Last night in Los Angeles the NHL revealed their carefully crafted list of the top 100 players of all time. According to Frank Seravali of TSN the list was chosen by:
The NHL’s Top 100 list was voted on by a panel of 58 last summer, including league executives, general managers and media members. The players were not ranked in any order – each vote was worth one point – which took some of the intrigue out of the night.
Noticeable by his absence was the captain of the Winnipeg Jets 1.0 Dale Hawerchuk who put up absolutely ridiculous numbers from 1981 until the end of the decade. Obviously his success continued past 1989 but the category he would have been selected under was the 1980s.
While there is no point getting worked up over this list it is difficult to understand how a player as accomplished as Ducky as he was known around these parts was left off the list. In fact just after the NHL list was revealed, Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun released his list of the top 100 Snubs:
When it comes to making the list of the Top 100 NHL players of all time, these are the five marquee names that make up The Snub Club.
Of all the omissions from the list, which was released Friday night as part of the league’s Centennial Anniversary celebrations, Pilote, Goulet, Hawerchuk, Lapointe and Malkin arguably are the most deserving to have been included.
Looking at just a few of Dale Hawerchuk’s accomplishments he had in his overall 16 year NHL career it is hard to understand how this Hall of Famer was left off the list:
-youngest player to 100 points (broken by Sidney Crosby);
-won Calder Trophy in 1982 finishing with 103 points in 80 games;
-Canada Cup champion in 87 & 91;
-World Championships bronze (82, 86) and silver (89);
-six 100 point seasons;
-five time All-star;
-finished career with 1409 points (518 goals & 891 assists) in 1188 games
-18th overall in NHL points and 8th overall in points per game average;
Again it isn’t worth losing any sleep over but how a player who like Hawerchuk who but not for the Gretzky led Oilers, would have likely led his Jets team to a Stanley Cup or two (or at least an appearance) in those high flying, firewagon hockey 1980s, gets left off this list I cannot understand.
Agree or disagree with me? Feel free to share your thoughts on the NHL list of Top 100 players and whether #10 should have made the cut.
