On Tuesday, the Hockey Hall of Fame will announce the 2010 inductees and this year should boast a very impressive class with a number of great players entering their first year of eligibility.
Yet there is seemingly just one lock for the Hall of Fame this year, as Joe Nieuwendyk is sure to be a first-ballot inductee. The 1999 Conn Smythe winner was a three-time Stanley Cup champion with three different teams and personified the leadership, production and class that you would expect to be present in a Hall of Fame player.
After Nieuwendyk, however, are a number of players sure to draw debate. It’s unlikely that Pierre Turgeon, Mike Ricci, Arturs Irbe or Peter Bondra make in in their first year of eligibility. It’s possible that Tom Barrasso, Ron Hextall, Andy Moog, Felix Potvin, Dave Andreychuk or even Dino Ciccarelli finally get the call.
But two names, Pavel Bure and Eric Lindros, will be the subject of most debate. Brandon and I have two differing opinions on Bure and Lindros, and we’ll each give our argument for both below.
James:
Pavel Bure was Dominique Wilkins on ice. He scored highlight reel goals, possessed locomotive speed and an excellent sense of “The Moment.” Maybe he didn’t persist with Recchi-like longevity, but he dazzled like few others.
Eric Lindros was supposed to be “The Next One.” Few will forget - and many will never forgive - that Lindros held out as the No.1 pick of the Quebec Nordiques, only to be traded for a bunch of players including Peter Forsberg. The Lindros family over-involvement and squabbles with Bobby Clarke certainly did not impress.
But during his years in Philadelphia, Lindros was an irresistible force. With fellow power forward John LeClair and hockey trivia filler Mikael Renberg, Lindros formed the feared “Legion of Doom” line, perhaps the last combo of players to earn a spectacular nickname. As a young Penguins fan, I grew to despise Lindros, but that perhaps that only underscores his greatness.
Bure and Lindros couldn’t have been more different - everything from their playing styles and national origin are complete opposites. They do, however, share at least three traits: they both fell short of a Stanley Cup, had injury ravaged careers and most importantly ... they both deserve to be in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
There are only a handful of players in each generation who can change the course of a game or playoff series by sheer force of will. Bure and Lindros were two of those players, even if they didn’t do it for 15 years. Still, if you really need it, there are some numbers that help their cases.
Both Bure and Lindros fell well short of 1,000 career points, but they both averaged more than a point per game in the regular season (Bure: 779 in 702 GP; Lindros: 865 in 760 GP) AND in the playoffs (Bure: 70 in 64 GP; Lindros: 57 in 53 GP).
In the trap-ravaged, obstruction era of the NHL Bure still managed two 60 goal seasons (92-93 and 93-94), as well as 59, 58 and 51-goal seasons. Keep in mind, two of those 50-goal seasons came as the only real offensive threat on profoundly awful Florida Panthers teams. And Bure also managed one of the greatest scores a Russian athlete could hope for: Anna Kournikova. If that’s not HoF worthy, what is?
Hall of Fame voters tend to fixate on arbitrary milestones that reward longevity instead of brilliance. There are some players who manage a combination of both, but when it comes down to a choice between the two, I’ll take the stars that shined the brightest rather than the longest.
After the jump, Brandon tells us why they shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame.
Brandon:
I understand the love for Eric Lindros and Pavel Bure for this year’s HOF class; I can’t argue that when they were at their best they were two of the most exciting offensive players in the NHL. Yet when you look at all of the players eligible this year I can’t help but come up with a lengthy list of players who deserve to be in the HOF over these two. Before I get to that, I’ll argue against each separately.
Pavel Bure was perhaps the most electric forward of the 1990’s. What he could do with the puck was nothing short of remarkable, and his combination of talent and speed was nearly untouched during his heyday. But he was also a player who put up incredible individual numbers while never enjoying team success. Through no exact fault of his own, as hockey is ultimately a team sport, he never experienced the overwhelming postseason success that you consider when it comes to Hall of Fame players
He was never considered a great leader on the ice and was nothing but a pure goal scorer; not exactly a knock on Bure but when thinking about Hall of Fame players you have to consider factors other than just his numbers. I will admit that when he did go deep into the postseason -- in 1994 he had 31 points in 24 playoff games with Vancouver -- he shined, but those moments weren’t often, especially later in his career.
If I had my choice however, I would instantly vote Bure in over other player in this debate: Eric Lindros.
Look, I know his numbers were great. In his career he had more points per game that Mark Messier, Luc Robitaille and Brett Hull. When he was healthy, especially early in his career, he was perhaps the most dominant offensive player in the NHL. Yet that was for just a short amount of time, as injuries and and a horrid off-ice persona became the story of the latter part of his career.
It’s true that he HOF seems to reward players who were really good for a long time, instead of players who were great for a short time. But you can’t sit there and tell me that Eric Lindros -- perhaps one of the worst on-ice leaders we’ve seen in the NHL -- deserves to be in the Hall of Fame over Dave Andreychuk (640 career goals), or Andy Moog, Dino Ciccarelli and perhaps the most glaring omission: Doug Gilmour.
The thought that Eric Lindros would be in the Hall of Fame before Gilmour makes me frankly a bit sick.
Does Lindros deserve to ultimately be in the HOF? Certainly, but I highly doubt he makes it this summer anyways. He’ll get there eventually, and I’d like to the think the voters decide that Bure will get there first. I’d like to see others get voted in before either of those two, but there’s no doubt that Bure would be higher on my list than Lindros
What do you think?