What Does It Take To Be A Hall Of Famer?

Looking at the Hockey Hall of Fame eligibility list, there's a lot of great players with solid numbers and hardware that could be elected every year. Unfortunately they all can't go in as only a maximum of four male players can go into the Hall in a single year. With so many great players becoming eligible every passing year these Hall of Fame conversations are getting tougher and tougher. So what does it take to get into the Hall of Fame these days? While there is no perfect formula for predicting who the Selection Committee might be electing to the Hall, it can be presumed that greater weight is given to a players individual achievements such as goals/points/awards, and then to team achievements such as Stanley Cups or Olympic gold medals/Canada Cup titles/IIHF World Championship gold medals. With this in mind, I set out to find the average stats/awards/championships of Hockey Hall of Famers who began their playing careers in the Modern Era (1967-present) to see who belongs in their company. 

The first table below will look at Hall of Fame inducted forwards who began their careers in 1967 or later. Gold medals include Canada Cup titles, World Cup of Hockey titles, Olympic games, and men's senior World Championships. For awards, since the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy was introduced in 98-99, if a player led the NHL in goal scoring before its inception then they were credited with having won that trophy.

PLAYER	FROM	TO	GP	G	A	PTS	CUPS	GOLDS	AWARDS
Wayne Gretzky*	1980	1999	1487	894	1963	2857	4	3	36
Mark Messier*	1980	2004	1756	694	1193	1887	6	3	5
Ron Francis*	1982	2004	1731	549	1249	1798	2	0	5
Marcel Dionne*	1972	1989	1348	731	1040	1771	0	1	5
Steve Yzerman*	1984	2006	1514	692	1063	1755	3	2	4
Mario Lemieux*	1985	2006	915	690	1033	1723	2	3	20
Bryan Trottier*	1976	1994	1279	524	901	1425	6	0	5
Doug Gilmour*	1984	2003	1474	450	964	1414	1	1	1
Dale Hawerchuk*	1982	1997	1188	518	891	1409	0	2	1
Jari Kurri*	1981	1998	1251	601	797	1398	5	0	2
Luc Robitaille*	1987	2006	1431	668	726	1394	1	1	1
Brett Hull*	1987	2006	1269	741	650	1391	2	1	6
Guy Lafleur*	1972	1991	1126	560	793	1353	5	1	10
Denis Savard*	1981	1997	1196	473	865	1338	1	0	0
Mike Gartner*	1980	1998	1432	708	627	1335	0	2	0
Gilbert Perreault*	1971	1987	1191	512	814	1326	0	2	2
Peter Stastny*	1981	1995	977	450	789	1239	0	3	1
Bobby Clarke*	1970	1984	1144	358	852	1210	2	2	6
Dino Ciccarelli*	1981	1999	1232	608	592	1200	0	0	0
Michel Goulet*	1980	1994	1089	548	604	1152	0	2	0
Bernie Federko*	1977	1990	1000	369	761	1130	0	0	0
Mike Bossy*	1978	1987	752	573	553	1126	4	1	7
Joe Nieuwendyk*	1987	2007	1257	564	562	1126	3	1	3
Darryl Sittler*	1971	1985	1096	484	637	1121	0	1	0
Glenn Anderson*	1981	1996	1129	498	601	1099	6	2	0
Joe Mullen*	1982	1997	1062	502	561	1063	3	0	2
Pat LaFontaine*	1984	1998	865	468	545	1013	0	1	1
Lanny McDonald*	1974	1989	1111	500	506	1006	1	1	2
Bill Barber*	1973	1984	903	420	463	883	2	1	0
Jacques Lemaire*	1968	1979	853	366	469	835	8	0	0
Steve Shutt*	1973	1985	930	424	393	817	5	1	1
Clark Gillies*	1975	1988	958	319	378	697	4	0	0
Cam Neely*	1984	1996	726	395	299	694	0	0	1
Igor Larionov*	1990	2004	921	169	475	644	3	7	0
Bob Gainey*	1974	1989	1160	239	262	501	5	1	5
(# OF PLAYERS = 35)	AVERAGES =		1164	522	739	1261	2	1	4
			GP	G	A	PTS	CUPS	GOLDS	AWARDS

• Average stat line for HHOF forwards during this period is 522 goals and 1261 points. 
• Inducted players won an average of two Stanley Cups, 1 gold medal, and 4 individual awards. 
• Only two players (Bernie Federko and Dino Ciccarelli) failed to win a Cup, gold medal, or individual award, but both had impressive scoring to back up their inductions. 
• The fewest NHL games played by a forward inductee in this time period is Cam Neely with 726 games played. Neely battled knee and hip injuries and was forced to retire far too early.
• 11 of the 35 players failed to capture an individual award, but they did capture a combined 24 Stanley Cups and 15 gold medals. 

