What does your 2018 Hockey hall of fame class look like?

[Noldo]

Am I thinking too much if I cannot escape the thought that this was the last year to vote Bettman in before the concussion lawsuit tarnishes his legacy?

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Am I thinking too much if I cannot escape the thought that this was the last year to vote Bettman in before the concussion lawsuit tarnishes his legacy?

and potential 4th lockout on the horizon?

 

[VMBM]

Shouldn't Krutov be in or no? I don't know much about him but from what I've read, it seems like he should be in.

At his peak around 1986-88, he was about as good as any other Russian before or since. Back then, many considered him better than Makarov for a couple of years (and he probably was, at least internationally). And he was not just a power forward either. I wouldn't mind!

In the real world his failure in the NHL and drop from elite level in 1989-90 will probably keep him out.

 

[sharkhawk]

This might not be a popular opinio, but did Willie O’Ree really pave the way for black players in the Nhl? The legue didn’t have another black player until 1974, 17 years after O’Ree debuted and 14 years after his last Nhl game. I respect him for what he had through and what he is trying to do for diversity, but I honestly had never heard of him until maybe 2003, it just seems that the nhl ignored him for a long time and now is trying show how progressive they are

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

This might not be a popular opinio, but did Willie O’Ree really pave the way for black players in the Nhl? The legue didn’t have another black player until 1974, 17 years after O’Ree debuted and 14 years after his last Nhl game. I respect him for what he had through and what he is trying to do for diversity, but I honestly had never heard of him until maybe 2003, it just seems that the nhl ignored him for a long time and now is trying show how progressive they are

you misunderstand completely. him playing DID NOT pave the way for black players in the NHL. it took SEVENTEEN YEARS for another guy to make it. the NHL IGNORED HIM, and other racial minorities, FOR A LONG TIME. and so he worked to change all that, and continues to work because it still needs a lot of changing. and for that work he is being honoured as a builder in the hockey hall of fame.

i don't want to diminish his struggle or his perseverence, what he had to fight through, but if it was as "easy" as just showing up, playing, and being the first guy, and then the barrier was broken, i don't know that he would really qualify as a HHOF-level builder.

everyone who doesn't know needs to read this: O'Ree's 'second calling' gets him elected to Hockey Hall of Fame

O'Ree's 'second calling' gets him elected to Hockey Hall of Fame

First black NHL player has worked tirelessly into his 80s to promote inclusion in sport

by Amalie Benjamin @AmalieBenjamin / NHL.com Staff Writer

He broke the barrier Jan. 18, 1958, when the Boston Bruins called him up for a home-and-home against the Montreal Canadiens, starting with a game at the Montreal Forum. But even O'Ree didn't then realize how momentous that game was, that he was doing something that not one player had done before.
He read of his feat in the newspaper, the next day.

But it was not just that game, or the 44 in the NHL that followed it, that brought him to be voted into the Hall of Fame. That came from the hundreds and thousands of children he has touched in the years since he finally took off the skates for the final time after 21 years of playing the game professionally, in the 39 local grassroots hockey programs he has helped establish.

Because even now, at 82 years old, O'Ree logs airline miles and hotel room nights that would make a much younger man wilt. Seemingly inexhaustible and eternally cheerful, O'Ree addresses kids of all stripes at rinks around the country, bringing his message of diversity and inclusion and pride to a generation well beyond the ones that saw the barriers broken by him and, in Major League Baseball, by Jackie Robinson.

"Willie is a pioneer and tremendous ambassador for the game of hockey," Bruins president Cam Neely said in a statement. "The courage he showed 60 years ago when he broke the League's color barrier while wearing a Bruins sweater is an inspiration, and his work today continues to grow the game of hockey and spread the message that hockey is for everyone."

wayne simmonds:

I got the chance to meet Willie for the first time during my rookie year with the Kings, and I was exactly like the little kids who come up to us for autographs after games. I was totally speechless. I was meeting my hero. For every single kid who was ever told to “stick to basketball,” Willie was like the first man on the moon. He wasn’t just a hockey player. He was an astronaut.

He was, and continues to be, an inspiration for everyone who loves the game.

Even now, at 82 years old, he’s still going around the world, spreading a very powerful message to kids who need to hear it: No matter what anybody tells you, hockey is a game for everyone.

Mr. O’Ree deserves his place in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The Astronaut | By Wayne Simmonds

 

[quoipourquoi]

Manon Rheaume was a gimmick.

Manon Rheaume being invited to a training camp was a gimmick. Manon Rheaume earning an IHL contract is not a gimmick. Manon Rheaume stopping her career every time she reached a new ceiling for female goaltender and restarting it when there was something new to conquer is also not a gimmick.

