Big Phil said:To me its Pat Lafontaine or Leetch. After that Chelios is right there. My reasons are that of all of them, Langway, Mullen, Lafontiane are already in the Hall. Mullen is borderline, but the other two are in for sure. Plus Leetch and Chelios are in the Hall without a doubt. That leaves Modano, Roenick and co. on the outside who I dont think should be in the Hall, at least not if I was voting today. So to me its narrowed down to Leetch, Lafontaine and Chelios. Leetch and Chelios are neck and neck but I couldnt take either of them over Lafontaine. Think about it, some people have the nerve to say he isnt Hall worthy. The guy would have won the scoring title in '93 if not for Lemieux. He had 148 points that year! Yeah he only had 105 one other time but he just scored wherever he went. He's better than any American ever.
markov` said:At the end of his career, I'm pretty sure Jack Johnson will be remembered as the best American to ever lace them up. I'm gonna say Pat LaFontaine for now.
John Flyers Fan said:Frankie Brimsek, Neal Broten and John Vanbiesbrouck should be on the list.
1. Chris Chelios
2. Brian Leetch
T3. Jeremy Roenick
T3. Mike Modano
5. Pat Lafontaine
Joey Mullen is the most overated of all the Americans and shouldn't be in the top 10, he'd be borderline op 15.
** My top 5 doesn't consider Brett Hull.
Ogopogo said:Modano is very overrated as well.
Rabid Ranger said:How so? I think when it's all said and done Modano will have net the most important qualification for entry into the NHL Hall of Fame, and that is being recognized as one of the very best at his position for a long period of time.
Ogopogo said:He has never hit 100 points in a season. He has never been in the top 7 scorers in the league. He has never won a Hart or Conn Smythe. Never been runner up for the Hart. Never been a first team all star and was a second team all star only once. He has one cup.
Nowhere near HOF status, IMO.
When you say one of the very best at his position we are talking about top 10 or 15. A top 5 guy year in and year out is someone to consider for the Hall.
The guy is a good player but, a bunch of 80 point seasons and two 90 point seasons are not hall of fame worthy. He has simply not accomplished near enough.
Bring Back Bucky said:I'd say Chelios , but I hate his guts ..
Rabid Ranger said:Valid points, except you ignore the fact that the system Modano has played under for the majority of his career has undermined his offensive production considerably.
Rabid Ranger said:Valid points, except you ignore the fact that the system Modano has played under for the majority of his career has undermined his offensive production considerably.
Jovanovski = Norris said:Modano was in a relatively loose system in his first couple of years with the Northstars / Stars organization, yet he never scored more than 93 points in his entire career. New Jersey has a more rigid system but even Patrik Elias has scored 95+ points once.
Modano's PPG will fall below 1.00 sometime in the next season if his downward trend continues.
reckoning said:Asking who the 1st non-Canadian was to win the Conn Smythe is a pretty good trivia question. Usually they`ll guess Jagr, Kurri or Fedorov, guys who never won it, and totally overlook Leetch.
Joe Mullen gets no respect. Any one from Hells Kitchen deserves it.Jovanovski = Norris said:Who is it?