Selanne and Kariya in the Hockey Hall of Fame!

[Teemu Kariya]

I am so happy, it really makes my day that the two guys who really got me into hockey get into the HoF in the same class.
I was never in doubt Selanne would get in, wasnt so sure about Kariya, makes me even more excited!

 

[Getzmonster]

Couldn't be happier for him! Hopefully, soon we'll get to see #9 in the rafters right next to #8.

 

[Ducks DVM]

989 in 989 is close enough to 1000 in 1000. First team all-star 3/4 straight years says "not just borderline top 10" as well.

 

[Exit Dose]

Happy to see Paul make it in. I always wondered if he'd be left out because of injuries, but it's hard to make a case that he wasn't one of the best forwards in the league when he was healthy.

 

[DucksRoll]

Lindros was a tier ahead of Paul, he was actually the best player in the game for spurts where as Paul was more of a top 10 guy.

Of the late 90s when he was at his best I still can't put him ahead of the likes of Jagr, Sakic, Lindros, Forsberg, Selanne to name a few. Offensively yeah he was maybe top 3 but in terms of a two way game there were a lot of guys who were only slightly worse offensively while being streets ahead in their own end.

Since a two-way game at that point in time can't be based on advanced stats - we don't have the data from then (unless I'm mistaken) - I think it's absurd to penalize Kariya for something that isn't even demonstrable or measurable. What is demonstrable is that during his non-injury years, he was as good offensively as anyone in the league.

If there's a difference between first ballot HOF guys and those who have to wait a few years (kind of a bizarre distinction, tbh), then I guess you could say it's appropriate that Paul got in a few years after being eligible while Teemu was first ballot, but, I mean, to me he clearly belongs.

 

[Ducks in a row]

https://www.instagram.com/anaheimducks/

[NHL2]c-52337003[/NHL2]

 

[DarthYenik]

This seriously made me choke up.

 

[Paul4587]

989 in 989 is close enough to 1000 in 1000. First team all-star 3/4 straight years says "not just borderline top 10" as well.

First team all star in one of the weakest positions in history. His only real competition was John Leclair (and maybe Keith Tkachuk) at that time, good players but neither had anythign on the top centre ice men and RWers.

 

[Godzlaf]

First team all star in one of the weakest positions in history. His only real competition was John Leclair (and maybe Keith Tkachuk) at that time, good players but neither had anythign on the top centre ice men and RWers.

Something tells me you never watched him play in person, though I'm sure you'll swear you did.

 

[Paul4587]

You don't have to be the best player in the league at any point to make the hall of fame. Kariya was way better than Andreychuk and Recchi and they both got in, so who cares?

Andreychuk shouldn't be in and Recchi had ridiculous longevity and I still think he is very borderline.

And I care that the bar has been lowered recently. Andreychuk, Kariya, Housley, Nieuwendyk, Ciccarelli to name a few are guys that have been inducted since 2010 that just don't belong in the hall IMO. It should be held to a higher standard than those types of players.

 

[The Mighty Duck Man]

First team all star in one of the weakest positions in history. His only real competition was John Leclair (and maybe Keith Tkachuk) at that time, good players but neither had anythign on the top centre ice men and RWers.

You're forgetting two Hall of Famers in Robitaille and Shanahan. It was and still is a weaker position, but that doesn't take away how good Kariya was.

 

[CanadianSniper]

Flyers fan here coming to say Paul Kariya is my favorite player of all time and I'm so happy to see him getting into the Hall where he rightfully belongs alongside Teemu no less, makes it all the more fitting. Hope this means they will be retiring his number as they should have done many years ago.

 

[Paul4587]

Something tells me you never watched him play in person, though I'm sure you'll swear you did.

Kariya is one of the biggest reasons I started watching hockey. Tell me you don't think the competition at LW was the same as it was C or RW during that time?

You're forgetting two Hall of Famers in Robitaille and Shanahan. It was and still is a weaker position, but that doesn't take away how good Kariya was.

Robitaille was 31-34 in the mid to late 90s and Shanahan wasn't at his best those years and is in mainly because of his ridiculous longevity and unique power forward style game more than his peak.

 

[Ducks in a row]

First team all star in one of the weakest positions in history. His only real competition was John Leclair (and maybe Keith Tkachuk) at that time, good players but neither had anythign on the top centre ice men and RWers.

Brendan Shanahan was good and had won some 1st LW All-Stars and Luc Robitaille even not as good as once was still a good LW

 

[Paul4587]

Brendan Shanahan was good and had won some 1st LW All-Stars and Luc Robitaille even not as good as once was still a good LW

See my above post. Robitaille was a second liner when Kariya was at his peak, he had 3-4 really off years around that time.

