JOHN LECLAIR
ELIGIBLE SINCE: 2010
THE CASE FOR: If you view Tkachuk as a guy who was good for a long time but never truly great, LeClair represents the other side of the coin. He didn’t hit the milestones you expect from a scorer in a HHOF conversation – he didn’t come all that close to 500 goals or 1,000 points. But when he was at his best, he may have been the top left winger in the league.
He was a first-team all-star twice and made the second team three times. Those five total selections match Kariya, which is fitting since the two players’ peak years overlap. LeClair hit 50 goals three times and 40 twice more, plus he had another dominant year in the lockoutshortened 1994-95 season. In fact, between 1994 and 2000, he finished just one goal behind Jaromir Jagr for the league lead. Granted, that’s getting a little clever with arbitrary end points, but it drives the point home that for an extended period, LeClair was one of the very best goal scorers in the league, period.
THE CASE AGAINST: He just didn’t do it long enough. Injuries cost him most of his 2000-01 season, and he was never really the same after that. If your best HHOF argument is that you scored goals, you’re going to need more than 406 to get in.
BOTTOM LINE: The Hall has already inducted guys whose careers were derailed by injuries, including Kariya, Pavel Bure and Cam Neely (a guy LeClair ended up outscoring). If you’re someone who feels that a player’s peak performance should count for more than his long-term totals, LeClair should at least be in the discussion.