Down Goes Brown: Building an ultra-exclusive Hall of Fame, one player at a time

Today should be a big day in the hockey world. It was supposed to be induction night at the Hockey Hall of Fame, with Jarome Iginla, Marian Hossa, Doug Wilson, Kevin Lowe, Kim St-Pierre and Ken Holland getting their moment in the spotlight to receive the highest individual honor the sport has to offer.

Instead, nothing. Thanks to the pandemic, tonight’s induction ceremony has been postponed, and the class of 2020 will have to wait a year. As part of that delay, we also won’t be getting a class of 2021, as the Hall has decided to hold off on any new inductions until this year’s class has been recognized.

That was a strange decision, but it will probably be popular with a certain segment of fans. Whenever I write about the Hall of Fame, I hear from readers who insist that the whole thing should be far more exclusive. It’s not supposed to be an honor for very good players, they argue, or even great ones. Only the very best of the best should earn a spot. On the men’s side, at least, the typical three or four inductions a year is too many.

I don’t necessarily agree, but I’m willing to play along. So today, let’s take that concept to an extreme. What would the Hockey Hall of Fame look like if we could only induct one player each year?

Just one. That’s all we get. Each year, we recognize one and only one player from the men’s side. The best of the best, and everyone else has to wait.

A few ground rules:

• We’re not worried about builders or officials here. And the women have the opposite problem, with not enough representation, which is a topic for another column. Today, we’re only worried about paring down that list of men’s players that so many of you seem to think is inflated.
• The real-world Hall has always had a weird relationship with international players and stars from other leagues, often acting like a de facto NHL Hall of Fame while occasionally remembering that they’re supposed to be honoring stars from elsewhere. For our purposes today, we’re just looking for inductees based on what they did in the NHL. Apologies to Vaclav Nedomansky.
• Because our version of the Hall is so exclusive, nobody can be inducted until they made it into the real thing, even if they were eligible.

Can we do it? I don’t see why not. I’m not a small Hall guy, but even I can admit that there’s some room to trim. So let’s get to work and see where we end up. We’ll do this by decade, starting when Hall inductions became a regular thing.

The early years

The Hockey Hall of Fame’s first class came in 1945, but inductions were sporadic. The second class came in 1947, followed by 1949, 1951 and 1952. Then there was a six-year gap until a huge class of 1958, at which point new Hall classes finally became an annual event.

In theory, I could argue that our “one per year” limit means I should get 15 slots for those early years, or even more if we’re counting every NHL season. But honestly, I’m not even sure I want to, because a lot of those early names aren’t especially well-known today. Instead, I’ll give myself the same seven pre-1960 inductions that the real Hall had, covering off the very best of the best of the NHL’s early years.

A few picks are obvious. I’ll start with Howie Morenz, Newsy Lalonde, Phantom Joe Malone and Eddie Shore. I’ll also add Georges Vezina and King Clancy, which leaves me with one spot and more than a few worthy candidates. That list includes Hart Trophy winners Aurel Joliat and Nels Stewart, as well as Dit Clapper, Sprague Cleghorn, Cy Denneny and Frank Nighbor. It’s a tough call, but I’m going to give the last of our early spots to two-time MVP Nels Stewart, and work on the assumption that I’ll be able to sneak in some of the other names as we get into the 1960s.

1960s

The real class of 1960 was highlighted by Frank Boucher and Sylvio Mantha, two good players who’ll have to wait their turn behind some of the other names on our list. I’ll use my 1960 slot on Dit Clapper, a six-time all-star and two-time Hart finalist on the blue line, in part because it’s just such a great hockey name.

Our first sign of a problem comes with the class if 1961, which featured 11 players. We only get one, and it’s a pretty easy call, as we induct Rocket Richard. But that leaves out names like Syl Apps, George Hainsworth, Charlie Conacher and Milt Schmidt, so our backlog is already growing.

Things get even worse in 1962, which featured 26 player inductions. No, that’s not a typo. The Hall really announced 26 additions in one year, and while many of them were old-timers from the pre-NHL days, we do see some recognizable names like Sweeney Schriner and Punch Broadbent that we’ll have to think about.

