He really did have it all; the intangibles like leadership and heart, the ability to raise his game in the playoffs, elite in both the offensive and defensive zone. His 1992-93 season was among the greatest all-around seasons by a forward this league has ever seen. He was beyond elite that year. If it weren't for Mario Lemieux simply being ****ing ridiculous, he'd have that Hart Trophy and likely already be in the HHOF.
All that said, his dominant peak was very, very short. Two consecutive seasons in the early 1990's, and apart from 1993, he finished top five in scoring only once, in 1987. He'll obviously get in, but I'm not surprised the voters are making him wait because his peak was very short relative to most players that get into the HHOF in their first two or so years of eligibility.
Gilmour really was special to watch in those two seasons, especially in the playoffs. He carried those Toronto teams with a dominance that I just haven't seen from a single player on a team, in the last 30 years not named Sakic, Gretzky, or Lemieux.
Still, the fact remains that his peak was very short. His playoff numbers are unquestionable, and honestly, if he manages to get the Leafs past Gretzky in 1993, he's already in the HHOF, at least IMO.
I think Gilmour has been hurt most by the fact that, after the first lockout, his production fell off the map (for his standards). He was getting older and faced quite a few injury problems, but apart from two point-per-game seasons in 1997 and 2000, he was effectively a 55-60 point player after he crossed the age of 31. Yeah, he had so many attributes that it's silly to judge him solely on offensive numbers, but he didn't have much playoff success either, in terms of team performance.
While I, and most of us, consider him to be a great leader, I also think the fact that he never captained a half-decent team hurts him a lot. Wendel Clark wearing the "C" for those two playoff runs probably doesn't help him.
