Hockey Hall of Fame Case: Flash Hollett

[BlueBull]

Flash Hollett was a defenseman who played from 1933 to 1946. He scored 132 Goals and 313 Points in 560 Games Played. When he retired, those numbers were 4th and 3rd, respectively, out of all defenseman up until that point, according to Hockey-Reference, and 2nd and 1st when you don't count players who played forward during their career. He was the first Defenseman to score 20 goals, he won 2 cups with the bruins in 1939 and 1941, and was named to the All Star team twice.
Should this guy be in the Hockey Hall of Fame?
Let's Discuss

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[Kyle McMahon]

I think he'd be a pretty weak choice. A bunch of other non-HOF defenseman grabbed an All-Star team selection or two in the war-time NHL, so he's nothing special in that regard. At the absolute best, he maybe has Sergei Gonchar-level credentials, but that's being generous. And I don't think many people give Gonchar a serious chance of induction.

 

[Big Phil]

I don't know if 1943 is considered as much of a "war year" as 1944 or 1945. Some were gone for sure, but the 1942-'43 season had a lot more talent in it than the following two years. So if we take that as it is then he was a 2nd team all-star in 1943. Then a 1st team in 1945 which was his big year.

I don't know if that was enough. He did win two Cups in a non-war era in the NHL in 1939 and 1941. But Shore was still there in 1939 and Dit Clapper was there both years. Not that Hollett wasn't an important defenseman there but was he "the" defenseman? No.

The Sergei Gonchar comparison might be the best one. I like Gonchar, but he has too many things missing for me to put him in. It is hard to tell how often he killed penalties from the data but he did get a couple of shorthanded goals in his career which would have been pretty rare then. So it leads me to believe he was likely killing penalties.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Well... Phil Housley is in.

That said, I think Flash Hollett did occasionally play forward?

 

[Robert Gordon Orr]

Well... Phil Housley is in.

That said, I think Flash Hollett did occasionally play forward?

You're correct on that TheDevilMadeMe. Hollett was used as a forward from time-to time.
He was a right wing for a while in 1939/40 on a line with Herb Cain and Art Jackson.
Ross thought Cain was weak defensively and liked to balance up that deficiency with Hollett on the wing. Ross also used Hollett on the right side with Terry Reardon and Roy Conacher in the 1940 playoffs (just for one game though).

In 1941/42 Hollett was used as a center and did pretty well at that position. Hollett was also versatile enough to tend goal during practices when a netminder got hurt. He in fact was rated as the most versatile player in the NHL during WW II. (and yes, he could play on the left wing as well).

But was he Hall of Fame material?

In my book Flash Hollett is a borderline case. He had the wheels and could score on spectacular end-to-end rushes. The Garden crowd howled enthusiastically every time Hollett dashed down the ice.

He was noted for having a really heavy shot. Hollett could really rifle it, but had rather poor control of his shots early on. After a few years in the league he handled it much better.

I would also say that Hollett is somewhat underrated when it comes to toughness. He was a fair player, but didn’t back down from anyone. For example, in 1939 Hollett fought Nels Stewart in what newspapers back then called “the fight of the year”, and stood his ground. Stewart was a legitimate badass when riled up. Hollett took relatively few penalties, but was no softie. A year or two after the Stewart fight, Hollett beat up Phil Watson to such an extent that Watson’s teammates had to save him from further punishment.

Few people know that Flash Hollett’s 4-year old son died in 1939. That tragedy not only changed him as a person, but as a player too. Yes, WW II came along, and many say that the league was weaker, which it was, but you still have to respect what Hollett did in his playing career.

Montreal Canadiens manager Tommy Gorman made a bid for Hollett in 1941, but was turned down.
Less than three months later, Hollett won his second cup with Boston.

Hollett by the way was one of the reasons there was a long standing feud (dating back to the 1920s) between Art Ross and Conn Smythe. Ross was always proud of the fact that he snatched a future all-star in Hollett from Toronto for a bargain (some cash). That deal irked Smythe for a long time.

Sorry for going a bit off-topic, but Ross also stole the entire Kraut line away from Smythe.
Bobby Bauer was signed by Smythe and stashed away at the Maple Leafs farm team at Syracuse (IHL). Ross then shrewdly called for a league meeting while Smythe was in England. At the meeting Ross drafted the unprotected Bauer off the Syracuse list. Smythe was not a happy camper.
Ross also signed Woody Dumart who had been on the Maple Leafs radar since 1933 (held their training camp in Kitchener).