They’ll have to wait as we work through our backlog by inducting three-time Vezina winner George Hainsworth in 1962 and five-time goals king Charlie Conacher in 1963. The class of 1964 offers up one must-have candidate in goalie Bill Durnan and we can find room for Milt Schmidt in 1965 at the expense of goaltending legend Clint Benedict.

There’s bad news for our backlog in 1966, as we run into three apparent slam dunks in the same real-world class: Ted Lindsay, Toe Blake and Teeder Kennedy. I’m going to cheat a little bit here, because we’re from the future and know that Blake is going to finish with eight Cups as a coach, more than enough to get him in as a builder. Instead, our 1966 slot goes to Ted Lindsay.

We have to use our next spot on the NHL’s first 300-game winner, Turk Broda; who retired in 1952 but somehow wasn’t inducted into the real HHOF until 1967. The 1968 class only had one player, Bill Cowley, so we can use that to dip into our waiting list for Ted Kennedy. And we’ll close out the decade with another sure thing in 1969 inductee Red Kelly.

One decade in, and while we’ve certainly had to squeeze out some big names, I don’t think we’re in bad shape. This might not be so bad!

1970s

We start a new decade with another thin real-world class, which means we can reach way back for our 1970 spot and induct Clint Benedict, followed by an easy one in 1971 with Terry Sawchuk.

And then we run into the class of 1972. Hoo boy.

Who would you induct first from the class of 1972, Jean Beliveau or Boom Boom Geoffrion? It’s a tough call, one that pits one of the sport’s most beloved superstars against one of its first 50-goal scorers and great characters. Who gets our 1972 slot? The answer: Neither of them, because we have to give this one to Gordie Howe, one of the few stars to get the “waive the waiting period” treatment from the real Hall. Yes, we know he’s going to make a comeback in a few years, but even I’m not crazy enough to pretend he doesn’t get inducted on Day 1, so he’s in.

We can get Jean Beliveau in 1973, even if it means that Doug Harvey has to wait a year until 1974. Add in Glenn Hall in 1975, and then we can finally get Boom Boom Geoffrion in 1976. But it all comes at a cost, because we’ve bumped out names like Dickie Moore, Johnny Bower, George Armstrong and Pierre Pilote. Here’s hoping we can find room in the coming years for at least a few of those guys.

It won’t be in 1977, which sees us induct Alex Delvecchio while moving Tim Horton to the waiting list. Then we close out the decade with two inductions we don’t even have to think about: Jacques Plante in 1978 and Bobby Orr in 1979. That leaves out Harry Howell and 11-time Cup winner Henri Richard, but here we are.

All told, the 1970s offered up far more worthy Hall of Famers than we had room for. There’s still hope for some of those recent cuts, although I’m not feeling much optimism for the guys who are still on the waiting list from the 1960s and earlier.

The 1980 class features two 330-game winners in Harry Lumley and Gump Worsley. Do we go with one of them, or reach back for a snub like Richard, Horton or Bower? I’m going to use this spot on Pierre Pilote, an eight-time all-star and winner of three straight Norris Trophies, and hope we can find a few more down years for the others.

We don’t get that chance in 1981, which brings us two sure things in Frank Mahovlich and Johnny Bucyk. We’ll induct both, although Bucyk has to wait for 1982, pushing aside Yvan Cournoyer. Then comes 1983, and it all falls apart, thanks to arguably the greatest three-player class ever: Bobby Hull, Ken Dryden and Stan Mikita. We’ll go with Bobby Hull, and the other two will have to keep waiting because Phil Esposito shows up in 1984 (as does Bernie Parent). We can get Stan Mikita in for 1985 — sorry, Jean Ratelle and Gerry Cheevers — and I think I have to go with Ken Dryden for 1986 even though that makes Dave Keon wait.

Our 1987 pick has to be Bobby Clarke, and then we have another three-headed monster when Guy Lafleur, Tony Esposito and Brad Park all show up in 1988. I’ll go with Brad Park, partly because we know Lafleur is making a comeback later that year. And we end with a 1989 class that features Darryl Sittler, who should be a slam dunk. Maybe he is, but for now we’ve made Tony Esposito and his 423 wins wait long enough.

