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.