Congratulations to all of the members of the 2018 Hockey Hall of Fame class. Now it’s time to start looking at the class of 2019 and its candidates, along with a hypothetical ballot.
There’s no greater debate among sports fans than who should be in the Hall of Fame. This is no different for hockey fans. Especially since the Hockey Hall of Fame’s standards for enshrinement are hard to gauge.
The 2018 Hall of Fame class was a great one. It featured some of the best players to ever lace up a pair of skates. Unfortunately, the 2019 class isn’t going to have a slam dunk case like Martin Brodeur. At least not on the NHL side.
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Here at Puck Prose, we’re not afraid to give out our opinions. That’s why our expert Dave Stevenson is going to give his hypothetical ballot for 2019. This ballot will address several concerns regarding the Hockey Hall of Fame while rewarding the deserving candidates.
Much like Cooperstown, there’s a bit of a logjam as far as candidates are concerned. And unlike baseball, there are no real guidelines regarding who to vote for. My ballot is going to be a bit more generous than most people’s would. And I’m fine with that, especially since the 2019 candidates should help diversify the Hall of Fame and help it accomplish its true purpose (rewarding the best players).
My guidelines for selecting candidates were simple. I looked at players who made significant impacts. Players who were the best at what they did. And I voted them. My ballot wound up consisting of five players.
Just Missing The Cut
Let’s get this out of the way. If you want to be mad at me for not including a player, get it out of your system because here are the players who just missed the cut (and why they did).
Doug Wilson
Doug Wilson was a very good defenseman. At times, he was great! But Wilson didn’t have enough “great” seasons to warrant enshrinement. His peak ended a little bit too early for my liking. That said, if the Hall comes calling for Wilson, he wouldn’t even be in the bottom 10 for “worst guys in the Hall of Fame”.
John Vanbiesbrouck
John Vanbiesbrouck is arguably the best American goaltender of all-time. I’m usually one to ignore or overlook off the ice issues, but not when it involves racism. Yes, the Hall needs more goalies. But there are better ways to address this issue than letting in Vanbiesbrouck.
Alexander Mogilny
Alexander Mogilny was a great goal scorer who played during a great goal scoring era. But he didn’t hit the magic number 500 for career goals and he only finished in the top 10 in goals three times.
Theo Fleury
I’m a huge fan of Theoren Fleury. He’s an admirable man for not just battling with substance abuse and mental health, but trying to be a part of the solution in both areas as well. Fleury had some great years, but he’s not a Hall of Famer. Not yet, anyway. Maybe someday, but some other injustices have to be corrected first.
Ken Hitchcock and Joel Quenneville
Builders don’t have to be retired, so it’s time to start considering Ken Hitchcock. He has a Stanley Cup on his resume. Hitchcock has coached for 21 seasons and his teams made the postseason well over half of the time. He’s third all-time in the career wins list. It seems a tad bit too soon to elect him into the Hall of Fame, though. Like a good stew, you must let a coach’s legacy marinate a bit before looking at it.
If it’s too soon for Hitchcock, it’s far too soon to start talking about Joel Quenneville. He’s unquestionably a Hall of Fame coach. Quenneville is the best coach of the salary cap era and has three Stanley Cups on his resume. The question isn’t “if” he’ll get in. It’s “when” he’ll get in. Which is never easy to predict for coaches.
Vincent Lecavalier
Man, that 2003-04 Tampa Bay Lightning team was something else. There have been two straight Hall of Fame classes featuring a member of that team. While it’s an impressive streak, if I can help it, it’s over. Vincent Lecavalier‘s resume gets off to a great start with his 2006-07 Rocket Richard season. But other than that year, only finished in the top 10 in goals and/or points once (2007-08).