Guy Carbonneau seems to have a career of “threes”. On three occasions, he won the Stanley Cup and three times he won the Frank J. Selke Award as the NHL’s best defensive forward. Unlike other centers on this list, Carbonneau was not known for putting the puck in the net. Sure, he netted 260 goals over his career and was more than capable offensively, but it was his defensive prowess that made him an essential player. Whomever his team was playing against, you could count on Carbonneau being on the ice against that team’s best player. Guy Carbonneau was not a star for hat tricks he scored; he was a star for the hat tricks he prevented.
During the mid 90’s, few goaltenders approached the level of success that Mike Richter did. After a few years of struggles, Richter took over the net in New York and embarked on a magical three year period. In the 1993-94 season, he posted 42 wins (and 16 more in the playoffs) and backstopped his the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup in forty five years. Richter’s finest performance may have occurred two years later outside of the NHL when he stood on his head and stopped the Canadian juggernaut in leading the Americans to a World Cup of Hockey victory in 1996 where he was subsequently named the tournament MVP.
Though it appears that all of the key members of the 1980’s Oilers dynasty are in the Hall, there is a very strong case that one still remains. Kevin Lowe was a steady two way defenseman who was with the Oilers for the duration of Edmonton’s stellar run. He was overshadowed by his offensive juggernauts, but as he watched them slowly depart Alberta, he remained steadying the blue line and becoming more important with each Cup run. Lowe provided the same leadership (and was under similar shadows) when he was part of the Rangers Cup win in 1994. A seven time All Star and six time Stanley Cup winner, Kevin Lowe was not just along for the ride; he helped steer the bus. If any one left of those great Edmonton teams gets in, our bet is on Kevin Lowe.
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 a streak of playing in 884 straight games and could have had a shot to break the all-time record held by Doug Jarvis had a contract dispute not gotten in the way. Steve Larmer was not someone you would get an exciting sound bite on, so when he did have criticisms to say people took notice. It wasn’t often that the man known for his class to seek the spotlight but when he did it was usually due to a strong conviction on his part. He retired when he felt he could no longer be the consistent player he once was and he easily could have padded more statistics had he chose to keep playing a few more years.