We’ve made it to the end of another decade, and the lineup of worthy names is getting long — we’ve added Sittler, Keon, Cournoyer and Lafleur, among others. But I’m holding out hope, because a lot of the “bad” picks that fans complain about came in the 1990s, so maybe we’ll find some breathing room.

(Bruce Bennett Studios / Getty Images)

1990s

There’s no help early on, as we can’t deny Gilbert Perrault in 1990, and 1991 brings both Mike Bossy and Denis Potvin. I’ll go with Denis Potvin as our pick, but Bossy moves to the front of the line for the next opening. That doesn’t come in 1992, though, because Marcel Dionne takes that spot, which also bumps Lanny McDonald to the waiting list.

We get some room to work after that, as 1993 brings Billy Smith and Steve Shutt but no absolute sure things, and 1994 only inducts two players, neither of whom played past 1957. So let’s do some cleanup by inducting Guy Lafleur in 1993 and Mike Bossy in 1994.

We probably have to go with real-world inductees Larry Robinson in 1995 and Borje Salming in 1996, which brings us to another tough snub in 1997. Sorry, Bryan Trottier, your 1,425 points would be more than enough most years, but not when you’re up against Mario Lemieux. It’s a short wait, though, because we can get Bryan Trottier in for 1998, at the expense of Peter Stastny and Michel Goulet. And the decade ends with the easiest call of them all, as Wayne Gretzky becomes the last player to have his waiting period waived while entering the Hall in the single-player class of 1999.

We’ve still got two decades to go, and at this point I’ve pretty much given up on anyone who’s been on the waiting list very long. My Leafs fan genes are still holding out hope for Sittler, Horton and Keon, but most of the old-timers can probably just pack up and go home.

2000s

I get an opportunity to work on the backlog in 2000, thanks to a real world class that only featured Denis Savard and Joey Mullen. Both guys are worthy of consideration, but I’m going to take the opportunity to play my homer card and get Dave Keon into the Hall, roughly two decades after his career ended.

There’s no such luck in 2001, a real-world class that included Jari Kurri, Mike Gartner and Dale Hawerchuk. I’ll give the first spot to Jari Kurri, and we can make it work for Dale Hawerchuk too because 2002 is the much-maligned Bernie Federko/Rod Langway year. We run into a tough call in 2003, with Grant Fuhr and Pat LaFontaine showing up, but I’m not convinced either guy’s resume is more impressive than 708 goals, so I’ll use that spot on Mike Gartner.

The class of 2004 featured a trio of defensemen, and while I feel OK about temporarily setting Larry Murphy aside, I can’t skip the other two. So I’ll my 2004 spot on Ray Bourque, and then bump Cam Neely out of his 2005 class to induct Paul Coffey. The class of 2006 is a no-brainer, as Patrick Roy claims his spot.

That brings us to 2007, and if you’re a Hall of Fame junkie, you know where this is headed. The 2004-05 lockout created a pair of monster HHOF classes, one in 2007 (the stars who played their last game before the lockout) and another in 2009 (the ones who stuck around for one season after). Both are absolutely packed, and frankly it’s looking very grim for anyone on our backlog list right now, even as we’ve added big names like Fuhr, LaFontaine, Neely and Murphy.

So yeah, the class of 2007. In the real world, it was Mark Messier, Scott Stevens, Al MacInnis and Ron Francis. We’ll start by inducting Mark Messier, and a lackluster class of 2008 (only Glenn Anderson and Igor Larionov) gives us a chance to also induct Ron Francis. The two defensemen will have to wait, because 2009 brings Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille and Brian Leetch. I’ll keep the streak of centers going with Steve Yzerman, closing out what’s probably been our toughest decade yet.

(Jim McIsaac / Getty Images)

2010s

Remember that famous scene from “I Love Lucy” where she’s working the conveyor belt at the candy factory, and keep falling further and further behind? Let’s just say I’m feeling that right now. I’ve got about a half-dozen sure thing candidates from just the last few years, not to mention worthy ’70s guys like Sittler and Parent. I’m not even sure what to tell Dickie Moore or Sweeney Schriner right now. Sorry boys, the fans said they wanted an exclusive Hall, and we may have gone a little overboard.

