Posts Tagged ‘Hartford Whalers’

My life has been sort of bananas recently which always means I slack from posting. Fear not, though, as I’ve had a few minor purchases to show off.

First off are a trio of cards from my local card shop:

2011-12 Pinnacle Tough Times #1 Wendel Clark

2011-12 Pinnacle Tough Times #10 Shane Churla

2011-12 Pinnacle Tough Times #3 Rob Ray

The Tough Times subsets continue to be just about the only good thing Panini produces. I was at first a little dubious about Clark’s inclusion in the set, but have come around. He fought quite a bit his first couple of years (65 times!) but slowed down after that. He reminds me a lot of Lucic in that they both fought early on and proved that they could toss them, which led to fewer fights later on. Oh, and then there is the fact that these guys were actually pretty good offensive players, so they needed to actually be ON the ice instead of IN the box.

Anyways, I thought this set was to honor the enforcers, guys like Ray and Churla; Clark, to me, falls into that “tough as nails” category. I would have preferred to see someone like Tony Twist or Craig Berube. Anyways, I still love these cards and want to build both the base and autographed set.

Next, I went to a show that I hadn’t been to in about a year. Sadly, it still sucked big time and I walked away with these measly cards…

2011-12 O-Pee-Chee #52 Adam McQuaid

Eh, a base card of McQuaid. Why not, I guess?

2010-11 Pinnacle Tough Times #TO Terry O’Reilly

I needed this, so yeah.

2004-05 Upper Deck Legends Classics #17 Derek Sanderson

This is my first non-vintage Turk card (minus an autographed insert I have) and officially kicks off my Sanderson player collection. Love that ‘stache, Turk!

So, three cards for $3. Not really worth the hour drive, but whatever, it gave me something to do on a Sunday morning.

Last up are a couple of eBay purchases that were impulse buys…

In The Game Enforcers Autograph #A-BG Bill Goldthorpe

In The Game Enforcers Autograph #A-CB Curt Brackenbury

Normally, I stay far, FAR away from sticker autographs but I don’t know if these two guys will ever have an on-card auto. I consider myself lucky that they even have a signed card at all. Plus, the design around the stickers is so well done that you don’t even notice that they are there.

For those of you unfamiliar with these jokers, but were tough guys in the WHA, although Brackenbury played a bit in the NHL afterwards.

As you probably know, Bill “Goldie” Goldthorpe was the inspiration for the Slap Shot character Ogie Oglethorpe. He didn’t play long in the WHA, but he sure left his mark. In the book The Rebel League, there are a number of stories about Goldethorpe but my favorite one is this:

In addition to everything else, Goldthorpe was a workout fanatic and a practitioner of martial arts. Before practices with the Saints, he would walk into the dressing room while the other players were putting their gear on, pull out a set of nunchaks [sic], and perform a Bruce Lee routine in the centre of the room. Then he would put the nunchaks [sic] away and without a word begin to get dressed fro practice. (94)

What the what?! What a mental patient.

Brackenbury was also an inspiration in Slap Shot, not as a character, but for a trait he had: puttin’ on the foil!

Combined, these cards cost me like $15, which is much better than buying a box and getting some guys I don’t like, although I do appreciate all enforcers.

So, this is it; the last edition of the Hall of Pretty Good. I mean, at least until the next induction class. It’s been a fun little project, going through all the different years and learning about specific players. While I have kicked out a fair number of players, I feel like I need to reiterate again that those players are still great players with accomplished careers; they just don’t belong in MY Hall of Fame.

There will be a Veteran’s Committee (you guys) vote at the end of all this, but I’ll get to that the final three years.

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
2006-2008

Here we go…

2009
Brett Hull
Brian Leetch
Luc Robitaille
Steve Yzerman

Brett Hull has to be considered one of the best pure goal scorers in the history of the NHL, right? I mean, the guy was born to shoot the puck. Over 1269 games, he netted 741 goals, placing him 3rd all-time. He enjoyed thirteen seasons of 30+ goals, eight 40+ seasons, five 50+ seasons, three 70+ seasons, and one season of 86 goals (!); eight times he finished in the top-10 in goals, leading three straight years. Assists weren’t really his game; his 650 career helpers are only good for 59th all-time. For his career, his 1391 total points are good enough for 21st overall. He has some hardware, collecting a Hart Trophy, Lady Byng Trophy, and the Ted Lindsay Award. He was named to three NHL All-Star 1st Teams and also won two Stanley Cups, one with the Dallas Stars and one with the Detroit Red Wings. His numbers back up his HOF resume as does his reputation as a sniper who was deadly from just about anywhere. Hull is in.

Brian Leetch should have played his entire career in NY, but things happen, I suppose. He was considered one of the elite blueliners during his career and his numbers back that up. Over the course of 1205 NHL games, Leetch scored 247 goals and helped on 781 others. He is one of five defencemen to top 100 points and played in an era with some top-shelf d-men (Bourque, MacInnis, Stevens, etc). His rookie season saw him take home the Calder Trophy. A couple of seasons after that, he won his first of two Norris Trophies. I thought he had won more, but when you have those other guys I just mentioned, two is pretty impressive. He also won the Conn Smythe Trophy for his amazing performance during the Rangers’ Stanley Cup winning run (11 goals/23 assists/34 points). He was selected to the NHL All-Star 1st Team three times and the 2nd Team three times. Leetch is definitely a Hall of Famer. In.

