ESPN.com - GEN - Who should be in the NHL Hall of Fame?

 Thursday, July 27
From the mailbag
 
 ESPN.com

The Hall of Fame week continues with fan feedback. Here's what fans had to say on which players should be in the NHL Hall of Fame:

Bernie Federko should be included on your list. He played 14 seasons, in over 1000 games, scoring 369 goals with 761 assists. He holds numerous Blues individual records and was a heart and soul of a team that missed the playoffs only 3 times in his career. And his numbers only go up when you include his playoff stats.

Tyler Smith
St Louis


I feel the Hall has made good decisions regarding the inductees. The Gretzky's and Lemieux's are no brainer's and top players like John LeClair will have their day in the sun as well. But I think added consideration should also be given to players like Wendell Clark, and the top "muckers" of the game. It would give a new demension to the hall. They're the work horses of the game and I think would make a positive addition. Hockey has always been a game of who gave more "heart", and these guys gave it night in and night out.

Chris Tremblay
Mt. Holly, N.C.


I believe Vladimir Konstantinov belongs in the hall of fame. He was the heart of the Detroit defense that won the cup and a captain of the Red Army Team. Along with Fetisov, they were the best Russian defenseman to play in the NHL and proved to the NHL that Russian defensemen were tough enough to play in the league. He had was a great defensive defenseman and never let up when he took a shift on the ice.

Beth Wing
Lansing, Mich.


No question that Dale Hawerchuk should've made it this year! He's one of the best offensive player of all-time! I totally respect both Joe Mullen and Denis Savard, but Hawerchuk was better than them in almost every category. He scored more goals, more assists, and obviously more points than either Mullen or Savard while playing for a mediocre team in Winnipeg for most of his career. Yes, Mullen is the all-time scoring leader for an American player, and Savard was one of the most exciting player to watch during his prime, but Hawerchuk was just a little better!

Gary To
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan


What about Rogie Vachon? He the only goalie with 300 or more wins who's not in the Hall. Just because he was exiled to LA for the brighter years of his career is no reason he shouldn't be in.

Richard
NYC


Maybe I am a little biased in my opinion but I feel Cam Neely deserves to be in the Hall, but even more than him I think Rick Middleton deserves the honor sa well. He played in 1005 games scoring 448 goals and dishing out 540 assists giving him just under 1 point a game.

Brian Erba
Waltham, Mass.


Bernie Federko...enough said

John Dickerman
St. Louis, Mo.


The hall needs to pay more attention to defense. If it wasn't for guys like Jay Wells (I'm not saying he's hall material) the Rangers wouldn't have won the cup in 1994, and he played for 15 or 16 years. Same thing with Steve Larmer, great two way player. Pat Verbeek is a guy who should be considered later on as well because of his tenacity as a two-way player.

Adam Russo
Northampton, Mass.


Danny Gare - One of the best 2 way players I ever saw...5ft 9 in tall and would drop the gloves with much bigger men and take it to them, plus he could find the net with the best of them...Always had the C on his jersey for a reason...GM's and Coaches dream of players like this...his back problems limited his career...when healthy, he was a top 5 player who played until he dropped every night...a truely great player.

Mark Burr
Buffalo, N.Y.


There is one player I can think of who deserves to go into the hall, but probably won't make it: Dale Hunter. He has the prerequisite 1,000+ points, which is amazing considering how much time he spent in the penalty box. He is the only player to score 300+ goals, 1,000+ points, and get 3,000+ penalty minutes. Aside from the numbers, he is the type of player that any team in the NHL would have loved to have. He played with heart and emotion on every shift, even if it did get him in trouble on occassion. To me, he symbolizes everything that is great about hockey. I only hope the voters feel the same way.

Michael Linde
New York


 



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