Hockey Hall of Fame Mail Bag: Which players boosted their stock most in 2023-24?
Few topics in hockey offer debate fuel like Hall of Fame cases.
With the Class of 2024 set to be announced next week, we put out a call for your Hall of Fame questions, spicy candidates, and hot takes. The response delivered some fantastic conversation starters.
Let’s dig into the Hockey Hall of Fame mail bag…
Rami asks: Who helped their Hall of Fame stock most in 2023-24?
Four names come to mind as having distinctly advanced their candidacies this year.
- Sergei Bobrovsky tops the list. His second consecutive exceptional playoff run — which may feature a Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy — welds wonderfully with 396 wins (and counting), two Vezina Trophies and a third nomination this year at age 35.
- Natalie Spooner ruled the PWHL’s inaugural season. The Toronto forward emerged as both a tireless spokeswoman for the upstart league and its most dominant player. Her 20 goals in 24 games led the PWHL by a whopping nine goals, earning her MVP and Top Forward honors. Spooner’s brilliant season came at age 33 and only a year removed from childbirth. What an athlete. Her star shone brightest at the most critical time for women’s hockey.
- With a second Selke Trophy, Aleksander Barkov has taken a stranglehold on Patrice Bergeron’s vacated title of NHL’s best defensive forward. Barkov’s 80-point year brings his career total to 711 at age 28. By captaining a relentless Panthers’ team to back-to-back Cup Finals as a Smythe candidate, Barkov’s résumé increasingly screams Hall of Famer.
- Brad Marchand is a player so ratty that exterminators have nightmares after watching Bruins’ highlights. When he was named captain of an Original Six franchise in flux after the retirements of Bergeron and David Krjeci, there were questions. Marchand’s response? He played all 82 games at age 35, scored his 400th goal, and led Boston to a 109-point season and spirited playoff run. Marchand solidified his legacy as one of the most impactful and relevant players of the salary cap era.
Honorable Mentions: Paul Maurice; Connor Hellebuyck; Kendall Coyne Schofield; Artemi Panarin; Joe Pavelski; Jonathan Quick
Andrew asks: Do you see Rod Brind’Amour ever getting in?
I do, and I’m surprised he hasn’t been inducted yet. He is the exact type of player that typically makes the HHOF: long career, big totals, captained a Stanley Cup winner, two Selkes, universal respect.
That said, I don’t think Rod the Bod’s playing career warrants induction. Last year, I took the deepest of dives into his impactful hockey life. The conclusion? Brind’Amour was never near the top of the NHL as a player and his defensive reputation arrived curiously late in his career.
However, a hockey life like Brind’Amour’s — blending on-ice excellence, a Jack Adams Award as a coach, and an indelible mark in the growth of a non-traditional hockey market — matters. I’d love to see him get elected as a Builder one day, the Selection Committee recognizing his overall contributions to the sport.
Brian asks: Which out of left field candidate who played 40+ years ago makes it in, like Rogie Vachon or Vaclav Nedomasnky?
Loved this question. Brian’s right that the HHOF will occasionally elect someone far off anyone’s radar.
Before we get into the who, let’s speculate on the why. Part of the reason has to be this little-known clause: “If the number of male or female player inductees is fewer than the maximum number of candidates who can be elected, respectively, further balloting shall be conducted only involving any candidates who have been eligible for 15 years or more.”
Two viable, deep cut candidates: J.C. Tremblay (fives Cups, five top-five Norris finishes, two WHA top defenseman awards) and Carl Brewer (four-time year-end all-star, pioneer in pursuing misappropriated pension funds for NHL retirees).
Other possibilities include any of a half-dozen members of the 1972 Summit Series’ Soviet team, easily some of the world’s best players at the time. The HHOF understandably won’t be in a rush to go there in the current geopolitical climate, but a gap from that era remains. Lastly, we have the trailblazing Europeans (examples: Kent Nilsson, Anders Hedberg, Ulf Nilsson), whose overall exploits are lost to history given hybrid careers spanning Europe, the WHA, and the NHL.