And it’s not like she was flown down to Tampa Bay because she wrote the best essay in her high school class; she had just shut out the Americans for the gold medal.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Manon Rheaume being invited to a training camp was a gimmick. Manon Rheaume earning an IHL contract is not a gimmick. Manon Rheaume stopping her career every time she reached a new ceiling for female goaltender and restarting it when there was something new to conquer is also not a gimmick.

And it’s not like she was flown down to Tampa Bay because she wrote the best essay in her high school class; she had just shut out the Americans for the gold medal.

You are also going a long way towards illustrating why overall 1990s goaltending was lacking depth throughout hockey.

 

[JackSlater]

This might not be a popular opinio, but did Willie O’Ree really pave the way for black players in the Nhl? The legue didn’t have another black player until 1974, 17 years after O’Ree debuted and 14 years after his last Nhl game. I respect him for what he had through and what he is trying to do for diversity, but I honestly had never heard of him until maybe 2003, it just seems that the nhl ignored him for a long time and now is trying show how progressive they are

It depends how things are viewed. Willie O'Ree isn't the same as Jackie Robinson despite some attempts to make him seem that way. Hockey doesn't have such a player, but Larry Kwong might fit the bill more. O'Ree has been a tremendous ambassador for hockey however (he spoke at my school when I was a kid and it was great, I'm sure that many people have had the same experience) and his achievement is noteworthy. He wasn't the first past a barrier that was keeping loads of players (black, Asian, gay or otherwise) out of the sport in the same way that Robinson was (and he wasn't the Hall of Fame talent that Robinson was) but as a builder of hockey he still seems like a very fine induction. I don't think that there is any question that O'Ree significantly contributed to the development of hockey, particularly as a representative for the sport even after his playing career ended.

 

[VMBM]

In the real world his failure in the NHL and drop from elite level in 1989-90 will probably keep him out.

Actually I take it back. Krutov might very well be one of the next (Soviet) inductees, maybe even the very next one. After all, he certainly got praise for his performance at the 1987 Canada Cup (an all-star & one of the top scorers), and he was excellent in 1981 and 1984 too, plus a part of the legendary KLM/Green Unit.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

only caught the last two speeches of the evening but man, how refreshing it is to see jayna hoffer casually shout out her partner like it's nothing and nobody reacting like it was anything. a lovely moment.

and a total trip to see brodeur wearing #29 in the old christmas jersey.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Housley is the worst defenseman in the Hall and Zubov's individual accolades are worse than his. I don't see him ever going in. For some reason, the Hall also seems to be harder on defensemen than they're on forwards. Not to mention goaltenders where the standards are extremely high.

Although all of above could be questioned by the inclusion of Phil Housley, I guess.

housley never played a lick of d. so maybe it’s appropriate that he got in under the forward criteria.

 

[Vanzig]

This might not be a popular opinio, but did Willie O’Ree really pave the way for black players in the Nhl? The legue didn’t have another black player until 1974, 17 years after O’Ree debuted and 14 years after his last Nhl game. I respect him for what he had through and what he is trying to do for diversity, but I honestly had never heard of him until maybe 2003, it just seems that the nhl ignored him for a long time and now is trying show how progressive they are

I don’t thin he did, personally he didn’t do as much as Robinson

 

[Canadiens1958]

This might not be a popular opinio, but did Willie O’Ree really pave the way for black players in the Nhl? The legue didn’t have another black player until 1974, 17 years after O’Ree debuted and 14 years after his last Nhl game. I respect him for what he had through and what he is trying to do for diversity, but I honestly had never heard of him until maybe 2003, it just seems that the nhl ignored him for a long time and now is trying show how progressive they are

Not the measure. 1957 to 1961 NHL and minor pro hockey had negligible black players in the ranks.

Inspired the kids. Within a generation a steady stream followed from the mid 1970s onward.

 

[JackSlater]

I feel compelled to add this regarding the 2018 class, mainly for another great Gretzky compliment

Quick Shifts: Nylander, Leafs toy with 'mutually assured destruction' - Sportsnet.ca

Gretzky, regarding Yakushev: "He was sort of a combination of our Gordie Howe and Bobby Orr".

 

[Newsworthy]

None of Turgeon, Mogilny, Fluery, Alfie, and Roenick strike me as Hall of Fame caliber.
Mogilny and Turgeon have the biggest case IMO.

On the D side Zubov may now get the nod. I'm not sold on that.

Putting too many borderline players in the Hall drags down the honor.

 

[Newsworthy]

Housley is the worst defenseman in the Hall and Zubov's individual accolades are worse than his. I don't see him ever going in. For some reason, the Hall also seems to be harder on defensemen than they're on forwards. Not to mention goaltenders where the standards are extremely high.

Although all of above could be questioned by the inclusion of Phil Housley, I guess.

Funny. I used to argue if Zubov gets in so should Phil Housley.
Now what?