The Hockey Hall of Fame officially welcomed its class of 2014 last night, adding 4 more players, a referee and a coach to the elite group.
Every year when this happens, the question arises as to who should or should not be included in future classes. And for Ottawa Senators fans, that question surrounds former captain Daniel Alfredsson.
Before he left, I did a post on another site, and asked the question as to whether or not Alfie should be in the Hall of Fame. Granted, it was probably a "homer" element to the vote but at that time 79% or respondents felt Alfredsson was Hall of Fame material. That was in 2011, now three years later and a change in teams has that opinion changed?
Lets look at the numbers. Alfredsson has 444 goals and 1157 points in his career. There are 64 players with more than 400 goals and 1000 points in the history of the game, and 42 of them are in the Hall, with another 10 who are not yet eligible. If you narrow it down even further and cut it off just below Alfredsson's numbers, there 39 eligible players who have 440 goals and 1150 points, and only 3 are not in the Hall - Dave Andreychuk, Pierre Turgeon and Bernie Nicholls.
Alfredsson has won a major trophy (Calder), as well as the King Clancy and was a 2nd team NHL All-Star once. He is missing the coveted Stanley Cup, although he led the playoffs in scoring the year the Sens made it to the finals. He does have Olympic Gold and Silver Medals as well as a four time medalist at the World Championships.
In this market we are probably slanted towards giving him the nod, but with higher scorers who do have Cups that haven't gotten the call, I don't think he is a slam dunk. I also think the fact that he didn't stay with the Senators through his entire career might play a role in the decision. If he was a career Senator it might have just made the difference on whether he gets in or is kept out.
On the positive side, he was the face of a franchise for so many years, and the fact that the expansion-era Senators do not have any representation in the Hall could sway some voters slightly in his favor.
WHAT ABOUT BRYAN?
A sentimental choice at this point in time would be the inclusion of Ottawa GM Bryan Murray in the Hall. Murray is in the top 10 in coaching wins all-time (620) and coached over 1200 games. Add to that his success as a GM in Detroit (the team he essentially built won 2 Stanley Cups shortly after he left), Florida (advancing to the Stanley Cup Final in its 2nd year.), Anaheim ( Stanley Cup 2 seasons after he departed).
He has shown the ability to be the architect of championship calibre teams, even if he hasn't been able to be around to see the job through and get his name on the Cup. He won a Jack Adams award (1984) as well as being named the NHL Executive of the Year (1996-FLA). His resume speaks for himself, and although there doesn't seem to really be a set criteria for the Builders category, a guy who has worked in the league as a coach or GM for more than 30 consecutive seasons.
Like Alfredsson, the lack of a Stanley Cup might hurt Murray's chances of getting the ultimate individual honor.
Thoughts?