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.

Although Peter Bondra was not born in Slovakia (he moved there when he was three), he is one of the best players to ever emerge from the Eastern European nation. After four years in the Czech league, Bondra joined the Washington Capitals and after a few years emerged as their…
With a devastating wrist shot and smooth skating skills, Sergei Gonchar has quietly put together a very good career in professional hockey. Gonchar is a four-time All-Star and had eight seasons of fifty points plus which is very good for a defenseman. With over twenty campaigns in the National Hockey League, Gonchar…
A somewhat disrespected goaltender, Chris Osgood won three Stanley Cup Rings without anyone really saying that he was among the elite in his position. Granted, he played with a loaded Red Wings team, but he still backstopped the team to victory after victory.
Generally when General Managers engineer trades both hope for some sort of accurate equity in return. The New York Rangers certainly did not get that equity when they traded Rick Middleton to the Boston Bruins for Ken Hodge who was at the tail end of his career. Middleton however was…
The forgotten third center of the Montreal Canadians, Ralph Backstrom was a forgotten grinder on the great Hans team of the 60’s. As he was primarily on a checking line (and not French Canadian), he was not necessarily the poster boy of Canadians Hockey. Still, Backstrom was a multi time…
Possibly the best player of the New York Islanders dynasty not yet in the Hall of Fame, John Tonelli traveled where others feared to tread. Tonelli was a grinder and was one of the few players who were just as comfortable chasing an open puck as he was digging for…
It might seem a little laughable now, but there was a time that all Russian players were considered soft. Vladimir Konstantinov may have been part of the 1980’s Soviet Red Army team but he was a man who was seemingly bred for the NHL as he was anything but “soft”.…
During the 1980s and early ’90s, Steve Larmer was a vital cog in the Chicago Black Hawks organization. He won the Calder trophy in 1983 and as a ten-year member of the Black Hawks was a model of consistency and durability. While averaging a point a game, Larmer went on…
If ever there was a hockey player who marched to his own tune, it would have to be Carl Brewer. A brilliant stay at home defenseman, Brewer would literally do whatever it took to stop any attacker. He was also the victim of rash decision making as his uncontrollable intensity…
Marc Tardif is the all-time leading goal scorer in league history. Sadly, that league is the World Hockey Association. Tardif was really starting to come into his own with the Montreal Canadians and fans were beginning to think they had a real emerging superstar on their hands. He joined to…
An intense workout machine whose gym work likely granted him twenty NHL seasons, Rod Brind’Amour was not just a physical anomaly, but one hell of a hockey player.
Should someone compile a list of the best all time hockey players from Sweden, Kent Nilsson often gets left out. Nilsson was a largely forgotten international star whose professional path may have made him the forgotten man. After a few years lighting up the Swedish league, Nilsson joined the WHA…
A major contributor to the Los Angeles Kings in the ’70s, Butch Goring tasted his greatest success when he was traded to the New York Islanders and became the “final piece of the puzzle”. Goring was a part of the Islander dynasty that won four consecutive Stanley Cup Championships and…
When you are taken 256th Overall in the NHL Amateur Draft, just making it to the largest North American hockey league is hard enough.  Putting that in perspective, what Finnish Goalie, Pekka Rinne accomplished was miraculous. Drafted in 2004, Rinne played a combined three NHL Games in his first three years in…
Vincent Lecavalier was saddled some lofty expectations when he entered the National Hockey League and while that level of excellence may not have been met (from the view he was seen at age 19), this is still a player who had one hell of a career.
One of the better offensive defenseman of the 1980’s, Randy Carlyle saw his career take off when he got traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Carlyle won the coveted Norris Trophy in 1981 and was consistently among the top points performers amongst defensemen in the 80’s. Carlyle’s career pinnacle may have…
Reggie Leach was one of the more prolific scorers in the Western Junior Hockey League. He was able to perform similar feats in the NHL, primarily when he arrived to the Philadelphia Flyers and joined the Broad Street Bullies. Interestingly, Leach’s best season may have been his most frustrating. Leach…
With 477 career NHL points (and 283 in the WHA), the professional statistics speak to a very good player but not that of the Hall of Famer. This is very much the consensus of most hockey pundits and fans alike. However, we all know of that intangible of the 1972…
It is hard to call someone with the skill set of Andy Moog unfortunate, but he did emerge as star goaltender around for the Edmonton Oilers around the same time as Grant Fuhr. As such, Moog did not receive as much playing time in Edmonton as he would have liked…
In the era of star centers, it is easy to forget about Bobby Smith. As a player who once scored more points than Wayne Gretzky to win the OMJHL scoring title, Smith entered the NHL with a bang winning the Calder Trophy with the Minnesota North Stars. Smith was a…