New Back Check Episode: 3 D, Desjardins, Blake and Herb Gardiner

[rnhaas]

In this episode of The Back Check we discuss three players, as always:

• Does Eric Desjardins have a case for Hall of Fame induction?
• Where Does Rob Blake rank among the best D of his era?
• How good was Herb Gardiner?

You can listen to the episode here or on iTunes. Detailed episode notes are available at the above links.

We hope you enjoy it and, as always, we appreciate your feedback.

Thanks.

Click to read more...

 

[tony d]

Thanks for this. I'll address Desjardins. I liked the guy. Very solid player, still he never won a Norris. Also he only had 2 post season all star teams. Doubt very much he gets in the Hall of Fame.

 

[sr edler]

Also he only had 2 post season all star teams.

That’s not bad at all. I was about to say that he played in a really tough era of D competition too, early 90s (Bourque, Chelios, Leetch, Stevens) but then I saw he nipped his nods in an era transition/vacuum period around the turn of the century.

Still not bad though, Tony. Almost Housleyesque.

 

[tinyzombies]

In this episode of The Back Check we discuss three players, as always:

• Does Eric Desjardins have a case for Hall of Fame induction?
• Where Does Rob Blake rank among the best D of his era?
• How good was Herb Gardiner?

You can listen to the episode here or on iTunes. Detailed episode notes are available at the above links.

We hope you enjoy it and, as always, we appreciate your feedback.

Thanks.

Found this column about Gardiner in L'illustration, 21 mars 1932. Basically how he had shut down Morenz in the finals in 1925. How the Canadiens got him for only $1, but Lester Patrick included performance bonuses in the deal. Patrick called Gardiner, "An ace in the hole." Art Ross said, "Oh, what a rock!" It mentions how Gardiner was able to strip pucks and handle the rush well by forcing players wide and behind the net, though not in a rough way (he was older at this point I guess?).