How we rate an athlete is always subjective. There are
those who never seem to get the recognition their talent and accomplishments
warrant. On the flip side, there are also players who seem to get noticed more
than they deserve. Some build reputations on a season, a series or even a game
or two. Here are 5 members of the hockey hall of fame who I feel have a bigger
and better reputation than they should. They aren’t necessarily the least
worthy of being in the hall, but are valued beyond what they accomplished on
the ice.
5) Dino Ciccarelli – He may not be the most highly
regarded goal scorer in history, but was considered worthy enough to enter the
hall of fame, based mostly on his goal-scoring ability. Ciccarelli scored 608
goals in his NHL career, 17th all-time, an achievement no doubt.
However, he did play 19 seasons and had most of his best years early on in his
career. He scored 273 of his goals in his first 7 seasons, 151 in the best 3 of
those, including 2 fifty-goal seasons. He did score 41 goals 3 more times in
his career but only 30 or better once in his last 6 seasons. Ciccarelli was
mediocre defensively and was also a minus for his career five on five.
4) Dale Hawerchuk – Jet fans will want to kill me for
this, but Hawerchuk does not deserve the reputation as an all-time great. A pretty
consistent scorer early in his career, Hawerchuk had a nose for the net and was
a very good playmaker. However, he was a defensive liability and his effort was
often less than stellar. He was a below average skater that would have had
difficulty keeping up in today’s game. Even while having his best scoring
seasons, he was most often a minus player. Hawerchuk’s statistics definitely
benefitted from the era in which he played. As to whether he was good enough to
be named a member of the hall of fame I would answer an unequivocal maybe.
3) Igor Larionov – The biggest contributor to Larionov’s
standing within the hockey world was certainly longevity. Starting his career
in the Soviet Championship League in 1977 as a youngster, he played until 2006
in the Swedish league, 2 years after his last season in the NHL. Most of his
offensive success took place in the USSR and he developed a great deal of fame
playing on the KLM line in the Soviet league. He was always primarily a
playmaker, but his goal scoring all but disappeared after joining the NHL via
the Vancouver Canucks in 1989. He scored only 169 goals in 921 games for the
Canucks, Sharks, Red Wings, Panthers and Devils in the NHL. A good defensive
player, he was also serviceable and consistent, but not quite worthy of the
esteem heaped upon him from the hockey world.
2) Dick Duff – A dependable two-way player, Duff’s
reputation has endured in large part because he played on 6 Stanley Cup
winners, 2 with the Toronto Maple Leafs and later 4 with the Montreal
Canadiens. Both were teams that happened to be loaded with all-time greats
(Dave Keon, Frank Mahovlich, Red Kelly, Tim Horton, Jean Beliveau, Yvan
Cournoyer, Henri Richard, Guy Lapointe & Serge Savard). Duff was effective
playing physically, despite his 5’9” 165 pound frame. Offensively, he was
definitely not prolific, never reaching the 30-goal mark. A terrific
complimentary player yes, but hardly a great one.
1) Brett Hull – If anyone’s a poster boy for being a
product of the era in which he played, it’s Hull. A poor skater, who was below
average defensively for most of his career, he did have an excellent shot with
a very quick release. He used it to his advantage, scoring over 70 goals 3
times and 740 for his career, good for 3rd all time. Hull was basically
a one-dimensional player who was less than dedicated early in career. His
effort was often lacking and his conditioning almost undid his NHL stint before
it started. Anyone who saw the Golden Jet Bobby Hull play, would be amused by
the fact that the Golden Brett scored 130 more goals than his dad. Brett Hull
was worthy of the hall of fame, but he was no Bobby Hull.
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