one is pushing for Ramsay's induction either. But yeah, a guy with a very good voting history of the Selke trophy who still managed some 60-70 point seasons is very valuable. And I agree he at least had some more staying power than Martin.
The Sabres were good the entire time Martin played on them though. There wasn't a big window for the Sabres to win Cups in that era. You had the Broad Street Bullies winning back to back just as the Sabres were hitting their stride, and even then they still took the Flyers to 6 games. And then the Habs dynasty followed immediately by the Islanders dynasty. The Sabres gave the Isles a scare in 1980, but that was it. To be fair the Sabres most often lost to the Cup winner or Cup finalist.
I think it comes down to longevity. For example, if John Leclair played longer at the level he did, then he's in. But he didn't and his career is bookended on a slow start and a poor finish. Martin getting injured sort of takes the cake for him. He was trending towards a HHOF career I think. With Bure you have a guy who scored 50+ goals 5 times. Martin didn't do this. Nor did he have a memorable playoff run. And he was not the goal scorer of Bure.
Martin - 2, 3, 6, 7, 10
Bure - 1, 1, 1, 3, 5
He's got some hardware. That is in a class above Martin. And two guys who are best known for their goal scoring and not much else you easily give the edge to Bure here. So even in the limited time each of them played, Bure clearly beats him here. And even then it took Bure several years before they put him in. Take what you want from that, but he wasn't a lock cinch at retirement either. So I don't foresee Martin getting in down the road. The funny thing is, two guys on this list, Martin and Taylor, both played on famous lines with nicknames. And yet the centre on each line is the only one in the HHOF.