It has been said by many that Jay Bouwmeester is one of the most gifted skaters in hockey history.  We have to agree, and would gladly throw in that Bouwmeester is one of the more underrated players of the game.

The Canadian Defenseman was the third overall pick in 2002 by Florida, and was an All-Rookie after making the Panthers after being drafted.  Bouwmeester was a two-time All-Star with Florida, and he twice received Norris Trophy votes.  He would be traded to Calgary in 2009, and at the 2013 Trade Deadline, Bouwmeester was dealt to St. Louis, providing a veteran presence to the team that won the Stanley Cup in 2019.

Bouwmeester’s career ended abruptly when he suffered a cardiac arrest during a game against Anaheim in February of 2020.  He never played again, thus ending one of the most sneaky good careers in hockey.  As a professional, Bouwmeester scored 424 Points in 1,240 Games.

If Bouwmeester never becomes a serious contender for the Hockey Hall of Fame, the IIHOF could look at him, as he won five Gold Medals (one Olympics, two World Cups, two Worlds) while playing 57 Games for Team Canada.  That is one hell of an international career.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB.  Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players, coaches and executives.  As such, it is news to us that the Washington Football Team have announced that they will be retiring the number 21 of the late Sean Taylor this Sunday.

Taylor was the fifth overall pick in 2004, and would become the team’s starting Free Safety.  He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2006 and posthumously in 2007, when he was having his best season in football.   He was killed during a robbery at his home in November 27, 2007.

Taylor will be the third man to have his number retired, following Sammy Baugh (#33) and Bobby Mitchell (#49).

While we are happy about this announcement, the timing is curious, as the team is under investigation for a toxic work environment.  More attention has been paid to this with the leaking of Jon Gruden’s emails to Bruce Allen, which contained sexist, homophobic and racist comments.  Nevertheless, the Washington Football Team did say that this has been in the works for some time.

Derek Roy played 11 seasons in the NHL (2003-04 to 2014-15), with the first half of it spent in Buffalo.

As a Sabre, Roy had four straight seasons where he had at least 60 Points, where he peaked with 81 in 2007-08.  Roy would later play for Dallas, Vancouver, St. Louis, Nashville and Edmonton, and would go on to play five years in Europe afterward.

As Roy was playing in Europe in 2018, he was able to represent Canada in the Olympics (the NHLers were not involved in these Games), and he won a Bronze Medal for his country.  Roy also won two Silver Medals for Team Canada at the World Hockey Championships (2008 & 2009).

Corey Crawford was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2003 (52^nd Overall) but it was not until the 2010-11 Season where he saw significant playing time for the parent club.

Crawford became Chicago’s top Goalie, where he had the task of helping them defend their Stanley Cup Title.  The Blackhawks did not repeat as champions in 2011, but Crawford was the Goalie behind their wins in 2013 and 2015.  A two-time winner of the William M. Jennings Trophy and two-time All-Star, Crawford finished in the top ten in Save Percentage four times, and was in the top ten in Vezina trophy three times.

He retired after the 2019/20 Season, completing his career in Chicago with a record 260-162-53.