The Hockey Hall of Fame recently announced its class for 2024 with the 18-member selection committee voting in five players—Pavel Datsyuk, Shea Weber, Jeremy Roenick, Natalie Darwitz, and Krissy Wendell-Pohl—and two builders, David Poile and Colin Campbell. Roenick’s election brought an end to a lengthy debate about his candidacy as he finally earned the call in his 13th appearance on the ballot. A flashy player on the ice and an outspoken one off it, Roenick has drawn controversy over the years, something that likely delayed his election.
Earlier this year in March, I ran a Hockey Hall of Fame-themed poll that included Roenick. For the poll, I asked: Which of these 500-goal scorers most deserves to be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame? The four options for this poll were the aforementioned Roenick, Peter Bondra, Keith Tkachuk, and Pat Verbeek.
Roenick
played as a center for 20 NHL seasons, racking up 513 goals, 703
assists, and 1,216 points across 1,363 games. He took the ice for five
different franchises, spending his peak years with the Chicago
Blackhawks, for whom he posted back-to-back 50-goal seasons and three
consecutive 100-point campaigns during the early 1990s. In addition to
his goal-scoring ability, Roenick backed up his brashness by bringing a
physical style to the rink. At the time I ran the poll, Roenick’s 1,216
points led all eligible candidates who had yet to be voted into the
Hall of Fame.
Peter Bondra suited up for 1,081 NHL games across 16 seasons, scoring 503 goals, and assisting on 389 others for 892 total points. A right wing, he spent the majority of his career with the Washington Capitals before bouncing to three other teams during his final two campaigns. Bondra played with a much less physical style than Roenick but was known as one of the game’s fastest skaters. Bondra reached the 50-goal plateau on two occasions and also led the NHL in the category twice.
Keith
Tkachuk split his 18-year NHL career almost evenly between the Winnipeg
Jets/Phoenix Coyotes franchise and the St. Louis Blues while also
briefly playing with the Atlanta Thrashers. Tkachuk and Roenick spent a
handful of seasons together in Phoenix with each bringing a similar
hard-hitting style to the ice. Like Roenick and Bondra, Tkachuk
registered a pair of 50-goal efforts, in his case pacing the NHL with 52
in 1996-97. A left wing, he retired with 538 goals, 527 assists, and
1,065 points in 1,201 games. Never one to shy away from contact, he
accumulated 2,219 penalty minutes and is one of only three players to
chalk up both 500 goals and 2,000 penalty minutes. On the international
stage, Tkachuk helped Team USA win the 1996 World Cup of Hockey,
scoring five goals in seven contests.
Pat Verbeek spent 20 seasons in the NHL, taking the ice for a handful of clubs as a right wing. He notched 522 goals, 540 assists, and 1,062 points across 1,424 games. An even feistier player than Tkachuk, Verbeek amassed a staggering 2,905 penalty minutes over his career—416 more than the next closest 500-goal scorer, Brendan Shanahan. Verbeek racked up those penalty minutes despite standing just 5’9”—a half foot shorter than Shanahan and five inches in arrears to Tkachuk. Though Verbeek never produced a 50-goal campaign, he managed to eclipse the 40-goal mark on four occasions. The only one of the four poll choices to hoist the Stanley Cup, Verbeek achieved the honor as part of the 1998-99 Dallas Stars. Roenick and Bondra each played on teams that made it to the Stanley Cup Final but came up short, while Tkachuk only advanced as far as the Conference Final. Verbeek also was part of the Team Canada club that won gold in the 1994 Men’s Ice Hockey World Championships. The most senior of the 500-goal candidates, Verbeek has been eligible for the Hall of Fame since the mid-2000s.
The results of the poll foreshadowed June’s Hall of Fame election with Roenick topping his three peers with over half of the vote at 53.8%. Tkachuk finished a distant runner-up at 22.6% while Bondra slotted third with 13.4% and Verbeek brought up the rear at 10.3%. I agreed with the results of the poll as I viewed Roenick as the most deserving of the four but figured Tkachuk would pose more of a challenge because I felt his career accomplishments were just a tick below his former teammate’s. While I saw eye-to-eye with voters on the top two finishers of the poll, I have Verbeek ranked third as I feel the physical aspect he brought to the game puts him ahead of Bondra. If anything, Verbeek should be in the Hall of Fame solely for earning the all-time great nickname of “Little Ball of Hate.”
