|
Modano will have no trouble getting in, and I agree he deserves to be there, but if you go by the numbers rather than by reputation I think he's a lot closer to the borderline than most people believe.
Statistically, Modano was never at the level of guys like Yzerman, Sakic, or Hull. He might have had a similar level of fame, but he was never as good as those guys. I'd also argue that, of the additional players you noted in the blog as comparables (Shanahan, Robitaille, Francis, Hawerchuk, Nieuwendyk, Sundin), if you look at what each player was able to accomplish in his career statistically while controlling for things like scoring era and career length, the only player I think Modano clearly and easily beats on the numbers is Nieuwendyk (who in my opinion is a poor Hall choice), with Shanahan, Hawerchuk, and Francis being more arguable either way.
Production-wise, the closest contemporary comparable to Modano is probably Daniel Alfredsson (Alfredsson career: .36 goals, .57 assists per game; Modano career .37, .54 -- and both guys were well regarded for two-way play). Based purely on their respective absolute peaks I'm not sure I wouldn't take Alfredsson first -- though Modano likely more than makes up the gap in the long run thanks to being a center and having a longer prime (Alfredsson was a bit of a late bloomer).
Again, I'm not saying Modano shouldn't be in. I think his numbers at least make the minimum Hall-worthy standard, and combined with his defensive play I think he is a fine candidate for induction.
But if Modano hadn't been such a beloved, popular, respected player in his heyday, I think his candidacy would be a lot more publicly contentious. I mean, there was a noticeable amount of resistance from some hockey circles to Sundin getting in, and I'm quite confident that Sundin was a better hockey player than Modano. And I'm sure you can imagine the kind of resistance there will be when Alfredsson becomes eligible. |
