Will Erik Karlsson make the HOF?

[ijuka]

He essentially revolutionized the modern defenseman position. He's the most important defenseman currently playing in NHL.

 

[nickdawg95]

he really should have 4 norris, maybe 5, 15-16/16-17 and 13-14. he was doing things no one has done in a long time.

 

[Xspyrit]

The lack of hockey knowledge when Karlsson is the subject becomes alarmingly obvious

I didn't know that a "one man breakout" could be "bad defensively". I think some people are still stuck 2 decades ago that good defensively is being strong physically in front of the net and in the corners. lol no, it's about breaking out from the D zone as fast as possible now.

Bobby Orr didn't nearly have the same level of competition back then. Karlsson was playing the way he did against elite competition, which is crazy when you think of it. Just watch some footage damnit. Two of the greatest talents at that position with careers diminshed by injuries.

 

[Sensinitis]

He has 2 Norris trophies and was one of the best for the better part of a decade. He’s a lock. Especially since we’re in an era where players have played in leagues that are much larger then past players making team accomplishments less important due to it being much more difficult to get them.

Not to mention he’ll probably be top 15 in all time dman scoring when all is said and done, maybe even top 10 if he returns to form.

 

[Regal]

he really should have 4 norris, maybe 5, 15-16/16-17 and 13-14. he was doing things no one has done in a long time.

No way he deserved it in '14. He was awful defensively after his injury.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Oh, absolutely.

He won two Norris’. He was nominated for, what, 3-4 more? Two of them he should have definitely won, btw.

Plus, he changed the position. He’s the reason why guys like Makar and Hughes exist.

No he didn't.

And yes he'll get in.

 

[Kingfan1967]

Is rain wet ?

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

He essentially revolutionized the modern defenseman position. He's the most important defenseman currently playing in NHL.

It's crazy how people can't talk about Karlsson without hyperbole at both ends of the spectrum.

He did not revolutionize the position and he is no way the most important defenseman currently playing in the NHL. If this post were 5 years old, yes. Currently, not even close.

 

[nhlfan9191]

Not to mention he’ll probably be top 15 in all time dman scoring when all is said and done, maybe even top 10 if he returns to form.

I doubt he ever returns to form. He may have stretches where he looks better then he does now. But it doesn’t take away from anything he did during the 10’s, which should be enough to get him into the Hall in my opinion. It’s going to be interesting how the votes to get in actually work now that we’re seeing players who’re retired who spent their entire career in a 30-31 league team where winning championships is obviously way tougher.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

The lack of hockey knowledge when Karlsson is the subject becomes alarmingly obvious

I didn't know that a "one man breakout" could be "bad defensively". I think some people are still stuck 2 decades ago that good defensively is being strong physically in front of the net and in the corners. lol no, it's about breaking out from the D zone as fast as possible now.

Bobby Orr didn't nearly have the same level of competition back then. Karlsson was playing the way he did against elite competition, which is crazy when you think of it. Just watch some footage damnit. Two of the greatest talents at that position with careers diminshed by injuries.

This is like comparing Artemi Panarin to Wayne Gretzky. Why even mention Karlsson alongside Orr?

 

[Hockeyholic]

First Ballot HOFer. As is Doughty, Chara, and Keith.

 

[Ben White]

50 voters should get banned from voting

 

[Sensinitis]

No way he deserved it in '14. He was awful defensively after his injury.

Agreed for ‘14. He definitely has a strong case for the other years though.

 

[Mrb1p]

4 as 1
1 1 2 2 7 12 15 18 norris finishes
Hart 5 8 9 9
620 points as a D
50+ points in 60ish games in the POs

The second he retires hes in.

 

[Mrb1p]

Karlsson wasn't good at defense when he was winning the Norris. If anyone could buck the trend of 2 Norris wins being an automatic induction, it's him.

He was very good from 2012 to his injury year and a few years after that.

Him, Subban and Doughty would absolutely dominate the norris votings today, and I suspect they would in the 00s too, Lidstrom or no Lidstrom.

 

[North Cole]

First Ballot HOFer. As is Doughty, Chara, and possibly Keith.

Not trying to detail this thread, but Keith has a better argument than Chara. Keith is a no doubter.

 

[Xspyrit]

This is like comparing Artemi Panarin to Wayne Gretzky. Why even mention Karlsson alongside Orr?

And why does it matter? You can never mention a hockey player in a sentence with another hockey player who was better? Why? lol

The mention was directed to the "one man breakout" thing. There hasn't been a lot of guys able to do that with as much ease as Orr and Karlsson. Again, watch some footage

Also, I did say that both had their dominance cut short because of injuries

So, did I say that Karlsson was better or anything? No but while we can't say that Karlsson was as good or close to how good Orr was, you have to acknowledge the competition level of the various eras. Karlsson was really damn good when young and healthy. Watch the 2012-13 games before the Cooke injury. Karlsson was going to reach another level.

So what of this is NOT true?

 

[Fatass]

With no Cup (not the determining factor, but definitely influences the voters, as evidenced by Kevin Lowe) was he good enough to be a HHOF player? I think he’s on the fringe of getting in.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

And why does it matter? You can never mention a hockey player in a sentence with another hockey player who was better? Why? lol

The mention was directed to the "one man breakout" thing. There hasn't been a lot of guys able to do that with as much ease as Orr and Karlsson. Again, watch some footage

Also, I did say that both had their dominance cut short because of injuries

So, did I say that Karlsson was better or anything? No but while we can't say that Karlsson was as good or close to how good Orr was, you have to acknowledge the competition level of the various eras. Karlsson was really damn good when young and healthy. Watch the 2012-13 games before the Cooke injury. Karlsson was going to reach another level.

So what of this is NOT true?

Karlsson’s a pretty widely known player. I think you can safely assume most people on this board have watched him play.

Well, you said Orr didn’t have near the same level of competition back then, so it would appear that you’re attempting to compare the two players.

Btw, I believe Karlsson should be a hall of famer. No doubt in my mind.

 

[HanSolo]

Disregarding the fact that he was a top 3 player in the league at one point, this isn't even true. Karlsson may not have been the best defender in the league, but he was never bad one. Karlsson being bad at defence was always overstated, his skating bailed him out most of the time.

While I agree in principle, saying never bad is also an overstatement. He's certainly had stretches of being bad at defending in San Jose.

 

[SENSational]

While I agree in principle, saying never bad is also an overstatement. He's certainly had stretches of being bad at defending in San Jose.

"Was" is the key word there.

 

[HanSolo]

"Was" is the key word there.

Fair enough. I mean don't get me wrong I think people are hung up on comparing this modern era up against the 90s-early 2000s era of potential HHOF inductees. Assuming Karlsson plays 15 seasons and four inductees every year that's 60 potential inductees across the span of his career. I doubt most of the people saying no or maybe could name 60 more deserving players than Karlsson and then however many more to cover not being first ballot. He's getting in.

 

[Karl Eriksson]

Yes. Before he stopped being good, he was amazing.

 

[MrOT]

Pre Cooke Karlsson was generational. Post Cooke Karlsson was bordeline generational from 2nd half of '14-'15 til 2017 playoffs. Post Cooke Karlsson was still a top 3 D in the NHL while recovering from the achilles slice from 2013-14 to first half of 2014-15. Over all despite the slice he was a borderline generational defenseman during the span of 2012 to the 2017 injury. That's more than enough to be a first ballot HOF.

Pre Cooke, generational


Post Cooke fully recovered, borderline generational


Recorvering from Cooke. Still very good and top scoring Dman in the NHL.

 

[Jwec]

Both Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns should be hall of fame players. And both will get in.