Will Zetterberg Be A HHOF'er?

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

He should have a few selkes...dunno how he never got one. He was always our match up center in the same role as the current defensive centermen like Bergeron, Toews, Kopitar, etc. He had more offense than all of them and was just as good defensively, yet he's the only one without a Selke. He had the highest peak of any of them too. They're all gonna be guaranteed HOFers, yet z won't because no Selke.

That's what I've been saying for years. Love me some Datsyuk but he wasn't even the best two-way forward on his team.

When it was time to go up against Toews, Malkin, and Crosby, Babcock was tapping Zetterberg on the shoulder.

 

[Claypool]

Paul Henderson is in the hall of fame, so yes.

 

[TheSituation]

He should go in. A lot of people seem to forget that the HHOF standards aren't "elite only". There are a lot of Zetterberg caliber guys or worse that are in.

Yup, the HHOF is already watered down with stat compilers so I think he gets in. It's time to realize that the bar for the hall isn't that high.

 

[DitchMarner]

He doesn't deserve to be in. I look as Zetterberg as a complier like Roenick was. His post season awards do him in for me. A HOF should have at least a top 3-5 Hart/Norris/Vezina voting to his credit. One top 10 and a 2nd team AS doesn't cut it for me.

Robitaille, Gartner and Andreychuk received no Hart votes at all. Gillies and Federko never finished higher than 10th in Hart voting and neither won the Conn Smythe (Zetterberg has).

 

[GreatGonzo]

I don’t understand all the watered down comments.....

Zetterberg is 6th in points and 5th in assists since ‘03 with a defensive game superior than every player ahead of him.

Sure, he lacks individual hardware and eye popping stats, but he still was among one of the top two way players in the league for a few years. Also has a great playoff resume with international success.

 

[Ruok]

I would take a prime Zetterberg over a prime Toews, and we know Toews is a top 100 player of all time.

 

[Syckle78]

People are hilarious. Zetterberg is the antithesis of stat compiler. It's not his counting stats that would get him in but those that watched him play and seen how dominant he was at both ends.

 

[GreatGonzo]

He doesn't deserve to be in. I look as Zetterberg as a complier like Roenick was. His post season awards do him in for me. A HOF should have at least a top 3-5 Hart/Norris/Vezina voting to his credit. One top 10 and a 2nd team AS doesn't cut it for me.

You clearly have no idea what a compiler is.

 

[Wats]

Easily, was a dominant player in his prime. Won cups and has a Conn Smythe.

 

[Realgud]

He should EASILY get in. He's basically a Toews+. And do some of you think Mr. Top 100 won't ever get in?

Z is among those with the most points during his tenure and also was the best defensive forward in the league (the fact that he has no selkes is ridiculous).

 

[GreatGonzo]

Many on here want to constantly talk about playoff production and how important it is, yet are totally oblivious to Zetterbergs resume, which is just as great in the post season. He’s 5th in points and assists while being 7th in PPG(100 games played at the least). Add the fact that he was a stud in his own end.

He has one of the most dominant playoff runs post lock out, while having another top level one. He’s been one of the best player performers since he came into the league.

 

[TDotMassive]

should he? absolutely not.
will he? probably.

Never even had a top 5 finish for the Hart.

Smythe > Hart

 

[newfy]

About as borderline as it gets IMO. No eye-popping stats, but consistent as hell for so many years.

Exactly, I'm a wings fan and I think hes bordlerine, leaning towards him getting in. Captain of an O6 franchise,repsected by everyone in the league, known as a playoff warrior and because hes so consistent like someone said earlier hes 6th in points since he entered the league. Throw in a Conn Smythe that had him shutting down Crosby and I think he gets in

 

[VoluntaryDom]

For sure.

 

[thethirdhockeyman91]

Zetterberg>Toews. Toews is a guaranteed lock, so by that logic zetterberg should be a lock.

 

[PittsburghPens8771]

I don’t understand all the watered down comments.....

Zetterberg is 6th in points and 5th in assists since ‘03 with a defensive game superior than every player ahead of him.

Sure, he lacks individual hardware and eye popping stats, but he still was among one of the top two way players in the league for a few years. Also has a great playoff resume with international success.

Agreed. He’s a no brainer for HHOF.

 

[GreatGonzo]

Smythe > Hart

I wouldn’t go that far. Williams, Richards, Niedermayer, Giguere all won the Smythe, but would have never won the Hart. The Smythe May look important because it’s the playoffs, but a good player can win it over the best in the league.

All in all, his Hart votes shouldn’t be used against him, and not because there are “worst off” players in the Hall right now, but because whatever he lacked in Hart voting, he made up everywhere else.

Zetterberg>Toews. Toews is a guaranteed lock, so by that logic zetterberg should be a lock.

he doesn’t have the legacy or status that Toews has though. Zetterberg is clearly the superior player, but Toews has the intangibles that somehow mean just as much, if not more. It’s ridiculous, but it’s the way many think and hold standards.

 

[ESH]

Zetterberg is quite possibly the most underappreciated player I’ve ever watched play. He peaked just as high as Datsyuk, and wasn’t much worse than Datsyuk over the rest of their careers. Yet Datsyuk always gets huge praise (I’ve seen people say that they think peak Datsyuk was better than peak Ovechkin).

I hope he makes it into the HHOF. One of the best playoff performers of his generation and deserved atleast one of Datsyuk’s Selkes.

 

[Super Hans]

Why is everyone ignoring that he's a Triple Gold member?

 

[NYR94]

Why is everyone ignoring that he's a Triple Gold member?

People forget that it's Hockey Hall of Fame not NHL Hall of Fame.

 

[Dingo]

should he? absolutely not.
will he? probably.

Never even had a top 5 finish for the Hart.

The Hart, and this is unfortunate, is a quirky version of ‘best player’. You have to make the playoffs or you arent a winner, but you cant be on a team that is TOO good, either, unless you are way above the field, either in reality or media hype.
It favors forwards, and it favors point totals. those great two way guys, like Hank, just get dumped into the Selke competition box.

I wish we could see the top 5 or 10 in Pearson voting every year.

 

[filinski77]

I don’t understand all the watered down comments.....

Zetterberg is 6th in points and 5th in assists since ‘03 with a defensive game superior than every player ahead of him.

Sure, he lacks individual hardware and eye popping stats, but he still was among one of the top two way players in the league for a few years. Also has a great playoff resume with international success.

21st in points/game in that same time frame, for any player with over 600 games played.

I personally don't believe he should get in, but he probably will.

 

[ted2019]

Why are post season awards so meaningless to you?

What do you mean meaningless? He has nothing of record post-season wise that says he's a HOF player.

 

[ted2019]

Some amazingly bad takes above me. Yikes.

In what way?

 

[ted2019]

I’m having a hard time thinking of two players that could possibly be more different.

Tell me how?