Posts Tagged ‘Minnesota North Stars’

I’m thinking that I should wrap this up in a few more parts, so let’s just cut to the chase, shall we?

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
Grant Fuhr
Pat Lafontaine

Grant Fuhr is not a Hall of Famer. He played 30+ games for 15 of his 19 seasons and during that span, I’d estimate that he had one really good year, four pretty good years, and a bunch of average-to-below average years. His best season was 87-88 when he posted a 40-24-9 mark with four shutouts and a GAA of 3.43. The shutouts and wins led the league, but the GAA was only 15th best. That is like a picture going 20-6 with a 3.76 ERA and winning the Cy Young Award. Would that ever happen? Probably not. I think the reason he won the Vezina was that he led the league in wins for a powerhouse team (Oilers) who won the Cup. During his other pretty good years, he went 113-31-25 with two shutouts and a GAA around 3.76. GUH! It should be worth mentioning that those seasons were with those great Oiler teams, which accounts for the wins. On the other hand, it is worth noting that the high GAA game in an era that experienced a huge scoring boom. Overall, Fuhr is 9th all time in wins, 15th in losses, 69th(!) in shutouts, and 1st in goals allowed. As I said earlier, he has that one Vezina Trophy to go along with four Cups. Is it enough? Nope. Fuhr, in my opinion, is in the Hall because he played on a great team; a team, mind you, that would have probably won those Cups with me in goal. Fuhr is out!

For some reason, I really liked Pat Lafontaine growing up. Like most of the players I followed and deemed “favorite” I have no idea why. During his eleven seasons (of 40+ games), Lafontaine netted 30+ goals nine times, 40+ seven times, and 50+ twice; pretty impressive. On the other hand, he only reached the 100+ point mark twice; not too impressive. He only finished in the top-1o in goals twice, assists once, and points twice. He won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy once and was named to the NHL All-Star 2nd Team once, but never captured a Cup. He is 52nd all-time in goals scored, 97th in assists, and 75th in points. I think he is currently in more for his potential if he could have stayed healthy. Even when healthy, though, he was on the bubble of being one of the truly greats. Sorry Pat, but you are out.

Inducted: No one
Kicked out: Grant Fuhr and Pat Lafontaine

2004
Raymond Bourque
Paul Coffey
Larry Murphy

Three defencemen in one year?!

Let’s start with the best of the lot, Ray Bourque. Twenty-two years in the league, 410 goals, 1169 assists, and 1579 points. Not bad for a defenceman. Bourque finished in the top-10 for assists seven times and in +/- (which is a big stat for blueliners) nine times. For his career, he is 4th all-time in assists, 11th in points, and 3rd in +/-. Now lets look at the individual awards: Calder Trophy, five time Norris Trophy winner, and one Stanley Cup. He was named to the NHL All-Star 1st Team thirteen times and the 2nd team six times. Oh, and he was an ace at the accuracy competition during the All-Star break. No brainer here, Bourque is in.

When Bourque wasn’t winning the Norris, Paul Coffey was. Over 1409 games, he tallied a total of 1531 points which is really good for a defenceman. He finished in the top-10 in assists nine times and  points six times; for his career he is 4th and 13th respectively. Three Norris Trophies and four Stanley Cups only add to his legacy. Finally, he was named to four NHL All-Star 1st Teams and four 2nd Teams. Coffey is in.

Lastly, there is Murphy, who is the weakest of the three. In 1615 games, Murphy put up 1216 points. While definitely a good number for a d-man, not quite as good as Bourque and Coffey. He only finished in the top-10 in assists once and +/- three times. For his career, he is 16th in assists, 40th in points, and 60th in +/-. Ehhhh. He never took home a Norris Trophy but did win the Cup four times. He was named to the NHL All-Star 2nd Team three times. I think in any other induction year, Murphy looks very good, but when you put him in the same class as Bourque and Coffey, he is the odd man out. Sorry, but Murphy is out.

Inducted: Raymond Bourque and Paul Coffey
Kicked out: Larry Murphy

2005
Valeri Kharlamov
Cam Neely

I didn’t want to evaluate Kharlamov because he never played in the NHL, but since I inducted Tretiak, I felt like I had to include him. I’m just going to assume he was great and induct him.