However, as
Roenick gained his long-awaited entry into the Hall of Fame, the number
of eligible 500-goal scorers sitting outside the institution’s doors
remained at four as Patrick Marleau failed to be voted in on his first
ballot. Marleau’s falling short in his initial appearance was not a
stunning development because his 23-year NHL career, while impressive,
rarely exhibited moments of true dominance that would make him an
indisputable first-ballot selection. Yet, with 566 goals and 1,197
points to his name, it is doubtful he will have to suffer through a
13-year wait before earning the call like Roenick did. Although I do
not consider myself a Hockey Hall of Fame expert, I view the 500-goal
milestone as a similar accomplishment to reaching the 500-home run mark
in baseball. Barring an extreme on or off-ice controversy, I believe
amassing 500 goals should eventually earn a player Hall of Fame
immortality as achieving the milestone is a testament to both the
player’s longevity and their excellence.
In
May, I ran a similarly themed poll, this time focusing on four players
who retired close to the 500-goal mark but have yet to be voted into the
Hall of Fame. I listed my four poll choices with the lead-in of: During
their careers, Brian Bellows, Rod Brind’Amour, Alexander Mogilny, and
Bernie Nicholls scored between 452 to 485 goals but are considered to be
long shots to make the Hall of Fame. That said, which of these four
players do you consider closest to being Hall of Fame-worthy?
Ending
his 17-year NHL career just shy of the 500-goal milestone, Brian
Bellows racked up 485 tallies across 1,188 games as a left wing. He
also accrued 537 assists for 1,022 total points. Bellows spent the
majority of his career with the Minnesota North Stars for whom he posted
a career-high 55 goals during the 1989-90 campaign. Out of the eight
players featured in the two polls, Bellows is the only one to take the
ice in three Stanley Cup Finals, making his respective appearances with
the 1990-91 North Stars, 1992-93 Montreal Canadiens, and 1997-98
Washington Capitals. Bellows raised the Cup once, going all the way
with the Canadiens.
Rod Brind’Amour played in the NHL for 20 years as a center, recording 452 goals, 732 assists, and 1,184 points over 1,484 games. Brind’Amour spent his first two seasons with the St. Louis Blues before essentially splitting the remainder of his career between the Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes. Never known as a ubiquitous goal-scorer, he topped out with 37 tallies for the 1992-93 Flyers. However, he was recognized for his solid play on both ends of the rink as he earned back-to-back Frank J. Selke Awards as the NHL’s best defensive forward in 2005-06 and 2006-07 for Carolina. Brind’Amour appeared in two Stanley Cup Finals with the Hurricanes, falling short in 2002 before winning it all as the captain of the team in 2006. He was also a member of Canada’s gold medal-winning club in the 1994 Men’s Ice Hockey World Championships. After hanging up his skates, Brind’Amour embarked on a successful post-playing career with the Hurricanes, taking over the team’s coaching reigns for the 2016-17 campaign. In each of Brind’Amour’s six seasons at the helm, Carolina has achieved winning records and reached the playoffs. In 2020-21, he earned the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s coach of the year.
The Russian-born Alexander
Mogilny began his NHL career in unique fashion, when at age 20, he
became the first player to defect from the Soviet Union to play in North
America. Already an established force on the international stage,
Mogilny’s defection occurred after having won gold medals with the
Soviet team in both the 1988 Winter Olympics and 1989 Ice Hockey World
Championships. Lining up at right wing, he spent his initial six NHL
seasons with the Buffalo Sabres for whom he attained career-best figures
during the 1992-1993 campaign, scoring an eye-popping 76 goals and 127
points. Mogilny’s 76 tallies tied Teemu Selänne for the NHL lead that
year and still ranks fifth-highest all-time for a single season. He
reached the 50-goal and 100-point plateaus for a second time during the
1995-96 campaign, registering a 55-107 combo for the Vancouver Canucks. In 2000, he helped the New Jersey Devils capture the Stanley Cup,
having been acquired a few months earlier at the trade deadline. By
earning the right to raise the Stanley Cup, he became part of a select
group of players in the Triple Gold Club who have won the Stanley Cup
while also securing gold medals in both Olympic and World Championship
play. Mogilny put together a 43-goal effort in 2000-01 to help New
Jersey return to the Stanley Cup Final where the club was narrowly
defeated by the Colorado Avalanche in a thrilling seven-game series. The 2002-03 campaign saw him notch 33 goals for the Toronto Maple Leafs
and be recognized for his sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct as the
recipient of the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy. Mogilny finished his NHL
career with 473 goals, 559 assists, and 1,032 points. He often battled
injuries over that stretch, limiting him to 990 games across 16 seasons. Nevertheless, when on the ice, he was one of the sport’s most
productive players, averaging over a point per game during his career.