From these numbers, one can assume that you need to have a solid combination of stats/championships/award wins for induction, and if you don't have many championships/awards, you better be among the all-time leaders in scoring to have your name mentioned among the best.

Now lets take a look at the HHOF defenceman from this time period:

PLAYER	FROM	TO	GP	G	A	PTS	CUPS	GOLDS	AWARDS
Raymond Bourque*	1980	2001	1612	410	1169	1579	1	2	7
Paul Coffey*	1981	2001	1409	396	1135	1531	4	3	3
Al MacInnis*	1982	2004	1416	340	934	1274	1	2	2
Larry Murphy*	1981	2001	1615	287	929	1216	4	2	0
Denis Potvin*	1974	1988	1060	310	742	1052	4	1	4
Brian Leetch*	1988	2006	1205	247	781	1028	1	1	4
Larry Robinson*	1973	1992	1384	208	750	958	6	2	3
Bobby Orr*	1967	1979	657	270	645	915	2	1	17
Scott Stevens*	1983	2004	1635	196	712	908	3	1	1
Brad Park*	1969	1985	1113	213	683	896	0	1	1
Borje Salming*	1974	1990	1148	150	637	787	0	0	0
Mark Howe*	1980	1995	929	197	545	742	0	0	0
Guy Lapointe*	1969	1984	884	171	451	622	6	2	0
Serge Savard*	1967	1983	1040	106	333	439	7	2	2
Rod Langway*	1979	1993	994	51	278	329	1	0	2
Viacheslav Fetisov*	1990	1998	546	36	192	228	2	10	0
(# OF PLAYERS = 16)	AVERAGES =		1165	224	682	907	3	2	3
			GP	G	A	PTS	CUPS	GOLDS	AWARDS

• Average stat line for HHOF defencemen in this period is 224 goals and 907 points.
• Defensive inductees won an average of 3 Stanley Cups, 2 gold medals, and 3 individual awards.
• Only two defencemen (Borje Salming and Mark Howe) failed to win a Cup, medal, or award, but had strong numbers for their careers.
• Lowest point total belongs to Slava Fetisov who joined the NHL when he was 31, but still won 2 Stanley Cups and 10 gold medals.
• Of the 16 defenceman, 10 won a Norris Trophy, a good indicator for election.

It's fairly easy to see why these defencemen are in the HHOF, as even Salming and Howe have strong numbers despite not winning anything. Anything around those averages should get you in the conversation for the Hall. 

Now let's look at the six HHOF goalies from this era:

PLAYER	FROM	TO	GP	W	L	T/O	SO	CUPS	GOLDS	AWARDS
Patrick Roy*	1985	2003	1029	551	315	131	66	4	0	11
Ed Belfour*	1989	2007	963	484	320	125	76	1	2	7
Tony Esposito*	1969	1984	886	423	306	151	76	1	1	4
Grant Fuhr*	1982	2000	868	403	295	114	25	4	2	2
Billy Smith*	1972	1989	680	305	233	105	22	4	0	3
Ken Dryden*	1971	1979	397	258	57	74	46	6	1	7
(# OF PLAYERS = 6)	AVERAGES =		804	404	254	117	52	3	1	6
			GP	W	L	T	SO	CUPS	GOLDS	AWARDS

• Average record of the HHOF goaltenders in this period is 404-254-117 with 52 shutouts.
• All six goaltenders have won at least one Stanley Cup.
• All six goaltenders have won at least one Vezina Trophy.
• The fewest wins belong to Dryden (258) and Smith (305), but their trophy cases tell it all with a combined 10 Stanley Cups and 6 Vezina Trophies between them.

We'd say the benchmark for a HHOF goaltender in this era is having over 400 wins, 50 shutouts and having won at least the Stanley Cup and Vezina Trophy. Probably one of the most important things for a HHOF-seeking goaltender is to have some hardware as with so many great goaltenders you need something to separate the best from the rest.

Judging from the list of eligible players this year, we'd say that Joe Sakic and Brendan Shanahan are locks for 2012 induction, while Mats Sundin, Adam Oates, Dave Andreychuk, Curtis Joseph, and Phil Housley could all go in as well. Thanks to players like Cam Neely and Pat Lafontaine, there is hope for Pavel Bure and Eric Lindros to go in despite their limited number of games due to injuries. Regardless, this is going to be an excellent HHOF class, and that pattern will continue for many years.