Which active players do you believe are first-ballot HOF?

[Varan]

Thoughts

Click to read more...

 

[Machinehead]

Thornton
Both Sedins
Iginla
Keith
Toews (I know, but he will be)
Crosby
Malkin
Ovechkin
Lundqvist

 

[Plural]

Jagr, Sid, OV, Malkin, Thornton, Chara and as much as it is wrong, Toews will get in immediately. Wouldn't surprise me to see them waiving the waiting period for him.

 

[Machinehead]

Yes Jagr also, and I think Datsyuk as well.

 

[KoozNetsOff 92]

Jagr
Ovechkin
Crosby
Malkin
Thornton
Iginla
Kane
Chara
Keith
Lundqvist

 

[vancityluongo]

Jagr
Crosby
Ovechkin
Malkin
Thornton
Keith
Iginla
Chara
Hossa
Kane
Toews
Luongo
H. Sedin
Zetterberg (unless he retires with a strong class)
D. Sedin (homer/twin factor)
Kopitar (borderline)
Lundqvist (borderline)
Perry (not sure)
Getzlaf (also not sure)

As of today. I think others like Stamkos and Tavares will definitely get there and will likely be first ballot; but they wouldn't be first ballot if they retired today.

 

[Blainer114*]

Bergeron
Chara
Price
Tavares
Crosby
Malkin
Letang
Stamkos
Ovechkin
Jagr
Luongo
E Staal
Toews
Kane
Keith
Seabrook
Mcdavid
Iginla
H Sedin
D Sedin
Datsyuk
J Thornton
Doughty

 

[Trafalgar Sadge Law]

Players that will and deserve it:
Zdeno Chara
Sidney Crosby
Jarome Iginla
Jaromir Jagr
Erik Karlsson
Patrick Kane
Evgeni Malkin
Alex Ovechkin
Joe Thornton

Players that will and don't belong in the Hall of Fame at all, let alone first ballot:
Jonathan Toews

If they retire in the same season, they'll probably waive the waiting period for Toews and make Malkin wait 10 years.

 

[Bleedred]

Thornton
Both Sedins
Iginla
Keith
Toews (I know, but he will be)
Crosby
Malkin
Ovechkin
Lundqvist

Agree with all of these, plus Jagr and probably Chara.

I think Malkin is still a little borderline, borderline as if he retired today. I think he's a lock in a year or two. Kane is in the same territory IMO. Close to a lock, but not quite yet a lock. Zetterberg is borderline, Luongo is borderline (I'd put Luongo in there if it were up to me though).

I feel like they're gonna dick Thornton around too. I'm not saying there's a chance he won't get in, he definitely will at some point. Would it really surprise anyone if he goes through a year or two of eligibility before being being inducted though? I just feel like they're gonna bust his balls a little bit and wait until 2 or 3 years of eligibility pass if he doesn't win a cup.

Datsyuk too, it's easy to forget that he's still playing somewhere. Feels like he's retired already.

Very unpopular opinion here, which will no doubt cause a huge stir, but I feel like Jonathan Quick has the inside edge right now. Not in if he retires today, but he will probably own multiple records for US born goalies by the time his career ends, on top of two cups already and a Conn Smythe.

 

[FrozenJagrt]

I would absolutely be shocked if Thornton had to wait. Who goes in before him?

 

[ManwithNoIdentity]

Zetterberg
Datsyuk
Ovechhekin
Hossa
Toews
Crosby
Jagr
Sedins
Iggy

 

[AvroArrow]

Thornton
Iginla
Sedins
Ovechkin
Crosby
Malkin
Kane
Jagr
Toews
Keith

 

[aufheben]

Jagr
Crosby
Ovechkin
Malkin
Thornton
Keith
Iginla
Chara
Hossa
Kane
Toews
Luongo
H. Sedin
Zetterberg (unless he retires with a strong class)
D. Sedin (homer/twin factor)
Kopitar (borderline)
Lundqvist (borderline)
Perry (not sure)
Getzlaf (also not sure)

As of today. I think others like Stamkos and Tavares will definitely get there and will likely be first ballot; but they wouldn't be first ballot if they retired today.

No way Lundqvist is borderline IMO, definitely above someone like Kopitar

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Some people don't know what "first-ballot" means...

 

[Bleedred]

I would absolutely be shocked if Thornton had to wait. Who goes in before him?

Who knows? I'm just saying that it wouldn't surprise me if they bust his balls and make him wait a year or two of eligibility. They did that with Shanahan a few years back, which was clearly speculated that it was because his position as the league's head of player safety, pissed somebody off and made them wait a year. Adam Oates also seemed to have to wait through 5 or 6 years of eligibility.