Neely is going to hurt me. Like, emotionally hurt and also, if he reads this, he is going to come to my home and mess me up. Over eleven seasons (of 40+ games), Neely was a force. He finished with 30+ goals seven times, 40+ four times, and 50+ three times including the rare 50 goals in 50 games feat. His career numbers aren’t amazing because injuries shorten his NHL playing days (thanks Ulfie). I think Neely is in the HOF now because he was a prototype at the time. He was big and agile, could score and fight, and was just overall a menacing SOB. Up until that point, there weren’t any real players like him in the league, but that changed shortly after his arrival. His career numbers don’t warrant his inclusion here, but I have to look a little beyond the numbers. Few players were more feared than Neely in the league and he was considered nearly, if not truly, elite during his career. Had he stayed healthy, I have to think he would have been a 500 goal scorer. I can’t, however, include him based on potential (see Pat Lafontaine). I have to be objective and pray that the Veteran’s Committee rights my wrong here. Neely is out.

Inducted: Valeri Kharlamov
Kicked out: Cam Neely

And there you have it. Let’s get to some cards, shall we?

People send me things and it rules. First was Sal at Puck Junk, who sent me an autographed card of Ken Hodge Jr. Unfortunately, I forgot to scan it and I’m too lazy to do it now. It is sweet, though, and much appreciated.

Then there was Captain Canuck over at Just a Bit Offside and Waxaholic. I had sent him some OPC and UD cards he needed for sets and included a Brad Marchand card along with it, since he is a HUGE B’s and Marchand fan. Much to my shock, he hates both the reigning Stanley Cup champs and the feisty winger. Not only did he return my Marchand card, but he included these to keep it company:

So, the Marchand card was the ‘return to sender’ and I checked it for graffiti and was surprised to find none. I LOVE the Horton canvas card, but hate the Kaberle card. Not the actual card, but the player. What a worthless bum and yet, he is front and center in the White House photos. The guy did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING and he is smiling like a dope behind Obama. Ugh. Hey Canuck, how’re you like Mr. Kaberle this season?

Anyways, thanks guy for all the goodies.

Next we have some eBay purchases. There is this:

2001-02 Topps Autographs #A-RF Ron Francis

I will have more to say about Ron Francis in my next Hockey Hall of Pretty Good post, so stay tuned. Ideally, I would have preferred a card of him in his Whalers uniform but I like having a signed card of a HOF player that was autographed during his playing days. Why, I can’t say, but I do.

Next is a card I wasn’t really looking for but I saw it on eBay, the bidding was low, and I figured, “Hey, why not?”

2010-11 Upper Deck The Cup Autographed Rookie Masterpieces #CUP-97 Adam McQuaid

Never did I think I’d actually own a 1/1 (because they don’t really appeal to me). Nor did I ever think I’d own a printing plate card (same reason). And never did I think I’d own either of one of my favorite players. But then eBay happened and it was just too cheap to pass up. So now I have a 1/1 printing plate autographed rookie of Adam McQuaid. Huzzah!

And lastly, I think I’m going to start a Derek Sanderson collection. I have nearly all of his vintage cards, but now he has quite a few new cards put out by Panini as well as some other random Upper Deck cards from the past years. If anyone has any, please hit me up.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs, the best time of the year, is in full swing and I couldn’t be happier. Well, I guess if the B’s were up 3-0 on the hated Habs, I’d be happier. I missed the first two games because of outstanding commitments elsewhere which also meant I couldn’t wear my new ’71-’72 Derek Sanderson Bruins jersey which directly led to the Beantown Boys dropping the first two. No fear though, I caught Game 3, donned the jersey and all was right in the NHL.

In other news, I officially passed my graduate school comprehensive exams and in a couple of months, I will receive my Master’s in Library and Information Science. I have also just found a job as the head librarian at a high school about 30 minutes from here. A huge raise and 11 weeks of vacation? Yes, please.

A few cards have recently found their way into my collection, but I want to analyze some HOF classes first. Last update, I looked at the ’82, ’83, and ’84 classes, kicking out Jacques Lemaire and Bernie Parent and inducting Cournoyer, Ullman, Gilbert, Dryden, Hull, Mikita, and Phil Esposito.

