gold star for USAHOF

Hockey

Established in 1943, and currently based in Toronto, the Hockey Hall of Fame is a quite simply a tribute to those who achieved excellence in hockey.  Criticized by some for their failure to recognize international stars, the WHA, women and the high amount of players inducted from the Original Six era, the Hockey Hall of Fame is still one of the most impressive facilities despite its lack of size.  The rich history of hockey is certainly well represented there.  For our list, we have focused on players as opposed to the builders and journalists categories; although we have included some people whom we felt could not be ignored.  Current enshrinement for players is based on receiving fourteen votes out of an eighteen member committee.  In terms of NHL players, it is based on being out of the league for three years.  We have selected one hundred figures of hockey (though honestly only a handful really has a reasonable shot) and again we encourage debate as to who you feel deserves enshrinement in Toronto.

 Until Then, keep your stick on the ice.

 Sincerely,

 The Not in Hall of Committee.

On the surface, Kari Lehtonen is a strange player for us to rank.  The Finnish Goalie has 310 Wins, but never finished higher than eighth in Vezina voting.  He has over 110 Goalie Point Shares, and is in the top 50 all-time in that category, but has only been in…
Paul Martin may have played for some good and high profile teams over his career (New Jersey, Pittsburgh and San Jose) and the Defenseman was also chosen to represent the United States of America multiple times but this is still someone who a case can be made was an underrated…
A productive Right Winger over his NHL career, Radim Vrbata has had three seasons where he eclipsed the 60 Point mark.  An All-Star in 2015, Vrbata also is a former leader in Power Play Goals (2011-12) and he would score 623 Points in the National Hockey League.
Spending the majority of his career with the Dallas Stars, Brenden Morrow was an above average defensive forward.  Morrow was known for his leadership and overall skill when needed in the clutch as shown by the Stars long employment of the Left Wing.  Morrow was not an elite scorer (although…
With a solid career in the National Hockey League, Finnish Defenseman Sami Salo had a solid though massively injury riddled career.  Salo scored 339 career Points with his best years coming as one of the anchors of a good Vancouver Canucks defensive corps.  Salo, who was tagged as injury prone…
Dave Christian is best known for being a member of the United States 1980 Olympic Gold Medal winning team but he was far more than just a member of the Miracle on Ice Team.  Christian was never a top five finisher in any major individual award but he was the…
From the Northwest Territories, Geoff Sanderson played 1,104 Games in the National Hockey League while being named an All Star twice.  The Left Winger would never play for any serious Stanley Cup contender but he recorded 700 Points as a professional.  Sanderson would represent Canada in two World Hockey Championship…
Andrew Brunette had a long and healthy career in the NHL where he was known throughout for his durability and consistency.  Brunette also had a reputation for his accuracy as he was the leader in Shooting Percentage in the 2009/10 season and was in the top ten in that statistic…
Easily one of the best defensive forwards for years Michael Peca would finish in the top five in Frank J. Selke Award voting every season from 1996-97 to 2003-04.  The first year of that streak was when he
Jamie Langenbrunner is a two time Stanley Cup Champion with two different teams (Dallas in 1999 and New Jersey in 2003) and was a big part in both of those wins.  In his first Cup win, Langenbrunner scored 17 Points and in the 2003 Playoffs he was the leader in…
Strong, punishing and dedicated to the art of defensive hockey, Craig Ludwig was an expert shot blocker who may not have scored much but always brought leadership and grit to whatever hockey team he was on.  Ludwig split his professional career with the Montreal Canadiens and the Dallas Stars (save…
It is certainly correct in stating that Bill Hajt was never a superstar in the National Hockey League and when you speak about stay-at-home Defensemen but when you are good at that you accomplish the intangibles that any National Hockey League team would covet.  As such it is not really…
Bill Thoms had his best years in the late 1930’s with the Toronto Maple Leafs where in the 1935-36 season he would tie for the league lead in Goals (though Charlie Conacher was awarded the Goal Scoring title because he scored his 23 in less games) and was also a…
Thomas Steen played his entire National Hockey League career with the Winnipeg Jets where he may not have been known outside small market Winnipeg and his home country of Sweden, but this was a player who was vastly underrated and selfless and thus invaluable to the Jets who never let…
Albert Leduc was in the top ten in Defensive Point Shares five times in his career which was mostly spent with the Montreal Canadiens.  The blueliner would score 93 Points over his 383 Games in the National Hockey League, which for that era was more than decent for a Defenseman.
Daymond Langkow played 1,090 Games in the NHL and was known for his two-way ability.  Langkow received votes in five seasons for the Frank J. Selke Trophy and he would score 672 Points over his career with a career high of 77 Points, which he did with Calgary in the…
Chris Phillips spent his entire professional career with the Ottawa Senators where he was a dependable force on the blueline.  Phillips never had a 10 Goal season and he only scored 288 Points over a 1,179 Game career but his defensive prowess, size and leadership proved to be integral to…
Along with his brother Jimmy, Joe Watson was a vital member of the Broad Street Bullies team in Philadelphia that would win back-to-back Stanley Cups in the mid 1970’s.  Watson was known for possessing any special skill in the game of hockey other than being one of the hardest workers…
Andre Dupont was traded midway through the 1972-73 from the St. Louis Blues to the Philadelphia Flyers where he would find himself perfectly at home.  Nicknamed “Moose” Dupont joined what was morphing into the “Broad Street Bullies” and Dupont’s bruising defensive style was a perfect fit.  He was not afraid…
A member of the Canadian Olympic Team in 1984, Russ Courtnall would have his best years in professional hockey with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens where he would have 100 Goals for each franchise and had a 70 Point season for each team.  Courtnall would actually have his…