Longevity vs. peak: The Hockey Hall of Fame debate, and 5 players who define it

What kind of Hall-of-Fame fan are you?

With the HHOF committee meeting tomorrow to pick the class of 2025, and a stellar crop of first-time candidates added to some impressive holdovers, it’s time to have the Hall debate. After all, half the point of a sport having a highest honor is for fans to argue over who deserves it and who falls just short.

When we talk about which kind of Hall a fan wants, we usually default to the old “small hall” debate, which basically amounts to just how high you want to set the bar, and inevitably ends with a fight over Bernie Federko. But there’s another way to look at it, and it’s the one we’ll focus on today: Which matters more, a player’s short-term peak or their long-term consistency?

Obviously, the ideal answer is “both”. But the players who are truly great for an extended period aren’t the ones we typically argue over. Joe Thornton and Zdeno Chara both had MVP/Norris peaks to go with long careers of sustained excellence. Both are also getting in on the first ballot, so there's no debate to be had. It's the fringe cases that usually force us to pick one side or the other. So, who you got?

Let’s look at this as a sliding scale, with five stops along the way.

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What your favorite UFA is up to right now, some Canadian pride, and more: Grab Bag

We’re just days away from free agency. Do you know what your favorite pending UFA is up to right now? My spies have been busy finding out, and reported back with this list of what a dozen of the biggest names on our UFA board are focused on right now.

Mitch Marner – Preparing his list of key questions to ask potential teams, including “You’re not the Leafs, right?”, and “No but seriously, you’re not the Leafs?” and “Actually no I don’t have any other questions for you, but since we’re on the subject, are you positive you’re not the Leafs?”

Nikolaj Ehlers – Exactly what every Canadian fan thinks pending UFAs are doing these days: Repeatedly googling state tax rates a dozen times a day.

Jake Allen – Building a new addition onto his house every time an Oilers fan gets around to looking up what this summer’s free agent goalie crop looks like.

Jonathan Toews – Saying “Oh absolutely, it’s always been my dream to play for my hometown team in Winnipeg” to a delighted Kevin Cheveldayoff before covering the phone and giggling into his Colorado Avalanche jersey.

Brad Marchand – Signing autographs, shaking hands, building nests, chewing through wires, damaging crops, spreading disease, miscellaneous scurrying.

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A history of the award for biggest playoff loser, which does not exist but should

We like to make up awards around here. Over the years, we’ve introduced the Carson (for best sophomore season), the Bourque (for best final season), and of course the Conned Smythe (for making the trade that decided a championship). Is it kind of dumb? Sure, but no dumber than the Mark Messier Leadership Award, so off we go.

This time around, I want to introduce a team award, which will be presented to the NHL team that has the worst and most painful playoff performance in any given year.

In theory, that would mean a first-round exit, preferably in as few games as possible. But it’s not just about whoever had the shortest run, because not all sweeps are created equal. We’re looking past the cold hard numbers here, and instead trying to find the true pain. And often, that means getting a team’s hopes up before crushing them. In theory, you could even win a round or two before crashing and burning in such spectacular fashion that you never want to speak of it again.

Expectations matter. Opponents matter. And of course, there’s plenty of room for artistic impression. We can even use the benefit of hindsight to find the especially painful special circumstances. The point is that anyone can lose, and 15 teams do every year. But which losses really leave a mark? Which ones brutalize a fan base, scarring them for generations?

This sounds fun.

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Where do the Oilers and Panthers rank among the greatest repeat Cup final matchups?

Are you enjoying the rematch between the Panthers and Oilers? I’m guessing you are, since it’s already getting some buzz as the one of the greatest finals of the cap era. This comes one year after our own Chris Jonhnston ranked the 2024 edition as the best final of the era before it was even over.

So yeah, it’s far to say these two teams work well together. Sometimes, with the right matchup, that just happens. Where it’s Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese, or Bret Hart and Steve Austin, some pairings just make magic together. And that can be true even if it takes a little while to get them back together.

As luck would have it, the Oilers and Panthers are the tenth time that the same two teams have met in multiple Stanley Cup finals since the start of the expansion era in 1968. So today, let’s put together a ranking of all ten of those pairings, from worst to best, based on how entertaining the resulting series were.

The Panthers and Oilers are at a disadvantage here, since their second series hasn’t ended yet. But I’m guessing they’re still going to rank pretty high, and might even end up taking the crown. Let’s find out…

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How well do you know your Cup-winning goalies? Take the Who Didn’t He Play For quiz

In the Stanley Cup playoffs, it’s all about the goalies. The team that gets the better goaltending always wins, except for the times that they don’t, but it’s always better to have a big-name star, unless it’s one of those years where the winning team can just throw anyone back there. Glad we cleared all that up. Let’s do a quiz.

I’ll give you 16 goaltenders who have their name on the Stanley Cup, plus four teams for each. You tell me which one of those teams that goalie never played a game for. Nice and simple. I’m sure you’ll do great.

Complete the quiz below, then scroll back up to see how you did using this handy scoring chart:

16 correct: You are Ken Dryden, and can basically win the Cup whenever you feel like it.

12-15 correct: You are Patrick Roy, owner of multiple Conn Smythe trophies.

8-11 correct: You’re Jonathan Quick, saving your best for when it’s needed.

4-7 correct: You’re Henrik Lundqvist; you had your moments, but couldn’t get a ring.

1-3 correct: You’re Playoff Freddie Andersen. Hey, it could always be worse.

0 correct: You’re Connor Hellebuyck on the road.

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