Esa Tikkanen HOF bound?

[vadim sharifijanov]

It's a matter of context, too, mate.

Would a team that had Esa Tikkanen as its best or second best player make much noise in the playoffs?

Yeah, doubtful.

Okay, he could do the pest thing and be an effective shadow still. Is he scoring enough to get his team the Cup if HE is the primary checking target of the opposition?

I'm not so sure about that.


He had a role on some deep teams and he played it to perfection, so kudos to him. I think you have to separate the individual from the team in discussions about HHOF worthiness.

edmonton oilers, 1991. made it to the third round of the playoffs.

esa tikkanen, leading regular season and playoff scorer, helped linemate petr klima to a career high 40 goal season.

yes, in a vacuum messier was the team's best player. but he missed a lot of time and was generally hurt/worn out while tikkanen took the reins of that team.

 

[GlitchMarner]

edmonton oilers, 1991. made it to the third round of the playoffs.

esa tikkanen, leading regular season and playoff scorer, helped linemate petr klima to a career high 40 goal season.

yes, in a vacuum messier was the team's best player. but he missed a lot of time and was generally hurt/worn out while tikkanen took the reins of that team.

Fair points...

However, they did fall short. The fact is that Gretzky, Messier, Kurri and Coffey were better players than Tikkanen when the Oilers won the Cup in '94, '85, '87 and '88. They had Anderson as well.

Tikkanen was higher up on the food chain in 1990 but still wasn't the guy.


I'd be hesitant to place him in the HHOF. However, he would be more worthy than Clark Gillies. At least he showed he could help the team get far while being one of the Oilers' top two or three players.

Gillies was never close to being the best player on a team that made a splash.

 

[Hobnobs]

Fair points...

However, they did fall short. The fact is that Gretzky, Messier, Kurri and Coffey were better players than Tikkanen when the Oilers won the Cup in '94, '85, '87 and '88. They had Anderson as well.

Tikkanen was higher up on the food chain in 1990 but still wasn't the guy.


I'd be hesitant to place him in the HHOF. However, he would be more worthy than Clark Gillies. At least he showed he could help the team get far while being one of the Oilers' top two or three players.

Gillies was never close to being the best player on a team that made a splash.

Tikkanen was also one of the driving forces of the 97 rangers. Think he had 9 goals in 15 games or something and only trailed gretzky on the team.

 

[007]

Tikkanen was also one of the driving forces of the 97 rangers. Think he had 9 goals in 15 games or something and only trailed gretzky on the team.

Yeah, he came alive during those playoffs -- hadn't shown much after he rejoined the Rangers late in the season, then suddenly he was like an old lion showing he could still roar.

That said, the narrative will always be that the Gretzky-Messier tandem carried a near-geriatric Rangers team through the playoffs, which isn't 100% wrong, just not the whole story.

PS> If it helps him get into the HHoF, I could tell them he's still my mother's all-time favourite player.

 

[Sadekuuro]

Tikkanen was also one of the driving forces of the 97 rangers. Think he had 9 goals in 15 games or something and only trailed gretzky on the team.

That was the year he scored that OT winner that hit the back bar and came back out, no?

 

[The Panther]

That was the year he scored that OT winner that hit the back bar and came back out, no?

 

[VMBM]

The thing that would bug me about is that imo there are a few greater Finnish players in history (not from NHL perspective, of course) who have no chance getting in: Matti Hagman, Veli-Pekka Ketola, Lasse Oksanen, Kari Jalonen, to name a few. Not to mention more than a few Czech players and an odd Slovak and Swede (and Kühnhackl?).

But if HHOF is basically "NHL hall of fame" and accepted as such, then why not? Tikkanen is certainly one Finnish player who made more out of his talent than probably anyone else ever.

 

[Hobnobs]

The thing that would bug me about is that imo there are a few greater Finnish players in history (not from NHL perspective, of course) who have no chance getting in: Matti Hagman, Veli-Pekka Ketola, Lasse Oksanen, Kari Jalonen, to name a few. Not to mention more than a few Czech players and an odd Slovak and Swede (and Kühnhackl?).

But if HHOF is basically "NHL hall of fame" and accepted as such, then why not? Tikkanen is certainly one Finnish player who made more out of his talent than probably anyone else ever.

Probably just as many swedes and czechoslovaks as finns tbh.

 

[VMBM]

Probably just as many swedes and czechoslovaks as finns tbh.

Oh, more great Czechoslovaks (mainly Czechs), and arguably more great Swedes than Finns who didn't have a great NHL career (for different reasons); for a long time, those countries had a clear edge over Finland, as far as producing great players is concerned. But summa summarum, there are numerous great European (and Soviet) players who were better than Tikkanen but who will probably never get in, and that would bother me, since it is not officially NHL Hall of Fame.

 

[Hobnobs]

Oh, more great Czechoslovaks (mainly Czechs), and arguably more great Swedes than Finns who didn't have a great NHL career (for different reasons); for a long time, those countries had a clear edge over Finland, as far as producing great players is concerned. But summa summarum, there are numerous great European (and Soviet) players who were better than Tikkanen but who will probably never get in, and that would bother me, since it is not officially NHL Hall of Fame.

Perhaps. I never counted the true elite from each country.

