We are not sure that a man named the only the 27th Greatest New York Ranger of All time is a Hall of Famer. It is not that we do not respect the accomplishments of Lynn Patrick, as he was a solid part of the Rangers 1940 Stanley Cup win, and as the son of Hockey Hall of Fame great, Lester Patrick, he was seemingly made for the game. 

Slowly working his way up the American Hockey League’s organizational ladder, Jack Butterfield would become the man that ensured that league’s survival. It was because of Butterfield that the AHL would be set up as the primary minor league in North America, and the defacto feeder system to the NHL. His work as an administrator also translated to the economic side, as he was able to not only make the AHL profitable, but a standard that other leagues looked to emulate. Butterfield was inducted while he was still the President of the AHL, a position he would hold for another fourteen years (he had already been the President for fourteen years). You have to wonder where the American Hockey League would be without Jack Butterfield.

There are a lot of interesting facts about Harry Lumley’s NHL career. He played for five of the Original Six teams (albeit only for one game for the Rangers), and debuted at the age of seventeen. He had an up and down career and won only one more game than he lost. He had the most wins in a season twice, but three times was also led the NHL in losses. He played for great teams and terrible teams, and do you get the feeling that we are telling “A Tale of Two Cities”?

Gump Worsley (and again, this is a name we absolutely love) may have lost more games than he won in the NHL, but that is widely due to being on some awful teams, in which he was still praised by fans for keeping those squads as competitive as they were. Gump did play for some abysmal teams in the 50’s, but in the 60’s he found himself with a powerful Montreal Canadians team and elevated his game accordingly. He enjoyed the best years of his career and won four Stanley Cups and two Vezina Trophies. Gump would play for 21 NHL seasons finishing off with the Minnesota North Stars until the age of 44. Gump Worsley may not have reached the Hall without his Montreal stint, but is it wrong that we love him in the Hall because his name is “Gump”?