Archive for the ‘Enforcers’ Category

Chugging along…

Last post saw the induction of Bourque, Coffey, and Kharlamov while Fuhr, Lafontaine, Murphy, and Neely go the heave-ho. Sorry fellas, but that is how the cookie crumbles.

1961-1966
1967-1970
1971-1973
1974-1976
1977-1978
1979-1980
1981
1982-1984
1985-1986
1987-1988
1989-1990
1991-1992
1993-1995
1996-1997
1998-2000
2001-2002
2003-2005

2006
Dick Duff
Patrick Roy

Dick Duff?! Seriously? 1030 games, 283 goals, and 289 assists does not a Hall of Fame career make. Twice he finished in the top-10 for goals in a season and that is it. No individual hardware and no NHL All-Star 1st or 2nd Team selections. Six Stanley Cups is nice, but it’s a team achievement unless you put up UNGODLY numbers, which Duff did not. Very good, yes, but not amazing. Maybe he was a great defensive forward, but I can’t really find much anecdotal information on that. Duff is out.

Patrick Roy, on the other hand, is a no-brainer into the Hall of Fame.  18 seasons with a career record of 551-315-131. He finished in the top-1o in wins 16 times (leading twice), GAA 14 times(leading three times), and shutouts 11 times (leading twice). He is second on the all-time career win list. He has three Vezina Trophies, three Conn Smythe Trophies, and four Stanley Cups. He was also named to five NHL All-Star 1st Teams and two 2nd Teams. Roy is in.

Inducted: Patrick Roy
Kicked out: Dick Duff

2007
Ron Francis
Al MacInnis
Mark Messier
Scott Stevens

2007 is a strong HOF year. Let’s start with Ron Francis.

Dude played 23 seasons for starters! During his career, Francis appeared in the top-10 in assists twelve times, leading the league twice. For his career, he is 2nd all time. While he wasn’t known as a prolific goal scorer, he did tally 549 goals which is pretty darn good. Five times he finished in the top-1o in total points and is fourth all-time. He has some hardware to go along with his stats: a Selke Trophy, two Lady Byngs, and two Stanley Cups. Now I have to ask myself, was Ron Francis ever a dominant player? Would you get nervous when he was playing against your team? Was he a game changer? Yes and no. I don’t think he was ever dominant, but he was an elite playmaker who made his teammates better than they probably were. He was a headsy player  who was rarely out of position. It’s hard to argue against a guy who is 2nd in assists and 4th in points. So while he was never regarded as the best of his era, he performed at a high level for a LONG time. Plus, I gotta have a Whaler in the Hall. Francis is in.

In 19 seasons (40+ games) in the NHL, Al MacInnis tallied a total of 340 goals , 934 assists, and 1274 points, all of which are good enough for third all-time among defencemen. He won a Norris Trophy, a Conn Smythe Trophy, and a Stanley Cup while being named to the NHL All-Star 1st Team four times and the 2nd Team three times. He is also one of only five blueliners to score more than 100 points in a season. MacInnis was one of the premier defencemen of his time and certainly deserves to be in the Hall.

I’ll be upfront and honest about this: I have never liked Mark Messier. Ask me why and I can’t even tell you. It’s just one of those totally irrational dislikes that we sometimes get a humans. I think it’s something about the way he looks. Anyways, I am going to be very objective and let his numbers speak for his career. 25 years in the league (plus one in the WHA). Wait, that can’t be right…sweet Jesus it is! Wow, okay. During that time, he would score 30+ goals eleven times, 40+ four times, and 50+ once; six times he would finish with 100+ points. He finished in the top-1o in goals four times, assists six times, and points six times, but would never lead in any of those categories. His playoff numbers are absurd: 295 points (109 goals/186 assists) in 236 games. He won the Hart Trophy twice, the Ted Lindsay Award twice, and took home on Conn Smythe Trophy. Oh yeah, he has six Stanley Cups. And if that is not enough, he is 7th all-time in goals, 3rd in assists, and 2nd in points. Messier is in.

Scott Stevens was one tough hombre who was known to play on that fine line between tough as nails and dirty. I don’t think he was really known as an offensive d-man, but over the course of 1635 games, he did put up 196 goals and 712 assists. Not bad, not bad. He never won a Norris but he did take home a Conn Smythe Trophy and was the captain of three Stanley Cup winning teams. He wouldn’t get in on numbers alone, but Stevens was more than numbers. He was a hard hitter who made opponents change their style of play on more than one occasion. Ask Slava Koslov, Paul Kariya or Ron Francis about going across the middle with their head down. Despite being labeled as a sometimes dirty player, he only ever received four elbowing penalties in his career. Lastly, over his 22 seasons in the NHL, never never finished as a minus player. I want a hard-nosed, physical defencemen in my hall. Stevens is in!

Inducted: Ron Francis, Al MacInnis, Mark Messier, and Scott Stevens
Kicked out: No one

2008
Glenn Anderson
Igor Larionov

First Dick Duff and now Glenn Anderson? No way. Six Cups is nice, but 43rd all time in goals, 75th in assists, and 56 is points. Never the best player on his team, let alone the league. GET OUT!

Igor Larionov has to be in because of his pre-NHL USSR career. He didn’t enter the NHL until he was 29, where he proceeded to put up solid but not spectacular numbers. His USSR numbers are about the same, good but not great. I don’t really know what to say here. I almost feel like I have to give the Russian players a pass here, but I don’t know. My gut says he shouldn’t be in, so he’s not. Make an argument for his inclusion and I’ll be all ears. Out. What a weak class!

Inducted: No one
Kicked out: Glenn Anderson and Igor Larionov

One more part to go and we’ll be all caught up. SO EXCITING! Maybe.

Now onto something that, to me, is beyond exciting.

A while ago I asked Brett over at My Hockey Card Obsession if he would create a custom cut autograph card of Reggie Lewis for me. If you are not familiar with his work, it is out of this world. I mean, check out his stuff! I’m not sure why card companies haven’t come knocking at his door offering him jobs and obscene amounts of money but I figure it has something to do with the fact that card companies are run by morons with no artistic eye (Panini, I’m looking at you in particular). Anyways, I asked Brett if, when he had time, he could come up with something that would feature my little piece of paper with Reggie Lewis’ autograph on it. You can see it here. Being the nice guy that he is, he agreed and sent me his idea. Of course it looked amazing and so he went ahead with it.

Smash cut to yesterday and me at the post office checking my box. What do I find in there but this thing:

CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS?!?!

No exaggeration here: I lost my breath. Yeah, I knew what it would look like but actually seeing it in person BLEW. ME. AWAY! I am not sure if Brett knows exactly how much this means to me and how much I will cherish this card. Reggie Lewis was my favorite player at the  impressionable age of 13, when we still believed in heroes. His death affected me big time and this scrap piece of paper was my one tangible link to Reggie. Thank you, Brett, SO SO SO MUCH for this card.

Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, he goes and sends this along too:

C’MON!

The hockey blogosphere never ceases to amaze me!

Has anyone seen the trailer for this?

Listen, I’m a fan of hockey movies and hockey fights, so this should be right up my alley. Unfortunately, it looks like a total mess.

I think the movie is based loosely on the book Goon: The True Story of an Unlikely Journey into Minor League Hockey by Doug Smith and Adam Frattasio, which was an interesting read. In my opinion, the life of an enforcer would make for a really great movie if done right; think something along the lines of The Wrestler. Ah well, maybe some day.

One last thing: I find it very interesting that Georges Laraque is in this movie; y’know, what with him taking the moral high ground AGAINST In The Game’s Enforcer release.