NHL mailbag: Hockey Hall of Fame leftovers, Stanley Cup Playoffs, draft

Questions about the Hockey Hall of Fame, Stanley Cup Playoffs, and more in our NHL mailbag!

It’s exciting to finally be talking about hockey again. The NHL’s plan to return is coming into fruition and fans will hopefully be able to see hockey by the start of August. We haven’t had a mailbag post in a while, but with so much going on, now’s the perfect time to have one!

This week’s mailbag features a variety of topics. There are questions about the Hall of Fame, the Stanley Cup Playoffs, free agency, the NHL draft, and more. To submit a question to a future mailbag and to stay updated with the latest hockey news, give us a follow on Twitter at @Puck_Prose! So without further ado, let’s get to it!

Is Kevin Lowe now the worst NHL player in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

That’s a very tough question. There are a lot of players who played before the modern era and because I don’t think it’s fair to compare the pre-modern era to the modern era, let’s only look at players from the modern era (post-1967).

Lowe is already in the sub-50th percentile as far as point shares since the start of the 1967-68 season. Take away the players who started their careers before then and the players who did things internationally (namely Vaclav Nedomanksy) and he slips even further down the list. Ultimately, it comes down to either Lowe or Guy Carbonneau.

Now, Carbonneau was a forward who didn’t score that much. However, he can at least point to his multiple Selke Trophies. Lowe was never a serious Norris Trophy candidate. And it’s not like defensive defensemen weren’t considered for the Norris when Lowe played. Rod Langway of the Washington Capitals won multiple Norris Trophies in the 1980s.

I’ve seen you talk a lot about the Hockey Hall of Fame on Twitter. What would you do to change the issues you have with it if you had free reign?

My primary issue with the Hockey Hall of Fame is it doesn’t celebrate hockey players as much as it celebrates NHL players. I don’t know how to change that other than give things like international success and impact off the ice more weight.

Another issue I have is the current logjam of candidates. Only four men’s players can get in per year and there are way more than four deserving candidates right now. I’d say there are roughly 10 and that number seems to keep growing each year. To fix that, I’d increase the maximum number of men’s players each year to six until the list is a little less crowded.

Lastly, I’d put more goalies, Theoren Fleury, Boris Mikhailov, and Alexander Mogilny in the Hall of Fame. And I’d waive the three year waiting period for Jaromir Jagr because let’s not kid ourselves, he won’t ever retire. Hey, you said I had free reign!