Esa Tikkanen HOF bound?

[ResilientBeast]

Tikkanen will be inducted whether you like it or not.

Just like Dale Hunter right?

 

[Jim MacDonald]

You're probably referring to game 7, Edmonton at Calgary 1991. Check Tik's body-language after he scores a weak one against Vernon to make it 3-1 Calgary (skip to sequence at 1:30):

Wow....definitely one Vernon would like to have back.....Tikkanen was fired up though for sure!

 

[RorschachWJK]

You're probably referring to game 7, Edmonton at Calgary 1991. Check Tik's body-language after he scores a weak one against Vernon to make it 3-1 Calgary (skip to sequence at 1:30):

Yeah, that must be the one. Thanks.

 

[The Roy Of Ottawa]

Just like Dale Hunter right?

Yes!

 

[The Roy Of Ottawa]

Tikkanen played for Washington too. Imagine if Washington had won the Cup in 1998 against Detroit. That would have made Tikkanen's case even stronger.

 

[cupcrazyman]

What's wrong with having the top 9 forwards from a dynasty team in the hall of fame.

 

[Merya]

Many interesting opinions and viewpoints. Thanks all, this is whats best of the forum for me. Thank You.

I think no, but there are couple who are IMO less deserving.

 

[Crosbyfan]

Good grief! Tikkanen was a far better player than Kevin Slow.

Neither should be allowed anywhere near the Hall of Fame, however.

He did know a few things about winning...

 

[ThreeLeftSkates]

We can discuss this in the Gartner thread if you'd like to...


There's no way Clark Gillies is more deserving of being in the Hall than Mike Gartner.

There is no way Gartner belongs in the HOF, Gillies or no Gillies. The equivalent to a .280 hitter in baseball.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Nope

and I am an oiler fan

 

[ted2019]

Tikkanen was probably the best LW in the NHL over 2/3 years.

He is also maybe the best "pest" in NHL history.

He is far above Kevin Lowe in my opinion on those Oilers/Rangers teams.

Tikkanen should be considered for the HHOF seriously. He was a very superb player that had a unique set of skills. The thing against him is longevity and counting numbers. Still I would have no problem with him getting in.

I don't have a problem with Leclair getting in either. Leclair was the best at his position for several years and peaked as an elite best on best player helping lead the US to the World Cup.

John LeClair should get in eventually. Probably the most dominating LW for a 6 year period in the mid to late 90's. 2 1st team AS, 3 2nd team and a 3rd team AS.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

John LeClair should get in eventually. Probably the most dominating LW for a 6 year period in the mid to late 90's. 2 1st team AS, 3 2nd team and a 3rd team AS.

the years between robitaille and naslund are interesting for LWs.

with leclair, the two 1st team all-stars came in kariya's rookie season and the year kariya was out with a concussion. his three 2nd teams were all second to kariya, and his 3rd team was behind kariya (in 2nd) and shanahan (in 1st).

similarly, tkachuk was behind leclair every step of the way. in kariya's rookie season, leclair was the 1st team, tkachuk was the 2nd team all-star. then tkachuk was third two years in a row, behind kariya (in 1st) and leclair (in 2nd), then second again behind leclair when kariya was concussed.

so there was a clear pecking order. 1. kariya, 2. leclair, 3. tkachuk.

kariya always beat leclair, leclair always beat tkachuk. imo, none of them are hall of famers, but you can't have tkachuk if leclair isn't in, and you can't have leclair if kariya isn't in, which i guess is no longer an issue.

shanahan was the wild card, because he was usually the #4 guy behind those three but has the playoff resume and murders them in longevity. and almost exactly bookending that identically overlapping six season peak of kariya, leclair, and tkachuk, shanahan was the 1st team all-star at LW.

 

[Iron Mike Sharpe]

Yup, let's put Tik in there along with Dino Ciccarelli, Clark Gillies, Dave Andreychuk, Cam Neely, Butch Goring, Jere Lehtinen, Kevin Slowe, Wendel Clark, Bob Probert, Bobby Smith, Pierre Larouche, Randy Carlyle, Doug Wilson, Mike Bullard, Patrick Marleau, Vladimir Konstantinov, Eddie Shack, Dave Schultz, Spinner Spencer, Gilles Gilbert & Pavel "Hot Dog" Brendl. Open the floodgates, let in everybody! If they were on TV & in newspapers, they had fame!

 

[brachyrynchos]

He's in the Hall of Very Good, no doubt. He's also in the Finnish Hall of Fame and rightfully so, but not close enough to get in over here, but I wouldn't be upset if he did, but at this point it doesn't look good, but who knows. And I guess if the Oilers had a HOF, he'd definitely be there.

