ROD BRIND’AMOUR
ELIGIBLE SINCE: 2013
THE CASE FOR: Everyone seems to agree that Marian Hossa is a HHOF shoo-in, based on his two-way play, Stanley Cup rings and 1,134 career points. If so, why isn’t Brind’Amour in the conversation? After all, Hossa never won a Selke Trophy as best defensive forward, while Brind’Amour has two. He also finished with more points than Hossa, with 1,184. And while Brind’Amour didn’t win three rings, he did get one, and he got to lift the Cup as team captain. None of that is to say that he was better than Hossa. But the gap isn’t as wide as some assume, and if one guy is an absolute lock, the other should at least be one the radar.
THE CASE AGAINST: Brind’Amour was never a first- or second-team all-star, and he only came close once. He never got serious Hart Trophy consideration, finishing in the top 10 just once. Like a lot of guys on the bubble, he’d feed into the “Hall of Very Good” criticism the HHOF often hears.
BOTTOM LINE: Brind’Amour’s probably not a Hall of Famer, and his odds of ever getting in seem remote. But given his career numbers and two-way play, it’s weird that his name almost never comes up at all. That may be changing, and maybe Hossa’s eventual coronation revives Brind’Amour’s candidacy in the same way guys like Eric Lindros and Peter Forsberg reopened the discussion for Kariya.