The Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee meets on Monday to decide the honoured class of 2014.
Let's take a look at the first year eligible players:
Dominik Hasek
Peter Forsberg
Mike Modano
Mark Recchi
Chris Osgood
Doug Weight
Brian Rafalski
Owen Nolan
Pavol Dimetra
Sandis Ozolinsh
As seemingly always, that is quite the first year class in 2014. Hasek and Forsberg have to be considered locks, though if you think about it Forsberg's career is eerily similar to Eric Lindros'. If Lindros keeps waiting, maybe Forsberg should wait, too? Mike Modano is another serious contender in year one.
Mark Recchi is also a serious contender, though I must admit I'm far from convinced he should be included. I don't think he ever really the top player in his position, and often wasn't the top player on his own team.
Chris Osgood is an interesting case. His resume is pretty damn amazing, though he never really was recognized as one of the best players of his time. With the bar set very high for goaltenders (and appropriately so, I might add) Ozzie will likely never get in, but his championships and numbers are strong.
There is a lengthy list of holdovers who will also garner consideration, led strongly by Rob Blake who was overlooked in 2013. Others include the aforementioned Lindros, Dave Andreychuk, Theo Fleury, Paul Kariya, Phil Housley, John Leclair, Jeremy Roenick, Alexander Mogilny, Markus Naslund and my favorite, Sergei Makarov.
A maximum of four skaters can be inducted in any given year, so you can see the HHOF Selection Committee has some tough choices again this year. If I had a say I would put my voting support behind Hasek, Forsberg, Lindros and Modano.
Also I hope to see another female player inducted. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe Angela Ruggeiro is eligible this year. If so, she's an obvious shoo-in.
5 comments:
Osgood doesn't deserve to be in the Hall. The Hall is reserved for the best players of all time. Osgood was NEVER the best goalie in the league, in any single year he played. Osgood was not even the best goalie on his OWN team in a big chunk of his career. He played on a lot of very good teams, and was always a reliable, decent goalie.
Never a season of 40+ wins
Never a season over .920 save percentage
I'm really not sure why anyone thinks he belongs in the hall
demitra
hasek osgood rafalski and modano
go wings
Osgood was always underrated and just kept on winning. His numbers clearly show he belongs in the Hall. But he probably won't get in because people will continue to underrate just how valuable he was to all those championship teams.
You can't seriously be comparing Forsberg to Lindros??
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