 

[streitz]

He shouldn't be anywhere close but there's players worse then him in the HHOF.

 

[frisco]

You can compare him to Gainey. Both 5-time Cup winners. Gainey's got the Selke's but Tikkanen was definitely in his league as a defensive forward and was substantially better offensively and upped his game in the playoffs. I don't know if I like Tikkanen as a HOFer but that's his best argument so to speak.

My Best-Carey

 

[kihei]

He was awesome in the Playoffs. Put him in.

 

[Cup or Bust]

Tikkanen is my one of my favorite players. If you never got the chance to watch him consistently play and only look at his stats it does not really give a clear picture of what a good hockey player the guy was. His all around game was excellent and it is a shame he never ever won a Selke award. Good on the powerplay, penalty kill, 5 on 5, good skater, good shot, good offensively, good defensively, could hit, and also drive opponents mad. Not sure if he is a Hall of Famer, but he was an unselfish player that was willing to do anything to help the team win. He could play the game any way you want. He was at his best when it mattered the most. If he played more selfishly he would likely have scored more points, but he put just as much effort trying to play defense as he did offense. In the playoffs in 1990, 91, and 92 the Oilers would not have beaten the Kings without Tikkanen. He was the reason they survived Gretzky in those series.

 

[The Panther]

Tikkanen is my one of my favorite players. If you never got the chance to watch him consistently play and only look at his stats it does not really give a clear picture of what a good hockey player the guy was. His all around game was excellent and it is a shame he never ever won a Selke award. Good on the powerplay, penalty kill, 5 on 5, good skater, good shot, good offensively, good defensively, could hit, and also drive opponents mad. Not sure if he is a Hall of Famer, but he was an unselfish player that was willing to do anything to help the team win. He could play the game any way you want. He was at his best when it mattered the most. If he played more selfishly he would likely have scored more points, but he put just as much effort trying to play defense as he did offense. In the playoffs in 1990, 91, and 92 the Oilers would not have beaten the Kings without Tikkanen. He was the reason they survived Gretzky in those series.

This is all true. He was an incredibly versatile player. In the 1991 playoffs, he was the best player on the Oilers (better than Messier, Ranford).

His versatility is shown by the fact that his biggest offensive season was 1988-89, the year after Gretzky was traded. He scored 78 points in 67 games, which put him on a 93-point pace. That means he matched Messier in scoring, while also finishing 2nd in Selke voting (not that I put much weight in that, but it makes clear his defensive skills). I remember his big hot-streak that season, in November. The Oilers had a road-game in Pittsburgh on November 8th, and Mario -- in his 199-point season -- didn't play. That freed-up Tikkanen to play offense, and he went out and got 5 points, with Edmonton winning 7-3. I mean, that was the kind of thing Carbonneau couldn't do. Anyway, Tikkanen scored 15 points in six games that month, and between November and December scored 38 points in 18 games!

Awesome player, but not a Hall of Famer.

 

[Hot Water Bottle]

Yup, let's put Tik in there along with Dino Ciccarelli, Clark Gillies, Dave Andreychuk, Cam Neely, Butch Goring, Jere Lehtinen, Kevin Slowe, Wendel Clark, Bob Probert, Bobby Smith, Pierre Larouche, Randy Carlyle, Doug Wilson, Mike Bullard, Patrick Marleau, Vladimir Konstantinov, Eddie Shack, Dave Schultz, Spinner Spencer, Gilles Gilbert & Pavel "Hot Dog" Brendl. Open the floodgates, let in everybody! If they were on TV & in newspapers, they had fame!

Charlie Huddy!

It does seem that pre-DPE nostalgia and a persistent cult following are the most important Hall of Fame qualities.

 

[The Panther]

Charlie Huddy!

It does seem that pre-DPE nostalgia and a persistent cult following are the most important Hall of Fame qualities.

You forgot cronyism!

 

[VanIslander]

Before Lecavalier please!

 

[Big Phil]

He deserves it as good as either one of Duff or Gillies. By the HHOF's own standards he deserves it. By mine, he doesn't. I like him and he definitely deserves to get a long look every time we bring up his name just in case there are things we missed but nothing new pops up.

Has a similar case that a guy like Ken Linseman has. He's better than regular Selke winners like Peca or Lehtinen, but neither of them are close in my books. Carbonneau might be his best competitor for much of the same reasons and I think I might put Carbo in there ahead of him.

 

[The Roy Of Ottawa]