You don’t think of Omaha, Nebraska as a hockey hotbed, but it was in Cornhusker territory where Jake Guentzel came from.  

The Nebraskan stayed in state, competing collegiately for the University of Nebraska-Omaha, and while this was not a hockey powerhouse, Guentzel impressed in college, bringing the school to their first Frozen Four.  Taken in the Third Round of the NHL Draft years before, Guentzel joined the Penguins in 2016, making the team after a brief stop in the AHL, and he would play a large role in the Penguins in their 2017 Stanley Cup win, where he led all skaters in Goals (13) and Even-Strength Goals (11).

The Center had 48 Points in his first full year (2017-18), and he increased that to 76 the following year.  In the last three years, Guentzel has averaged over a point per game, specifically 184 Points in 171 Games.  Guentzel went to his first All-Star Game in 2021/22, and tied his previous best of 40 Goals, and had 73 Points last year.

Guentzel is entering his eighth year in the NHL, and as good as he had been, his best years are ahead of him, where he might emrge as Pittsburgh's top threat.

LeSean McCoy, who played twelve years in the NFL, signed a one-day contract with his original NFL team, the Philadelphia Eagles, and is now retired from professional football.

From the University of Pittsburgh, McCoy was phenomenal with the Panthers, winning the Big East Offensive Player of the Year (2008) and parlaying that into a Second Round Pick to the same-state Philadelphia Eagles in 2009.

McCoy played his first six years with the Eagles, four of which would see the Running Back exceed the four-digit mark in Rushing Yards.  The “scat back” led the NFL in Rushing Touchdowns (17) in 2011, and in Rushing Yards in 2013 (1,607) and in both of those seasons, McCoy was a First Team All-Pro.

As special as McCoy was with Philadelphia, the team traded the Running Back to the Buffalo Bills, where he added three more Pro Bowls (in addition to the three he had in Philadelphia) with two 1,000-Yard plus Rushing years.  

As special as McCoy was with Philadelphia, the team traded the Running Back to the Buffalo Bills, where he added three more Pro Bowls (in addition to the three he had in Philadelphia) with two 1,000-Yard plus Rushing years.  

McCoy joined Kansas City, assisting the Chiefs in their win in Super Bowl LIV, and he finished his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where although he did not play in the Super Bowl, retired as a back-to-back champion.

As special as McCoy was with Philadelphia, the team traded the Running Back to the Buffalo Bills, where he added three more Pro Bowls (in addition to the three he had in Philadelphia) with two 1,000-Yard plus Rushing years.  

McCoy joined Kansas City, assisting the Chiefs in their win in Super Bowl LIV, and he finished his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where although he did not play in the Super Bowl, retired as a back-to-back champion.

Overall, McCoy had 11,102 Rushing Yards, 73 Rushing Touchdowns and an even 15,000 Yards from Scrimmage with 89 Touchdowns.

He will be honored this Sunday in Philadelphia.

In our 2021 pre-season ranking of active players to consider for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, McCoy was ranked at #29 Overall and #3 in Running Backs.  He is now Hall of Fame eligible in 2026, and should be considered a fringe contender for Canton. 

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to wish McCoy the best in his post-playing career.

Up next on this list, we have Gene Watson. He was raised in Paris, Texas but relocated to Houston in 1963. Gene was spending his time in Houston working in an auto body shop while playing local clubs at night. After recording a couple independent albums, someone at Capitol Records happened to pick up a copy and Gene was eventually signed to the label. He never was a huge star nor one to be showered with awards, but Gene stayed in back and slowly built a collection of hits for over a decade and was a solid radio performer for the country music genre. When it comes time for the Hall Of Fame to do their voting on new inductees, Gene is not ever going to be a name that stands out as an obvious one to vote for. But with a large group of fans (who have petitions going to get him in) and him continuing to tour around to keep the legacy of country music alive, he might just end up getting his name on a plaque in the Hall Of Fame one of these days.

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 New York Rangers have announced that they will be retiring the number 30 of Henrik Lundqvist.

Lundqvist played his entire 15-year career with the Rangers, beginning in 2005-06.  He won the Vezina Trophy in 2012, and he finished in the top six in Vezina balloting nine other times.  Twice leading the NHL in Goalie Point Shares, Lundqvist was a First Team All-Star in 2012, a Second Team All-Star in 2013, and participated in five All-Star Games.  He is the all-time franchise leader in Wins (459), and is sixth all-time in that statistic.  Lundqvist had a lifetime GAA of 2.43, with 64 Shutouts.

The ceremony will take place on January 28, 2022, prior to New York’s home game against Minnesota.

Lundqvist becomes the 11^th player to have his number retired by the Rangers.  He joins Ed Giacomin (#1), Brian Leetch (#2), Harry Howell (#3), Rod Gilbert (#7), Andy Bathgate (#9), Adam Graves (#9), Mark Messier (#11), Vic Hadfield (#11), Jean Ratelle (#19) and Mike Richter (#35).

Lundqvist is eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2023.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the Henrik Lundqvist for earning this prestigious honor.