Should Justin Williams be inducted into the HHOF?

[Nasti]

Obviously he’s never been a superstar but his level of clutch is so legendary it would feel wrong to not have him in. Plus he has a Conn Smythe as far as individual awards go.

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[Voight]

Should Claude Lemieux?

 

[quoipourquoi]

I’m of the opinion that if you do something wholly unique to distinguish yourself in the history of hockey, it wouldn’t be a wasted spot.

Even though he’ll never officially be a HOFer, I know that after he retires, there will be a picture of him somewhere on a wall in that building with a paragraph detailing his elevated performance in these pressure situations.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

absolutely not

stepping up in the clutch is just 1 piece of being a HOF player, not the only piece.

He'll be remembered as a clutch player, same as Claude Lemieux.

 

[JackSlater]

God no. He's a good player with a pretty unique career but that shouldn't get someone in the HHOF.

 

[sr edler]

Justin Williams when he played with Luleå in the Swedish Elite League playoffs had one (1) assist in 4 (four) games. If he's got any magic powers they sure aren't working outside of North America. 23 (twenty three) games in three (3) Worlds Championships (in Sweden, Czech Rep., and Russia) and he's got 1 (one) goal and six (6) points. Hm.

Seriously though, both Justin Williams and Claude Lemieux have had the fortune of playing on some good teams, even giving them the opportunities to play in game 7s. That doesn't take clutchiness away from them but there's a reason secondary scoring threats such as Lemieux and Williams aren't providing game 7 magics on teams like the Florida Panthers, Phoenix Coyotes, et cetera, because in such a situation they would be 1st liners and you need to be an actual full package player (like say, Barkov) to build around and break through the heaviest traffic for something to happen. Claude Lemieux when the Colorado Avalanche won the Cup in 1996 had 12 points in 19 games, which put him at 9th place in scoring during the playoffs. On. His. Own. Team.

Justin Williams' had zero playoffs with PPG or better. Claude Lemieux had one playoffs with PPG or better.

Trevor Linden at least was a 1st liner on a good team and the 2nd best scorer on his team in the playoffs and went PPG or better 5 times. In his first eight year stint with Vancouver (when he was in his prime before injuries derailed his career) he had 80 points in 79 games.

 

[Trap Jesus]

To be fair to him he's really separated himself from the pack in terms of clutch play in the playoffs (really only Kane probably has a better track record than him) but he's had 2 seasons where he finished with more than 60 points, and those 2 seasons were the inflated scoring seasons after the lockout, where he finished tied for 35th in scoring in 05/06 and tied for 55th in 06/07. His voting for individual hardware is completely barren outside of his Conn Smythe.

In the age of advanced stats though, he does have that going for him. Maybe someone looks at his play in clutch moments and pairs that with his excellent possession metrics, but I really doubt it.

 

[Nervousbreakdown]

If he was playing in the 1960s and had this reputation he would get in 100%, its much harder to get into the hall of fame now and thats for the best.

 

[Karl Eriksson]

He’s Robert Horry.

 

[Trap Jesus]

He’s Robert Horry.

Similar for clutch moments, but I think Williams is a much better player and more meaningful to his teams than Horry was.

 

[illpucks]

A cup and a smythe this year and he is in

 

[GlitchMarner]

Nah. He's basically been a solid to good top six winger for a long time. He peaked as a very good first liner. He doesn't have the high end seasons or even the compiled career totals to warrant induction. Mitch Marner already has a higher RS peak than Williams and he has a long way to go to be a Hall of Fame player.

If every game was a game seven, he would be a first ballot inductee.

 

[bobholly39]

I voted no. But - if he wins another cup this year (especially if he wins the smythe - but even a 'smythe worthy' performance as captain could work) - i'd be open to it.

Obviously he's not a similar caliber player as most superstars in the HOF. But there are different paths to greatness. Give a non-superstar 2 smythes while leading teams to cups? Absolutely i'd love to see that in the HOF. If Canes get eliminated in round 2 and he doesn't do anything else particularly special in his career? Then no.

 

[Tuna Tatarrrrrr]

No way, if Claude Lemieux isn't then Williams won't too.

 

[Voight]

If he had at least 3 or 4 top 10 point finishes I could see the argument.

Even with the Mr Game 7 monitor he still only has 94 points in 140 playoff games, at least Lemieux is 9th all time in playoff goals

 

[Tuna Tatarrrrrr]

If he had at least 3 or 4 top 10 point finishes I could see the argument.

Even with the Mr Game 7 monitor he still only has 94 points in 140 playoff games, at least Lemieux is 9th all time in playoff goals

And 158 playoff points.

 

[spiny norman]

Lopsided result.