Click below for previous write ups:

1961-1966
1967-1970
1971-1973
1974-1976
1977-1978
1979-1980
1981
1982-1984

1985
Gerry Cheevers
Bert Olmstead
Jean Ratelle

First up is Cheese. It hurts to say, but I think Cheevers is a bit overrated. He played, by my standards, just eight complete seasons in the NHL. During that time, he was very good, accumulating a 206-80–60 record. However, he also split duties in about half of those seasons, with teammate Eddie Johnston being almost as good. He never won an individual awards and was named to only one All-Star Game; he was never named an NHL All-Star 1st or 2nd Teamer. He did win two Stanley Cups including a brilliant performance during the 69-70 finals. It should be noted that he jumped to the WHA for four seasons where he put up decent numbers. Sure, he finished in the top-1o in wins eight times, but only finished as high as 6th in GAA in any given season. I can’t in good conscience put him in and leave Parent out, so Cheevers is out. If we are going by goalie masks, he’d be in though.

Olmstead played 13 seasons for the Hawks, Habs and Leafs. Over the course of his career, he never finished in the top-10 in goals, but did finish in the top-10 in assists four times (leading twice and setting the record in 55-56) and points four times. He never won any individual awards, but was named to NHL All-Star 2nd Team twice. He also won four Stanley Cups. He was known as a heavy hitter, but that isn’t enough to make up for pretty good numbers. Olmstead is out.

Gentleman Jean Ratelle played for 18 seasons in the NHL. During his career, he finished in the top-10 in goals three times, assists six times, and points seven times. He had back-to-back 40+ seasons and tallied 100+ points twice. He was very good for a very long time, averaging nearly a point-per-game for his career (1267 points/1281 games). He is in the top-50 all-time for goals, assists, and points. When he retired, he was 6th all-time in points. He won two Lady Byngs and one Ted Lindsay Award but no Stanley Cups. Lastly, he had an awesome head of hair. I am putting him in because he was just so good for so long (see Bucyk, John).

Inducted: Jean Ratelle
Kicked out: Gerry Cheevers and Bert Olmstead

1986
Leo Boivin
Dave Keon
Serge Savard

Boivin is a head scratcher. 17 seasons manning the blue line with no stats, records, or hardware to show for it. He was supposedly a big bodychecker, but I need more. I am keeping him out for all these reasons, but none more than the fact that he doesn’t have a certified autographed card.

Keon played 18 seasons, mostly with the Maple Leafs. During that time, he only finished in the top-10 in goals three times and points twice. He did win the Calder Trophy, two Lady Byngs, and the Conn Smythe to go along with four Stanley Cups. He was named to the NHL All-Star 2nd Team twice as well. On any given season, you could pencil Keon in for about 55 points. His stop with the Hartford Whalers almost earns him an automatic induction into the Hall, but I am keeping him out. He was good for a long period of time as opposed to Ratelle who was VERY good for a long period of time.

Lastly, we have Serge Savard. He fits into my debate about whether he was good because he was on the Habs or were the Habs good because of Savard?  Bluelines are also tough to judge because their stats don’t necessarily pop out (unless you are Bobby Orr). He was named to the NHL All-Star 2nd team once and won a Conn Smythe. He only played in four All-Star Games, which is a little telling. His seven Cups are impressive, but those don’t count for much in my book, especially those Montreal Cups. I am keeping Savard out.

Inducted: No one
Kicked out: Leo Boivin, Dave Keon, and Serge Savard

That is all for today and remember, the guys I kick out aren’t bad players. They just don’t fit in my Hockey Hall of Fame.

Now, let’s look at some cards.

This one was a redemption that finally arrived…

2010-11 Donruss Tough Times Autograph #1 Joey Kocur /250

ENFORCER! Love this set and am looking forward to the 70′s edition in Pinnacle.

Next is a fun card I picked up at my local card shop…

2010-11 Panini Crown Royale Voices of the Game Autograph #10 Darren Pang

Who doesn’t love the Panger? Hey Darren, look a the camera. This is a cool set and my only complaint is that Andy Brickley wasn’t a part of it.

This last card was a leftover from the card show I went to where I picked up all those mid-80′s OPC for $2. I forgot to scan it in, so without further delay…

1877-78 O-Pee-Chee WHA #1 Gordie Howe

This celebrates his 1,000th goal although that is a bit misleading. If you combine his NHL and WHA totals, he sits at 975. Apparently they added in his junior goals with the SAHA and USHL leagues in the 1940′s. Whatever, it’s a cool Gordie Howe card in an Aero’s jersey. And check out the dudes on the bench, are those clear plexi-glass boards? NICE! I can’t tell if the back is off-centered top to bottom. I’ve been some with the copyright on the bottom and others on the top. It’s tough to tell with these crazy WHA sets.