ITS TIME FOR ERIC, QUINN
No Cups not a problem
Eric Lindros and the late Pat Quinn share one dubious distinction when it comes to their respective illustrious careers — neither won an NHL championship.
Of course, the last time we checked, the sport’s most sacred institution is not called the Stanley Cup Hall of Fame.
No, it’s the Hockey Hall of Fame, and because of that, it says here both men are worthy of induction when the Class of 2016 is announced on Monday.
Since becoming eligible in 2011, Lindros has been snubbed five consecutive times, partially because of the presence of a flood of marquee players who have deservedly found their way into enshrinement.
But there is no such excuse available this time around, given that the 2016 cache of candidates lacks any shoo-ins as in years past.
As of last year, Lindros was the only Hart Trophy winner (1995) eligible for the Hall who had yet to be inducted since Blackhawks goalie Al Rollins captured the award in 1954, some 62 years ago. In the process, he was dominant for almost a decade, recording 600 points in 431 games from 1992-99.
Quinn, meanwhile, may have never hoisted the Cup, but the fact that he led Canada to gold medals at both the Olympics and world junior championship speaks volumes to his coaching skills. So, too, does the fact that he ranks seventh all-time in NHL coaching wins with 684, only trailing Scotty Bowman, Joel Quenneville, Al Arbour, Ken Hitchcock, Lindy Ruff and Dick Irvin.
Those accomplishments should stamp his ticket into the builders category.
Dave Andreychuk, Alex Mogilny, Jeremy Roenick, Mark Recchi, Sergei Makarov, Curtis Joseph, Paul Kariya, Theo Fleury and Chris Osgood also will garner consideration.
Andreychuk is the NHL’s all-time leader in power play goals with 274 and is 14th in regular season goals scored with 640. Critics argue that he needed 1,639 games — sixth most in history — to accrue those numbers.
Mogilny averaged well over a point per outing in his NHL career, producing 1,032 in 990 games. His Russian world junior linemates, Sergei Fedorov and Pavel Bure, are both in the Hall.
Roenick was a nine-time all-star during his 20-season NHL career. He scored 513 goals and added 703 assists for 1,216 points in that span.
Recchi recorded 1,533 points in 1,652 career games. He was a three-time Stanley Cup winner and seven-time all-star.
Makarov’s career extends far deeper than just the 384 points he accrued in the NHL, a league he joined in the twilight of his career. The Soviet was a two-time Olympic gold medal winner; eight-time world champion; two-time world junior gold medallist; Canada Cup winner in 1981; and was elected to the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 2001.
Joseph’s 454 victories ranks fourth all-time among NHL goalies, while Osgood was a three-time Stanley Cup champion. Kariya accrued 989 points in 989 games while Fleury had 1,088 points in 1,084 games.