 

[Godzlaf]

Kariya is one of the biggest reasons I started watching hockey. Tell me you don't think the competition at LW was the same as it was C or RW during that time?



Robitaille was 31-34 in the mid to late 90s and Shanahan wasn't at his best those years and is in mainly because of his ridiculous longevity and unique power forward style game more than his peak.

You don't need to compare him to other LWs. Compare him to other forwards period. He was able to dominate his competition with little to no help. His 50 goal season was so impressive because he created open ice out of nothing. Yeah, I know, Teemu came in February. But if I remember correctly the ducks barely missed the 8th seed that year, and Paul single handedly won a lot of those games.

 

[Ducks DVM]

First team all star in one of the weakest positions in history. His only real competition was John Leclair (and maybe Keith Tkachuk) at that time, good players but neither had anythign on the top centre ice men and RWers.

'95-96 - 9th in points with 108 (1st for left wings by 9 points), tied for 2nd in LW goals with 50 with Tkachuk, behind Leclair with 51, 7th overall in goals behind Lemieux, Jair, Mogilny, Bondra, Leclair, and Sakic.

'96-97 - 3rd in points leaguewide with 99 despite playing 69 games. 2nd in P/GP behind only Lemieux. 9th in goals with 44 (behind only that iffy Tkachuk with 52, and other iffy guy Leclair with 50, and Shanahan with 47 at LW)

'97-98 - 3rd in points with 101. One of only 3 players to crack 100. 10th in goals with 39.

Two of those are first team regardless of position. 50 goals and 100 points was always a big deal.

 

[Ducks in a row]

See my above post. Robitaille was a second liner when Kariya was at his peak, he had 3-4 really off years around that time.

Robitaille was 9th in scoring from LW in 1995-96 and 3rd in LW scoring from 1998-99 so he was still a top liner then. Only in 1996-97 did he drop off from a year Kariya get 1st All-Star.

 

[The Midnight Burrito]

I hate Kariya. But to call him a questionable pick for the Hall is just wrong. 3 top-10 Hart finishes, like 6 top-10 Byng finishes, was recognized as one of the top 3 players in the game for a time, and most critically, he has 5 first and second team all star selections. How many guys with that many post season AS selections aren't in the Hall already? He was well over a PPG during the dead puck era. The only major knock is longevity and post-season success, and Cam Neely and Eric Lindros already settled that question. I don't want good things to happen to him, really, and I've argued on the wrong side of this before. But, he belongs. He's a ****, but he belongs.

 

[DucksRoll]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=I7cwwEoZ5GM

Pretty clear he was recognized as a top player in the late 90's. Ironically, Paul, Lindros, and Bure all struggled with injury problems and retired early. Jagr won't stop playing.

 

[DarthYenik]

I feel like I'm dreaming. After PK didn't make it last year, I was hoping he'd get in this year with Teemu, but wasn't holding my breath. Finally we are getting guys going into the HHOF that are ours. Truly ours. Scotty, Pronger, Kurri, those guys weren't ours. They played for the Ducks, but they are the Blues' or Devils' or Oilers'.

I hope this opens up the idea of retiring #9.

 

[Kalv]

I think it`s cool Kings did that. Well I don`t like their logo and the black and white look on the picture, but other than that cool

 

[Lord Flashheart]

This is great.

 

[kducks]

This seriously made me choke up.

He had another quote about Paul picking up the tab to which Paul replied Teemu could fly coach.

Loved this quote from Kariya

On coming to terms with his retirement from the game
I'm very grateful for every second I played in the National Hockey league and the game in general. It was my dream, my passion, everything I put into my career was because I love the game of hockey. I didn't retire willingly, and I would have loved to have kept playing. If there was any way to wave a magic wand and relive my career, the good and a bad, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I'd love to be playing now, but there were no fences to be mended. I haven't been out publicly that much, but that's must more of me being a private person. I still love watching the game and love watching the great young players, and I can't wait to see where the game is going in the future.

Here's the write up of their conference call.

https://www.nhl.com/ducks/news/kariya-selanne-elected-to-hockey-hall-of-fame/c-290166086

 

[terranraida]

Another thing to consider is that it's the HOCKEY Hall of Fame, not just the NHL. Paul had a fantastic international career, including Olympic, World Cup, and World Junior gold. As well as a clutch of silver medals. World Junior All Star, 2x World Cup All Star,NCAA championship, Hobey Baker Award... the list goes on and on and on...