An impressive list of NHL stars will be eligible for the 2025 Hall of Fame class. They will be joined by several players who have been left out of the Hall over the years, including Keith Tkachuk.

Tkachuk was one of the league’s biggest stars and was one of the top forwards of his era. He made a name for himself by combining physical play with elite goal-scoring. As a result, he finished his career with over 538 goals, 1,065 points, and 2,219 penalty minutes.

Despite his impressive numbers, Hall of Fame Voters have left Tkachuk off their ballots since he became eligible over a decade ago.

Will 2025 be the year when this finally changes?

Why Voters Have Not Elected Tkachuk

While voters have not all been open about their opinions around Keith Tkachuk’s Hall of Fame resume, a couple of issues are working against him.

The first is that the former star forward never made it past the third round of the playoffs. While plenty of players have made the Hall without winning a Stanley Cup, Tkachuk’s 18-year career makes the stat stand out when considered for Hockey’s highest honor.

Speaking of Tkachuk’s long career, that is likely another issue that has prevented him from reaching the Hall of Fame. Most of his time was during the NHL’s “dead puck era,” where the league saw an offensive decline from the 1994-95 lockout until the early 2,000s. That led to several players enjoying longer-than-average careers, including Tkachuk.

Lastly, how the game has changed since his retirement could affect how voters view him. While his goal-scoring stands independently, his time spent in the penalty box stands out even more. He could already have gotten into the Hall if he was a defenseman enforcer or a pure scorer. Instead, voters may have difficulty reconciling those two aspects of his game.

While his numbers remain impressive, voters aren’t giving them as much weight when considering his candidacy for the NHL Hall of Fame.

The Argument for Tkachuk to Make the Hall

There are many reasons why Keith Tkachuk should have been inducted into the Hall of Fame long ago.

One of the biggest is that Tkachuk is one of just 47 players to score over 500 goals in his career. Only four eligible players of that group are not in the Hall of Fame. While he benefited from an extended career thanks to the dead puck era, his goal-scoring during the league-wide offensive drought is impressive.

Tkachuk also enjoyed many awards and honors throughout his NHL career. He had ten top-five finishes in All-Star voting, finishing among the top three four times. He also played for the US in the Olympics and the 1996 World Cup.

Along with the awards, the forward also owns some impressive records. The biggest was when he became the first American to lead the NHL in scoring 52 goals in the 1996-1997 season. That impressive season also saw him become the fourth player in NHL history to score 50 goals and 200 penalty minutes in a single season, a feat that seems impossible today.

Will 2025 be Tkachuk’s Year?

Keith Tkachuk’s impressive numbers are worthy of the Hall of Fame, but his path becomes more challenging each year he is left out. Newer voters will have less familiarity with Tkachuk and his role during the NHL’s dead puck era as the years roll on.

That said, the Tkachuk name is still alive and well in the NHL. His sons Brady and Matthew have become stars in their own right, leading the Panthers to the Stanley Cup in 2024. While their play doesn’t affect his Hall of Fame resume, it keeps his name public. Many fans long for his era, when even skill players could be physical enforcers, which is no longer seen in the league.

While many believe that Keith Tkachuk’s impressive numbers warrant a Hall of Fame induction, predicting whether he will be selected can be challenging. As such, sports enthusiasts and analysts often turn to betting sites for insights into potential outcomes. Canada’s best betting sites will likely offer odds on Tkachuk’s chances of making the 2025 Hall of Fame class, reflecting the ongoing debate among voters and fans. Moreover, NHL betting trends might also influence how these odds are set, as the hockey community closely follows the shifting dynamics of the sport.

It seems more than possible that Keith will still be waiting to get in when both of his sons become eligible.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists and consistently look to update them when necessary and based on necessity. As such, we are delighted to present our post-2023-24 revision of our top 50 Detroit Red Wings.

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey, we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the Red Wings were hoping to break their long playoff drought and play meaningful spring hockey but could not reach the postseason.  There were no new entrants and only one elevation.

As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes:

1. Gordie Howe
2. Nicklas Lidstrom
3. Steve Yzerman
4. Terry Sawchuk
5. Ted Lindsay

You can find the entire list here.

The only change was that the Red Wings Captain, Dylan Larkin, who climbed from #40 to #31.

We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.

Jake Oettinger was selected late in the First Round of the 2017 Draft and cut his teeth with Boston University, where he was their star Goalie.  He signed with the Stars in 2019 and debuted for Dallas in that year’s playoffs.

Oettinger played 29 Games for Dallas in 2020-21, and his 2.36 GAA proved that he was the Goalie of the future.  He has been their lead Goalie for the last three seasons, was fifth in Vezina voting in 2022-23, and made his first All-Star Game appearance in 2023-24.  He has also anchored the Stars to three straight Western Conference Finals, with two of the years featuring top-ten Vezina Trophy finishes.

As of this writing, Oettinger is entering his sixth season and can help Dallas win its second Stanley Cup.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists and consistently look to update them when necessary and based on necessity. As such, we are delighted to present our post-2023 revision of our top 50 Colorado Avalanche.

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey, we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the Avalanche made another deep run into the playoffs and entered this season as contenders. A new entrant cracked the top 50 and five elevations last year.

As always, we present our top five, which saw a significant change:

1. Joe Sakic
2. Nathan MacKinnon
3. Peter Forsberg
4. Michel Goulet
5. Peter Stastny

You can find the entire list here.

MacKinnon vaulted from #6 to #2 after winning the Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award and securing a First Team All-Star. Overtaking Joe Sakic for the top spot will be a daunting task, though.

Two-time All-Star Mikko Rantanen moved from #13 to #8.

Former (and possibly future) Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar rocketed up the list again, this time from #20 to #12.

Defenseman Devin Toews moved from #35 to #30.

Fellow Defenseman Samuel Girard climbed two spots to #36.

The new entrant is Right Wing Valeri Nichuskin.  He debuts at #40.

We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.