 

[stu the grim reaper]

teams should just have their own franchise hall of fames at their arenas for these players that shouldn't be in the HHOF but also shouldn't be forgotten

 

[mrhockey193195]

teams should just have their own franchise hall of fames at their arenas for these players that shouldn't be in the HHOF but also shouldn't be forgotten

I've often said this, not only because the HHOF should be kept for the cream of the crop, but also because teams (*cough* the Rangers) are retiring too many numbers. Have a team HOF so guys like Adam Graves and Harry Howell and Jean Ratelle can be honored, and save the jersey retirement for the absolute best of the best.

 

[VanIslander]

Is it the Hall of Regular Season Scorers?

Then considering Tikkanen is laughable.

 

[Fourier]

Tikk is one of may all-time favourite Oilers. I loved the guy as a player and he was a lot better than many think. But I don't see the case here.

 

[GlitchMarner]

Well, if it wasn't for his Conn Smythe and three Cups, I don't think Joe Nieuwendyk would be a Hall of Famer...

I certainly wouldn't want him in it if he didn't the post-season success he had, but since he did, I think he's okay as a member. I know some say he was kind of disappointing in the playoffs in the early to mid 90s with Calgary, but at the end of the day, the guy played an important role in winning two Cups and was voted the MVP of the playoffs once. He also won a Cup with NJ later on...

He wasn't the greatest regular season point scorer for a HHOF member (zero finishes in the top ten for points in a season), but he did finish in the top five for goals five times. That's quite good. He also surpassed 500 career goals and did win a Calder as well, and he accomplished the rare feat of starting his career off with back-to-back 50 goal seasons.


I know this isn't about Nieuwendyk. The point I want to make is that I think success in the playoffs can put a guy over the top when it comes to HHOF consideration. The thing is: Tikkanen's regular season numbers are really nothing special at all... compared to actual Hall of Famers at least.

Whereas Nieuwendyk had the other stuff going for him, I'm not so sure you can slip Tikkanen into the Hall without furthering a precedent that was kind of set when Gillies was inducted.

It's been established that Tikkanen was able to play an integral (rather than secondary) in making a team successful in the playoffs. I really think has more of a claim to being in the HHOF instead of Gillies. The induction of Gillies was horrid and beyond defending.

However, now that Gillies is already in, a Tikkanen induction would more or less open the door for the induction of someone like Claude Lemieux...

Should a guy like Lemieux really be in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Here are Tikkanen's regular season stats:


877 GP, 244 G, 386 A, 630 P, +81


He played during the 80s and early to mid 90s as well... I just don't think there's enough in his statistics to warrant HHOF induction.

 

[EdmFlyersfan]

Esa is not more deserving than Claude...

Esa Tikkanen has 5 rings from 2 famous teams. He had good playoff numbers and he is perhaps best known for being the only shadow to have ever succesfully dampened prime Gretzky. His play has been described selke worthy by many, but just like Jari Kurri, he never got any nods.
He is not Hall of Very Good bound, ever. He makes the big hall on his legend or does not, simply as that. I think he is more deserving than Claude Lemieux.

 

[Sentinel]

I wouldn't have a problem with him in the Hall. I like "special" players. Players that are remembered for something. The guy was a beast. Of course, as a Red Wings fan, I am enormously grateful to him for missing that empty netter in 1998 Finals.

 

[Datsyukian Deke]

He still missed the net....(thankfully)

 

[VanIslander]

The litmus test for induction: Should hockey history remember and celebrate the on-ice play of this player's career?

Our grandchildren should go to the Hall of Fame and learn about famous players worth remembering. I think Tikkanen is one of them.

 

[Killion]

Our grandchildren should go to the Hall of Fame and learn about famous players worth remembering. I think Tikkanen is one of them.

Yep. Totally agree. Not only was he one of the greatest Defensive Forwards of any era he was
beyond colorful. Exactly the kind of player you want remembered, enshrined in the HHOF....

 

[Voight]

He'd have to wait until Jere Lehtinen to get in IMO.

 

[boyko10]

He should get in on personality alone. Most guys need muscle and grit to win a fight. We're talking about a guy who could YAP your head clean off. Poof. Gone.

 

[MS]

Tikkanen's level of play from 1986-1991 was HHOF-worthy. Was one of the best all-around players in the sport and it was a crime he didn't win multiple Selkes. And monstrous when the playoffs rolled around. If he could have maintained that level of play into his 30s, he would have belonged.

But he was never remotely the same player after his 1991-92 knee injury, although he had a few blips of excellent play. Topped 45 points once after the age of 26.

 

[sr edler]

He still missed the net....(thankfully)

The way the camera kinda jumps forward makes me think Colaiacovo's gonna pop up front view.

 

[Plural]

He'd have to wait until Jere Lehtinen to get in IMO.

Obviously neither is getting in. But for the longest time I thought that Lehtinen was clearly, but marginally better player than Tikkanen. I'm not so sure anymore. Tikkanen has that special thing in him. Something that makes fans and peers remember him. In a vacuum, Lehtinen might have been the better defensive winger and Tikkanen the better offensive winger. But Tikkanen is the kind of player who's story is not told by looking at the numbers and voting records. There was just something about him. Something that sticks on you. Character.

Not that Lehtinen didn't have soul and fire, he did. He gave 110% every time he stepped on the ice and he was applauded for it. Deservedly so. But he is not as memorable as Tikkanen is. Is it because playoffs? Because of being a pest? Because of Tiki-Talk? I don't know. But he had something very rare players have. If we're talking about the Hall of Fame, I'd much rather see Tikkanen in than Lehtinen and it's based purely on his character as a player.