DOUG WILSON
ELIGIBLE SINCE: 1996
THE CASE FOR: Here are the all-time scoring leaders among defensemen for five of the NHL’s Original Six teams: Ray Bourque, Nicklas Lidstrom, Borje Salming, Brian Leetch and Larry Robinson. Those aren’t just five Hall of Famers, they’re five no-questions-asked Hall of Famers. And yet here’s Wilson, who leads the Blackhawks’ all-time list by a mile, and his candidacy seems to be all but forgotten.
Wilson wasn’t just a guy who stuck around long enough to compile numbers without ever being truly great. He won a Norris Trophy and finished in the top four in voting four times. He was a three-time first- or second-team all-star. He finished in the top 10 in Hart Trophy voting twice, even though defensemen rarely get much MVP love. Most notably, he ranks 15th all-time in scoring among defensemen, and 13 of the 14 guys ahead of him are already in the Hall. Here’s a list of guys who won a Norris Trophy and rank in the all-time top 25 in defensemen scoring but aren’t in the Hall: Wilson. That’s it.
THE CASE AGAINST: Wilson’s offensive numbers are inflated because he played in the ’80s. After all, nobody is lobbying to get players like Gary Suter or Steve Duchesne into the Hall. Wilson’s individual honors give him a stronger case than those guys’, but after 21 years and counting, it’s clear the HHOF committee just isn’t interested.
BOTTOM LINE: While his long stint as Sharks GM might keep his name in the mind of committee members, enough time has passed that he’s clearly a long shot at this point. But there’s a surprisingly solid case for his inclusion.