Milt Schmidt was the third Kraut that Smythe lost to Ross. Frank Selke wanted to sign Schmidt, but Smythe thought he was too small at the time. Ross who scouted promising players for the Bruins farm system liked what he saw and inked a deal with Schmidt. All three appeared at the Bruins training camp in 1935, but didn’t play on the Bruins roster until almost two years later.

Roy Conacher was another player that Ross managed to get before Smythe had a chance to sign him. Everybody thought Roy would sign with Toronto, as he was from the city, played there as a junior and his brother Charlie played for the Maple Leafs. Ross had already invited Conacher to the Bruins training camp in 1935 where the youngster made a good impression. Ross was able to ink Roy Conacher much thanks to the good relationship the two built up that training camp.

Even if Ross and Smythe were bitter rivals, they had mutual respect for each other.
Best illustrated by the telegram Smythe sent to the Bruins after Ross passed away in 1964.

 

[BobbyAwe]

I would be interested in comparisons between Hollett and Shore, by teammates, opposing players, or sportswriters of the day, but I haven't been able to find any articles or comments? It would be an obvious comparison because they played on the same team for several years and both were known for being what would be considered offensive minded D-men per their day. Just looking at their stats at that time does not tell us much because Shore was near the end of his career and we know Hollett played some forward and don't know how many of his points were put up at the forward position? Also both were renowned for their skating which you'd think would have prompted some comparisons?

I did come across a remark that Shore and Hollett sometimes, or much of the time, were used as a defensive pairing. This is interesting because you have to wonder which one played more defensively, because at least one of them had to? I suppose Shore did because he was near the end and had no doubt slowed somewhat, but it may have to do with the fact that what was termed an "offensive" or "rushing defenseman" back in those days would still be much more defensive-minded than that term would indicate today?

 

[Big Phil]

For about three years Hollett was the Red Wings' captain for what it's worth. I don't know, just a complicated player to rate. For example, Herb Cain clearly was helped by WWII. Decent player, but exploded when the NHL was depleted for a year or two. Never showed any evidence of doing this any other time.

With Hollett he does have some nice things about him outside of those war years. But is it enough in a very tough position to get in? Here is the question, do we even think about Hollett if he isn't a defenseman who cracked 20 goals in 1945? If the answer is no, then you have to ask yourself if a player's tipping point ought to be the 1944 or 1945 seasons. Not to automatically dismiss them of course, but they shouldn't be the factor that gets you in the HHOF.

 

[Ralph Spoilsport]

There's a story out there that in 1946 Jack Adams swore that Hollett would never make the HOF if he walked away from the Red Wings over a contract dispute.

Flash Hollett

Not sure what to make of this. If true, then it would seem that Hollett is being denied a rightful honour. But did Adams really have that much clout? Maybe it wasn't as much a threat than a negotiating ploy…as if to say "you're close to being HOF-worthy, but you'll never be if leave now." Who knows? The HOF was only founded a year earlier--even Eddie Shore hadn't been inducted yet--so were the standards of a "HOF resume" that well-established that early on?

Hollett went on to win an Allan Cup in 1950 and the most interesting thing to me about this story is the fact that an NHL team was outbid by an amateur team for an all-star and potential HOFer.

 

[Kyle McMahon]

There's a story out there that in 1946 Jack Adams swore that Hollett would never make the HOF if he walked away from the Red Wings over a contract dispute.

Flash Hollett

Not sure what to make of this. If true, then it would seem that Hollett is being denied a rightful honour. But did Adams really have that much clout? Maybe it wasn't as much a threat than a negotiating ploy…as if to say "you're close to being HOF-worthy, but you'll never be if leave now." Who knows? The HOF was only founded a year earlier--even Eddie Shore hadn't been inducted yet--so were the standards of a "HOF resume" that well-established that early on?

Hollett went on to win an Allan Cup in 1950 and the most interesting thing to me about this story is the fact that an NHL team was outbid by an amateur team for an all-star and potential HOFer.

Yeah, I remember hearing that anecdote as well. It's hard to believe it really influenced HOF inductions. Conn Smythe's influence kept Busher Jackson out until the 1970s, but Busher was significantly more credentialed than Hollett. Is there any defenseman, or even just a player period, inducted from Hollett's era that has a weaker case than he does? I can't think of one. Plus Adams has been dead for 50 years, there was ample time to induct Hollett by committee members that would have been familiar with him. All signs point to him simply not being good enough for enshrinement.