Posts Tagged ‘Enforcer’

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!

Oh, the exciting conclusion of the 94-95 Pinnacle U.S. Edition Series 1 two-pack break. Part one is here. The excitement in the air is palpable…

Wikipedia claims that Garry Valk had a “distinguished NHL career spanning over a decade.” Really? 100 goals in 777 games for a right winger doesn’t sound too distinguished. Granted, it is 100 more goals than I ever scored, but c’mon.

Brian Rolston rookie card that isn’t really a rookie card! I have always liked Rolston since his Boston days. He was a great penalty killer and a sneaky good scorer. Plus, he was good friends with PJ Axelsson. When I went to Bruins training camp one year, Rolston and Axelsson were in a car together leaving (Rolston was driving). They stopped to chat and sign autographs, so I got the chance to meet the two of them. It was a thrill for me because it was the first time I got to meet PJ, my favorite player. Anyways, I told PJ that I had him down for 20 goals that season which resulted in a hearty chuckle from PJ and an “Easily” from Rolston. Anyways, both guys were super nice and I was sad to see Rolston go. Did you know he was the 11th overall pick in the 91 draft and that he had three straight 30+ goal seasons in Minnesota. Solid player!

Hey, I pulled a Gary Suter card out of my 90-91 Upper Deck packs! Possible Suter super collector being born?

Darcy Wakaluk was the first AHL goalie to score a goal, netting an empty netter two days before Ron Hextall became the first NHL goalie to do the same. Huh.

GOON-JO! Gino Odjick had three seasons of 300+ PIM’s. Here is a clip from a pre-season tilt between the ‘Nucks and Flames:

If my status as Gary Suter super collector gets stripped, I can start a James Patrick collection. Two different packs, two different James Patrick cards.

HOF-JO! 4th overall pick in the ’80 draft, Larry Murphy had one heckuva career. He is currently the 5th all-time leading scorer among defencemen. He also has four Stanley Cups to his name, being a member of two separate back-to-back winning teams.

Dave Reid has two Stanley Cups under his belt. Who knew?! I dig the shiner he is sporting on the back of this card. He had 25 PIM’s the year this photo was taken, so he definitely dropped them, but against who? A little research shows me that he did indeed drop ‘em against New Jersey’s Randy McKay.

We all know that Joe Nieuwendyk is of the newest members of the Hall of Fame, but did you know that he has an award named after him? The Ontario Lacrosse Association’s Junior A League awards the Joe Nieuwendyk Award to its most outstanding rookie. Thanks Wikipedia.

Cliff Ronning was good. That is about all I have on him.

Jason Allison played for the Bruins during a time when I was away from hockey. I remember knowing that he put up decent numbers with Boston but by the time I came back on board, he was gone. A couple of 30+ goal seasons is nothing to sneeze at.

Russ Courtnall was the 7th pick of the ’83 draft and was once traded straight-up for tough guy John Kordic. Seems to me they could have snagged more for him, but the Leafs have never been savvy wheeler-dealers. He’d go on to have five 20+ goal seasons.

Three HOFers in one pack? WIN! Joe Mullen could score; he had seven 40+ goal seasons including  a 51 goal effort during the 88-89 season. He has three Cups to his name to go along with two Lady Byng Trophies.

Who doesn’t love Ron Tugnutt? Especially when he is stonewalling Chicken Parm?

There you have it; two packs from a super crappy set. Anyone want them?