Is there a historical comparison for Hal Gill?

[DisgruntledGoat*]

Ken Daneyko

I don't think is comparable. Daneyko was a top four guy for most of his career. He was pretty consistent, and didn't have nearly the ups and downs of Gill.

Kjell Samuelsson

This is a really good one, and I'm kind of kicking myself for not thinking of it (much better than Krupp who, as was pointed out, was a two-way guy for a stretch).

My only question would be: Did Kjell ever have as big an impact as Gill did in the first two rounds of the 2010 playoffs?

Craig Ludwig

This is a pretty good one.

Mark Tinordi

Mmm, I don't see it. Tinordi was a different style of player, and his career sputtered out abruptly instead of evolving like Gill's has.

Derian Hatcher

Hatcher was a top ten D for a few years, and (along with Adam Foote) one of the premier defense-first guys of his era. Don't think it works.

Jeff Beukeboom

This actually might be the best. Beukeboom is still the only first-round pick who never scored a goal in his draft year (excluding goalies), so he was a long-shot to be an everyday player. He was a big, lumbering presence but, like Gill, made the most of his limitations.

Beukeboom's many years spent as Brian Leetch's safety net may be about equivalant to Gill's recent work in the playoffs.

A few of the older guys mentioned in this thread, I don't know enough about to comment.

 

[overpass]

Kjell Samuelsson

This is a really good one, and I'm kind of kicking myself for not thinking of it (much better than Krupp who, as was pointed out, was a two-way guy for a stretch).

My only question would be: Did Kjell ever have as big an impact as Gill did in the first two rounds of the 2010 playoffs?

Kjell played on the Flyers' top pairing with Mark Howe in 1989 when they went to the conference final, and was +13 in 19 games. He also played in the Penguins top 4 when they won the Cup in 1992.

He played in the all-star game in 1988 (picked by his coach), something that Gill has never come close to doing.

 

[Big Phil]

... The first guy that came to mind for me was Rod Langway.

Gill: 994 games, 35 goals, 171 points, +50
Langway: 994 games, 51 goals, 329 points, +277

Clearly, Langway was superior. But both men had a similar style of play in my view.

Gill played well in a single postseason for Montreal but Langway literally took a team who was laughable to a playoff team just by his defensive prowess. Just look at how the goals against dropped for Washington as soon as he arrived. Gill would never be in the running for the Norris. Langway won two and was also 2nd in Hart voting one year.

By the way, during the 2010 playoffs I literally had a "friend" of mine claim that if he had Wayne Gretzky and Hal Gill on the table that he would take Gill "depending on his team needs." I told him it doesn't matter if you already have 10 Wayne Gretzky's you still take Gretzky over Gill. We all have that person who we are associated with who claims to know more about hockey than they really do, well he qualifies. I've never thought of Gill the same way

 

[markrander87]

 

[MadArcand]

Chris Therien, but he didn't win the Cup.

Peter Popovic was another size-only guy, but softer and generally clearly worse.

And damn, Snepsts should play Genghis Khan in a movie or something.

 

[Fish on The Sand]

I think the strangest part of Gill's career progression is that the lockout was supposed to kill guys like him. I mean if there was one player who you thought the new NHL would ruin it would be Gill. The man is the epitome of playing to your strengths. He knows he can't skate or shoot and his pass is only average. So what does he do? He limits his passing and plays one of the strongest positional games in the NHL. I think he is a truly unique player and am glad he is on my team. I was initially quite upset with his signing initially, however he has really surprised me.

 

[BubbaBoot]

A big, slow defensive defenseman who can help a team as long as he's not asked to do too much? Not exactly a unique historical specimen. Ken Daneyko comes to mind immediately, though Kenny was a lot more physical.

Now that is a gross understatement.

Kjell Samuelsson does come to mind also....I think they were very similar.

How about Luke Richardson without the fighting?

 

[Crosbyfan]

Although probably best known for a beating he took from Dave Shultz, Dale Rolfe had a similar playing style. Very lanky, positional player that used his reach and was not particularly fast.

 

[Ohashi_Jouzu*]

Gill played well in a single postseason for Montreal but Langway literally took a team who was laughable to a playoff team just by his defensive prowess. Just look at how the goals against dropped for Washington as soon as he arrived. Gill would never be in the running for the Norris. Langway won two and was also 2nd in Hart voting one year.

By the way, during the 2010 playoffs I literally had a "friend" of mine claim that if he had Wayne Gretzky and Hal Gill on the table that he would take Gill "depending on his team needs." I told him it doesn't matter if you already have 10 Wayne Gretzky's you still take Gretzky over Gill. We all have that person who we are associated with who claims to know more about hockey than they really do, well he qualifies. I've never thought of Gill the same way

Does he post on our board under the username coolasPRICE? Because wow... I'm going through almost this exact routine with him re: Gill right now.

 

[Iain Fyffe]

Harry Mummery is a decent comparable to Hal Gill from way back. He was quite late getting to the highest level of the game, being 23 years old when he first played in the NHA. He was one of the biggest players of his day at 5-11 and 220 pounds, at a time when many forwards were 130 pounds or so. He had more offensive ability than Gill does, but his primary attribute was his size; he was called "Big Mum."

He eventually played in three Stanley Cup finals, in 1913 with Quebec, 1917 with the Canadiens and 1918 with Toronto.

He was also born in the US, like Gill, though he was raised and learned the game in Brandon, Manitoba.