I don't think he'd have to wait 5 or 6 years after eligibility, but I could see 1 or 2. Possibly 3 at most.

He just screams someone who would get snubbed, due to a false reputation. But hopefully the people on the committee feel much differently.

 

[JKG33]

Assuming we're going by if they keep up a good pace over the remainder of their careers instead of if they retired today:


Toews
Kane
Hossa
Keith
Iginla
Datsyuk
Zetterberg
Jagr
Luongo
Doughty
Quick
Lundqvist
Crosby
Malkin
Thornton
Sedins
Ovechkin

 

[Bleedred]

No way Lundqvist is borderline IMO, definitely above someone like Kopitar

I think he's close to a lock at this point. I think 455 wins or so, will definitely get him in, that's if he's not already a lock at this point.

Curtis Joseph never got in with 454 or whatever, not that I think Joseph was personally better than Lundqvist. Cujo had no Vezina or cup, he also didn't have an Olympic gold medal as a starter. Only as Brodeur's backup back in 2002. Neither have won the cup, not that I blame either of them for not winning cups at some point. I think one of these 3 makes Lundqvist a lock. Another Vezina, a cup win or 455 wins, that's if he's not already a lock though. Good chance he gets to 455 by the end of next year.

I think if the Rangers remain competitive, he can actually win 550 games in his career. That all depends on his health and how many he starts over the rest of his career.

I don't have Lundqvist in the category of Iginla, Chara, Sedin's or Datsyuk yet, but only because he hasn't played as long as any of those guys yet and he's still a bit younger than all of them. Ovechkin and Crosby are definitely locks if they never played again. Duncan Keith too. I feel Lundqvist may or may not be if retired today, but will definitely be within a year. Toews, Kane, Malkin, are close but not there yet. Probably be a couple more years for them, but Toews is probably already a lock, for reasons that have been beaten to death.

 

[Burke the Legend]

Lunqivist is pretty borderline. Just 1 Vezina. No cups.

 

[Beautvillier]

Don't really see how Chara is a first ballot HoF.
Jagr
Thornton
Crosby
Ovechkin
Kane

 

[aufheben]

Lunqivist is pretty borderline. Just 1 Vezina. No cups.

If that's how the HOF judges it then the HOF doesn't mean very much. He's arguably the best of his generation.

 

[Bleedred]

Hossa is in too, not sure why I forgot about him. It looks like a lot of others haven't listed him.

Obviously Brodeur, Alfreddson and Selanne are all going in very soon. All fairly recently retired.

Alfredsson and Selanne are probably going in this year. They'll be the class of 2018, Brodeur will go in with the class of 2018. Damn those 7 games with St Louis, or it would be this year. I guess I'm glad he's not going in with them though. It would be like that year that Messier, Stevens, MacInnis and Francis all went in. Too powerful of a class IMO.

 

[ARoggy94]

Don't really see how Chara is a first ballot HoF.
Jagr
Thornton
Crosby
Ovechkin
Kane

Three first team all-stars and four second team is an absolute first ballot lock

 

[Burke the Legend]

If that's how the HOF judges it then the HOF doesn't mean very much. He's arguably the best of his generation.

Haha is that a joke? Most years of his career he wasn't even top 5 in save %, not even top 10 in a lot of them.

 

[Bleedred]

Lunqivist is pretty borderline. Just 1 Vezina. No cups.

I only say if he retires today, he's MIGHT be borderline.

455 wins and he's definitely a lock, no questions asked. I think winning a cup (as a Devils fan, I respect Lundqvist very much but hope he doesn't win a cup as a Ranger) or another Vezina would help too.

Even if he doesn't win either, I think 455 wins and you gotta put him in. He has 1 Vezina and a gold medal in the Olympics as a starter. Using Cujo as a comparable with 454 wins, no cups, no Vezina, no Olympic gold medal except as Brodeur's backup and not in the HOF, that would be more than Cujo accomplished. I think the Vezina gives him an edge on Luongo, who I think will probably miss out on the HOF, even if I personally think Luongo should be in.

 

[aufheben]

I only say if he retires today, he's MIGHT be borderline.

455 wins and he's definitely a lock, no questions asked. I think winning a cup (as a Devils fan, I respect Lundqvist very much but hope he doesn't win a cup as a Ranger) or another Vezina would help too.

Even if he doesn't win either, I think 455 wins and you gotta put him in. He has 1 Vezina and a gold medal in the Olympics as a starter. Using Cujo as a comparable with 454 wins, no cups, no Vezina, no Olympic gold medal except as Brodeur's backup and not in the HOF, that would be more than Cujo accomplished. I think the Vezina gives him an edge on Luongo, who I think will probably miss out on the HOF, even if I personally think Luongo should be in.

You'd be right "IMO".