The Hockey Hall of Fame 2014 class was announced yesterday. There were some pretty outstanding names earning entry: Peter Forsberg, Dominik Hasek, Rob Blake, and Mike Modano.
Every one of those men deserve to be enshrined in the cathedral of the sport. On the other hand, there were quite a few notable omissions. Jeremy Roenick, Mark Recchi and yet again former Lightning captain Dave Andreychuk.
This is the sixth year Andreychuk has been passed over. It was quite a strong group of candidates and there are only four player spots available per year. As years continue to go by, you have to wonder if the argument of “strong groups” will continue to keep Andreychuk from being considered for induction in the years to come.
His career numbers speak for themselves. He played 1,700 games over 23 seasons and amassed 1,338 points. Andreychuk is also the only 600+ goal scorer not in the Hall of Fame. The selection committee places a huge emphasis on goals scored. Dave has scored more of them than all but five men who have ever played in the NHL. He has also scored more power play goals than any player in history.
The critics seem to cite his long career as the reason for his good statistics. On the surface they may have a point. When you examine his numbers more closely it shows that Andreychuk scored 20 or more goals in his last four full seasons. He was still contributing, altering his game to a more defensive role.
We all saw what Andreychuk did after he joined the Lightning. This was a franchise that had been in flux for almost its entire existence, both on the ice and off. He provided veteran leadership and created a culture of winning in the locker room. There were a lot of factors that led to the Stanley Cup Championship in 2004. There’s a good chance that it would not have happened without “Andy” helping his teammates learn what was needed to win.
It took Andreychuk a long time before he was able to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup. Now he’ll have to wait another year to see if the Hall of Fame gets it right. As time continues to pass, it’s hard not to wonder if they ever will.
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