Why do I get the feeling that Luc Robitaille is underrated? Like, he doesn’t get a ton of respect because he had some dude named Gretzky on his team. Here are the facts: nineteen seasons, 668 goals (10th all-time), 726 assists, and 1394 points (20th all-time). He scored 30+ goals twelve times, 40+ eight times, 50+ three times, and 60+ once. During his first eight seasons, he scored 392 goals in just 640 games. He finished in the top-10 in goals nine times and points four times. His Calder Trophy is the only individual hardware we took home, but he does have one Stanley Cup to his name. The most telling stat or accolade is this, though: he was selected to the NHL All-Star 1st Team five times and the 2nd Team three times, so he was well respected among the various hockey circles. Robitaille was probably never considered the best at his position or even the best on his team, but he quietly had a pretty stellar career; one that sort of has flown under the radar. He is in.

Last up is Steve Yzerman. Whereas Robitaille is slightly underrated, I think Yzerman is slightly (very slightly) overrated, and maybe that is the wrong word. Scoring 692 goals (8th all-time) is not overrated. Dishing out 1063 assists (7th all-time) is not overrated. Accumulating 1755 points (6th all-time) is not overrated. In fact, those are all amazing accomplishments and put him as one of the best all-time. But let me ask you this: did you ever fear Steve Yzerman? Not in the “Oh crap, he is going to kill me” way, but more in the “we have to shut this guy down” sort of way? Consider this, over his 22 year career, he was named to the NHL All-Star 1st Team once and never to the 2nd Team. Why is that? He does have a Conn Smythe and Selke Trophy to go along with a Ted Lindsay Award, so he was at least somewhat highly regarded. And I can’t discount him being the captain on a great Red Wings team that took home three Cups. Yzerman is definitely in, but I just want to know why he is more highly thought of than a guy like Robitaille?

Inducted: Brett Hull, Brian Leetch, Luc Robitaille, and Steve Yzerman
Kicked out: No one

2010
Dino Ciccarelli

Nope.

Inducted: No one
Kicked out: Dino Ciccarelli

2011
Ed Belfour
Doug Gilmour
Mark Howe
Joe Nieuwendyk

I think Eddie Belfour is a slam dunk choice for the Hall of Fame. Over the course of seventeen seasons, he finished with a sub .500 record only three times. Compare that to the fact that he won more than 30 games nine times and 40 twice. He finished in the top-3 in wins eight times (led once), GAA five times (led twice) and shutouts seven times (led four straight seasons). This isn’t the top-10, but the top-3. Impressive. He won the Calder Trophy, was twice awarded the Vezina Trophy, and won a Stanley Cup. He was also named to the NHL All-Star 1st Team twice and the 2nd Team once. Finally, he sits third all time in wins with 484 and ninth in shutouts with 76. The Eagle is in.

Doug Gilmour is a tough one to figure out. He was a very good player and a great teammate. A guy full of heart and soul that you wanted on your team in the dying seconds of a game that you either needed a goal to win or were protecting a one goal lead. He was a decent scorer (450 goals) and an above-average/great playmaker (964 assists). He finished in the top-10 in goals just once, assists five times, and points three times. He was a pretty good defensive forward and even took home a Selke Trophy to prove it. He was never named to an NHL All-Star 1st or 2nd Team but did win a Cup with the Flames. I really want to induct Gilmour but he just doesn’t have the resume. He would be a first ballot HOFer in the Teammate Hall of Fame, but not in my Hall of Fame. If I am wrong here, the Veteran’s Committee will take care of Dougie. Out.

I’m going to ignore Mark Howe’s WHA career for the time being and just focus on his NHL career. In fourteen seasons (40+ min.), Howe put up some pretty good numbers for a defenceman not named Bourque or Coffey. In his heyday, you could count on about 18 goals and 45 assists. He was named to three NHL All-Star 1st Teams but failed to win any individual awards (although he was a three time Norris Trophy runner-up) or Stanley Cups. Based on those numbers, he is not really a HOFer, but then we have to look at his WHA career because it was a legitimate rival league to the NHL. Sure, the WHA was plagued with financial problems and didn’t have perhaps the same caliber of players as the NHL, but it did have some major talent and many of the good players from the WHA had successful NHL careers, so it’s not like they were bums. In six seasons in the WHA, Howe had 208 goals and 296 assists (504 points) in 426 games. He was initially a left winger but converted over to defence halfway through (which makes his career all that much more remarkable). He won the Lou Kaplan Trophy as Rookie of the Year and won two Avco World Cups (Stanley Cup equivalent). In the WHA, he is tenth all time in goals and assists while sitting eighth in total points. All this said, I still don’t think I can put him in the Hall of Fame. He is like the next level down from the sort of player I am looking at. Sorry, Mark.

Last up is Joe Nieuwendyk. Not the way I wanted to end this series, but perhaps fitting. In 1257 games, Joe scored 564 goals while dishing out 562 assists for a total of 1126 points. His back-to-back 50+ goal seasons are nice, but those never put him above 5th in goals during either season, the highest he would ever finish. He never cracked 100+ points and was never named to an NHL All-Star 1st or 2nd Team. He did win the Calder Trophy and a Conn Smythe to go along with this three Stanley Cups, but those things are just not enough. A very good player, but not Hall worthy. Joe is out.

Inducted: Ed Belfour
Kicked out: Doug Gilmour, Mark Howe, and Joe Nieuwendyk

And so, there we have it. The new (and improved?) Hockey Hall of Fame. Let’s recap who got in:

Do any of those names look out of place at first glance? I have to admit a couple do, but I must have my reasons for their inclusion. From here, I want to determine the different classes (the first class on through), but we’ll get to that soon enough. In my next post I’ll talk more about the players who got the boot and Veteran’s Committee.

Stay tuned.