The situation is so dire that I actually laughed out loud when I got to the real-world class of 2010, which is just one guy: Dino Ciccarelli. The fact that a 600-goal scorer isn’t even worth considering tells you all you need to know about where we’re at, as I use his spot to get Brett Hull into our Hall. The class of 2011 is stronger, with Doug Gilmour, Eddie Belfour, Joe Nieuwendyk and Mark Howe, but I’ll ask those guys to be patient while I give their spot to the third-highest scoring defenseman of all-time, Al MacInnis.

There’s no help coming in 2012, which brings four more worthy candidates in Joe Sakic, Pavel Bure, Adam Oates and Mats Sundin. All four deserve their spot, but only one is an absolute must-have, so let’s welcome Joe Sakic. The next year brings another slam dunk in Chris Chelios, which means we can add Brendan Shanahan and Scott Niedermayer to the waiting list. And things just fall completely off the rails over the next few years, as we have to induct Dominik Hasek in 2014 and Nicklas Lidstrom in 2015, adding names like Mike Modano, Peter Forsberg, Chris Pronger and Sergei Fedorov to the backlog.

You know, I’m starting to think that a “big Hall” approach may not be so bad.

I’m tempted to quit here, but with just five years left, we can soldier on. We’re so backed up that I don’t even consider Eric Lindros in 2016, and instead use his spot for Luc Robitaille, who’s only the NHL’s all-time leading scorer at his position. I can hold off on Mark Recchi, Dave Andreychuk and even Paul Kariya in 2017, but I can’t deny Teemu Selanne, so he’s in. And 2018 has to go to Martin Brodeur.

That brings us to last year’s class of 2019, which was mercifully light. The only NHL players it included were Guy Carbonneau, who doesn’t even get a spot in our waiting room, and Sergei Zubov, who probably should. Sorry, Stars fans, I know you spent years pushing for Zubov, but the backlog of blueliners is so bad that I don’t have room for Larry Murphy, Scott Stevens or Scott Niedermayer, and I didn’t even bother mentioning it when Phil Housley showed up a few years ago. Zubov is out, but as a peace offering to the Dallas hockey world, I’ll use his spot on Mike Modano.

And that brings us to this year. Kevin Lowe can’t get anywhere near our ultra-exclusive Hall, and neither can Doug Wilson. Marian Hossa might have a case, and Jarome Iginla definitely does. But I’m going to take one last swing at that waiting list and use our 2020 spot on Chris Pronger.

So how’d we do?

Carnage.

The real-world Hall of Fame has honored 282 male players (including a handful of international stars). Our one player-per-year criteria means we’ve narrowed that list down to just 68.

Among the biggest names who didn’t make the cut, we’ve got Jarome Iginla, Pavel Bure, Denis Savard, Peter Stastny, Darryl Sittler and Henri Richard up front, not to mention a trio of 1,400-point guys in Adam Oates, Doug Gilmour and Mark Recchi. Blue line snubs include Tim Horton, Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, Phil Housley, Brian Leetch and even Sprague Cleghorn. And we couldn’t find spots for goalies like Gump Worsley, Bernie Parent, Grant Fuhr or Johnny Bower.

Is this a good Hall of Fame? No! It very much is not. We were way too strict, and we’ve left out a ton of players who absolutely should be in. We’re not doing a good job of telling the sport’s story, because we’ve left out too much of the good stuff.

Is this a better Hall of Fame than the one we have today? That’s a tougher question, and one where I could at least imagine a few fans preferring our way-too-tough approach to one that lets in the occasional questionable candidate. I’m not a small Hall acolyte, so I don’t see it that way. To my mind, I can live with the occasional Kevin Lowe, Guy Carbonneau, Bernie Federko or Dino Ciccarelli if the alternative is keeping out worthy names. Of course, there’s a middle ground somewhere between the extremes. But finding it isn’t as easy as you might think.

OK, now it’s over to you. Which picks did I get wrong? Does even my ultra-exclusive Hall still include names you don’t think are worthy? Let me hear it in the comments, but with one rule: No yelling at me for leaving out your favorite player unless you tell me whose spot they should take.

Otherwise, if you want to let me have it, get in line. Let’s just say that after all that, I’m feeling pretty good about my ability to handle a waiting list.

(Photo: B Bennett / Getty Images)