The sharp-shooting Bernie Nicholls terrorized opposing netminders as a center for 18 NHL seasons, amassing 475 goals, 734 assists, and 1,209 points in 1,127 games. Like Mogilny, he averaged over a point per game during his career and boasts a 70-goal/150-point campaign among his accomplishments, having achieved the feat for the Los Angeles Kings during the 1988-89 season. Nicholls’ 70 tallies ranks him in a three-way tie with Mario Lemieux and Brett Hull for the 12th-highest single-season total while his 150 points slots 17th all-time. Nicholls also reached the 100-point plateau for the Kings in 1984-85 and in 1989-90 when he was traded from Los Angeles to the New York Rangers during the middle of the campaign. In addition to the Kings and Rangers, he took the ice for four other franchises during his career. Yet, despite producing playoff totals that rivaled his regular season numbers, he was never able to reach the Stanley Cup Final as the furthest his teams were able to advance was the Conference Final on three occasions. However, with Roenick’s election, Nicholls’ 1,209 points stands as the highest total for any eligible player who has yet to be voted into the Hall of Fame.
The results of this poll unfolded in a similar fashion to my previous one, as Mogilny easily garnered the most support, racking up more than half the vote with his 55.6% total being slightly greater than the 53.8% Roenick accrued in March. Like Roenick, Mogilny drew more than double the votes of his nearest challenger, making me wonder who would’ve won had I included them both on the same poll. Brind’Amour comfortably finished in the runner-up spot with his 27.3% showing checking in well ahead of Nicholls’ 13.6% while Bellows slotted a distant fourth, collecting a paltry 3.5%. I was not surprised at Mogilny winning the poll but I did not figure he would run away from the pack so easily as I believed no one player would dominate the voting. Mogilny’s pioneer status as the first Soviet player to defect to North America certainly adds a unique aspect to his Hall of Fame candidacy. His case is further strengthened by his distinction of being a member of the Triple Gold Club. Based on those two factors, he probably is the most worthy of the four. I believe he will rightfully find his way into the Hall of Fame in the future. That said, I feel the longevity of Brind’Amour’s playing career rivaled what Mogilny was able to accomplish in a shorter career. Staying in the public eye as a successful coach will only help Brind’Amour with the electorate. Nicholls arguably put together the best peak of the four but never playing in the Stanley Cup Final undoubtedly hurts his case. Bellows lacks both the peak of Mogilny and Nicholls and the strong all-around play of Brind’Amour. Thus, I can see why he finished fourth in this poll, though I don’t feel he is quite as far behind the others as the results would suggest.
I
would not have a problem with any of the eight players from the two
polls being voted into the Hall of Fame. I realize the electorate has
to draw the line somewhere but I will not begrudge any of these players a
Hall of Fame plaque should they earn the call in the future.
----by John Tuberty
Follow me on Twitter/X @BloggerTubbs
Stat
links to main players mentioned: Jeremy Roenick, Peter Bondra, Keith Tkachuk, Pat Verbeek, Brian Bellows, Rod Brind’Amour, Alexander Mogilny,
Bernie Nicholls, Pavel Datsyuk, Shea Weber, Brendan Shanahan, Patrick Marleau, Teemu Selänne, Mario Lemieux, Brett Hull
Sources:
Cards:
Jeremy Roenick 2023-24 Upper Deck UD Canvas, Jeremy Roenick 1999-00 Pacific
Omega, Peter Bondra 1992-93 Pinnacle Canadian, Keith Tkachuk 1995-96
Donruss, Pat Verbeek 1998-99 Pacific, Jeremy Roenick 1992-93 Fleer
Ultra, Brian Bellows 1992-93 Fleer Ultra, Rod Brind’Amour 2003-04
Pacific, Alexander Mogilny 1994-95 Fleer Ultra, Bernie Nicholls 1986-87
Topps, Alexander Mogilny 1992-93 Fleer Ultra
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