Doug Gilmour leads the 2011 Hockey Hall of Fame class that features Mark Howe, Ed Belfour, Joe Nieuwendyk. Congrats to all of them even though two of the members are lucky they have cup rings (99 Stars). Gilmour played on the Sabres for a short period of time at the end of his carrier but did nothing like what he did in Toronto and Calgary. I know next year it will be tough because guys like Joe Sakick and Jermey Roenick are eligible and also guys like Dave Andreychuk, Pavel Bure and the late Pat Quinn who are not in.
Honestly, I think only Mark Howe deserves to be considered a HoF player, an immortal. The rest were merely good for certain seasons, Howe was the only consistent high-stakes player - as can be attested by his numerous making of season's end All Star teams, both in the NHL (2) and WHA (3).
ReplyDeleteNext season, Sakic's a shoe-in, and I think Bure and Pat Burns should get their belated induction. Maybe Roenick too, but it wouldn't hurt his ego to wait a year.