Time for a little profile, this time on Peter Stastny.

Stastny broke into the NHL with the Quebec Nordiques in 80-81 after playing six seasons in the Czech Elite League where he was named Player of the Year in 79-80. I say broke into the league, but really he defected from Czechoslavakia with his brother Anton and was one of the first stars to do so. His other brother, Marian, joined the following season and soon after, more and more Eastern Bloc players made the leap.

Stastny made an instant splash in the NHL, putting up 109 total points during his rookie season; he was the first player to do so. He scored 39 goals and helped out on 70 others which, at the time, was a rookie record. Overall, he finished 6th in points and 6th in assists. Hard to imagine now that 70 assists was only good for 6th place, but then again, some dude named Gretzky had 109! He would also be win the Calder Award for best rookie and help bring the Nordiques to the playoffs where they were bounced out in the first round by the Flyers.

Over the course of the 1980′s, all with Quebec, Stastny would average 34 goals and 67 assists. At the time, he was one of two players to record over 1,000 points in a decade; the other was Esposito. Since then, two others have joined that club. He scored 40+ goals five times, recorded 70+ assists five times, and recorded six straight 100+ point seasons, something only six other players in NHL history have done. He was also named to six All-Star teams during the decade.

Unfortunately for him, Quebec never won the Cup. The closest they came was during the 84-85 season when they lost in the Division Finals to the Flyers.

Near the end of the 89-90 season, Stastny was traded to the Devils for some guy named Craig Wolanin and future considerations. He would continue on with the Devils for another three seasons, but now in his mid-30′s, his best seasons were behind him. He would sign as a free agent with the St. Louis Blues in 93-94 but only managed 17 games. The following season, he would appear in just six before retiring.

For his career, Stastny recorded 450 goals, 789 assists, and 1239 points in just 977 games. Although he never won the Cup or individual awards besides the Calder, Stastny was regarded as one of the players of the 80′s. When he scored his 1,000 point, he was the first European-born and raised player to do so. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998. Does he deserve to be there? I’ll look into that later on.

Let’s shift gears slightly and pick up where I left off in my ongoing selection of the revamped Hockey Hall of Fame. Previously, I had looked through the 1979 and 1980 classes. Bobby Orr, Henri Richard, and Gump Worsley made the cut while Harry Howell and Harry Lumley were shown the door. Not a good day to be named Harry, I suppose. You can read all of my previous posts on this here:

1961-1966
1967-1970
1971-1973
1974-1976
1977-1978
1979-1980

Remember, I only consider seasons of 40+ games as a complete season for non-goalies and 30+ for goalies. Onwards and upwards…

1981
John Bucyk
Frank Mahovlich
Allan Stanley

First up, the Chief. This one might hurt me a bit. In Boston, he is a legend. Outside of Boston, I have no clue. I’m looking at his numbers and he was very good for a very long time. But was he ever great? Or considered one of the greatest at his position? Here is what he has going against him: he never led the league in anything and was only named to one NHL All Star 1st Team and one  NHL All Star 2nd Team. That is about it for the bad. But the good isn’t overwhelming either. He is 25th All-Time in goals, 27th in assists, and 23rd in points. It’d be more impressive if he didn’t play 23 seasons, but I suppose that is a feat in and of itself. He won two Cups and two Lady Byngs over his career. The weird thing about Chief is that he actually had his best seasons, and they were very very good seasons, from the ages of 35-40. He is a pretty iconic figure in hockey and a name people know. I just don’t know if Boston fans overvalue him. I am going to put him in, but can be talked into keeping him out.

Next is Mahovich. Here is another guy who played a million seasons, 17 complete seasons in all. He won the Calder Trophy and was named to three NHL All Star 1st Teams and six 2nd Teams. He finished in the top-10 in goals eight times, assists three times, and points seven times. He has over 500 career goals and 1,000 career points. He also won six Cups with the Leafs. Overall, I have to think he was considered one of the best of his era and therefore, he is in.

I wrote an entry on Allan Stanley’s career back in October. Read that and see why I am kicking him out.

Inducted: John Bucyk and Frank Mahovlich
Kicked out: Allan Stanley

I’m stopping there because the next class is a tough one that I need to look into more.

But wait, I have more to show you and talk about. Yesterday, my local card shop owner and fellow enforcer fan gave me these:

Pretty cool, huh? After I finish up with my Hall of Pretty Good series, I want to create a Hall of Fame for enforcers. Not so much goons, but guys who had a decent length career in the NHL, could play, and who dropped the gloves. Think guys like Schultz, Domi, O’Reilly, etc. The Hockey Hall of Fame is, for whatever reason, reluctant and/or scared to acknowledge the contributions of these players and what they mean to the game and to fans.

Thinking ahead, I want to come up with an inaugural class of about five guys to induct and I am looking for YOUR suggestions. I want to sort of run this like a legit process with voting and nominations.

Lastly, in two weeks, the big Shriner’s Show is coming up and I’ve been saving my pennies for it. I plan on going down with a few hundred bones. My plan is to purchase one big-ish ticket item, 2-3 mid-range, and a handful of smaller things.

So I am asking you for suggestions on a big ticket item. Think vintage, O-Pee-Chee or Parkhurst, and/or rookies.

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