Warren asks: Out of Jeremy Roenick, Theo Fleury, John Vanbiesbrouck and Tim Thomas, who has the most realistic chance of making the Hall?
Next question! Well, I did ask for controversial topics…
While I wouldn’t bet on the induction of any of the four NHL pariahs — each of which exceeds the statistical standard — my sense is that Roenick has the most realistic chance at induction.
Gaming Squad asks to test a hot take: The 2018-19 Bruins had six Hall of Famers.
Let’s see. Bergeron and Zdeno Chara are locks. We know Marchand’s case is strong. David Pastrnak has 371 era adjusted goals through age 27 — a tremendous pace. That’s four. They’d need two of Krejci, Tuukka Rask, and Charlie McAvoy to get elected one day.
Krejci had a terrific career, but Hall of Fame is a stretch. Rask, a Vezina winner with top-10 era adjusted save percentages in the regular season (.910) and playoffs (.912) is an underrated candidate. His PPS (307 vs. Standard of 311) says he should be considered. But in a shorter career (564 games) and polling at 23%, it’s an uphill climb. The sky’s the limit for McAvoy and it’s not difficult to conjure a Victor Hedman-like trajectory.
So… four is likely. Five is possible. But six? Tough sell.
Joshua asks: Is three-time Stanley Cup champion and NHL iron man Phil Kessel a Hall of Famer?
When I’ve publicly polled Kessel on X, he tends to split the vote. But in last week’s complete polling listing 100 active and retired candidates, just 21% of over 2,000 respondents voted ‘Yes’ on Kessel’s candidacy.
The argument for? The NHL Iron Man record (1,064 straight games); a meaningful contributor to two Penguins’ Cups (45 points in 49 games); a third Cup as mostly a healthy scratch in Vegas; an Olympic silver; 1,116 points after adjusting for era. And hey, his Induction Weekend would be a blast.
The argument against? Perennially one of the league’s weakest defensive forwards, Kessel was never a leading man on a competitive team. He peaks as the #10 NHL forward in my High Noon ranking system and fell short of 1,000 points despite a long and healthy career.
While there are lesser players than Phil enshrined, it’s difficult to see 14 of 18 members of the Selection Committee emphatically supporting his polarizing case among a deep and talented forward generation.
Rory asks: Do you think goalies playing fewer games in today’s NHL will eventually affect how voters view the position’s candidacy?
I think it has to, Rory. Major League Baseball is dealing with this issue given the extinction of the 300-game winner, pitchers now deployed not to go deep into games.
I tackled the decline of starting goaltender workloads earlier this year. Fortunately, it’s less of an imminent HHOF problem. Most of the upcoming candidates peaked in the 55-60 start era. But it’s the goalies debuting in the last decade whose credentials may seem unimpressive vs. past generations.
Past Committees were slow to recognize the decline in offense and snubbed top talent from The Dead Puck Era. Here’s hoping that future Committees correctly adapt to the shifting goaltending trend, reducing the focus on counting stats.
Hockey Stathead asks: When will you be added to the Selection Committee?
Well, my burner account has been exposed…
Despite the nitpicking that any Selection Committee inevitably faces, it’s difficult to question the qualifications of its 18 high-profile members. The composition, however, is less sound.
- There are only two women. It’s undoubtedly leading to a lack of female nominations and support.
- Only five are media. Given their focus on a broader franchise base than retired players, national media members would offer a wider lens.
- All 10 of the former players are forwards. This long-running wrinkle has surely contributed to a lack of defensemen and goaltenders elected over the years.
More women and media and less retired forwards seem like low-hanging fruit in future recruiting. Until then, I’ll be waiting by the Bat Phone… ☎️
Follow @AdjustedHockey on X; Data from Hockey-Reference.com, NHL.com;