The Hockey Hall of Fame committee will meet today to vote on the next group of players to be inducted into the hallowed shrine in November. Over the past few years we saw several former Calgary Flames entered into the Hall of Fame, including Joe Nieuwendyk, Doug Gilmour, Brett Hull and Al Macinnis.
However, there still remains a handful of former Flames who should be, but aren’t in the Hall of Fame. Three players really stand out as deserving candidates who have been slighted in the past. I may be a bit biased when it comes to former members of the Flames who should be in the Hall of Fame, but I think a very strong case can be made for these three former tenants of the Saddledome.
The voting process takes place today and an announcement will come out around 4:00 PM Eastern Time as to who will be in the 2015 class of Hall of Famers. Among those eligible there appears to be one slam dunk in Nicklas Lidstrom who won seven Norris Trophy’s in his career with the Detroit Red Wings.
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Chris Pronger isn’t as sure of a nominee as Lidstrom, but it appears the former Hartford Whaler, St Louis Blue, Edmonton Oiler, Anaheim Duck, Philadelphia Flyer and current Arizona Coyote defenseman will be voted in as well. Ignoring the ridiculous scenario that is a “current” player who was traded two days ago being voted into the Hall of Fame because he has been inactive for three years, the former Hart Trophy and Norris Trophy winner deserves the nod.
Third in line should be former Detroit Red Wing, Anaheim Duck, Columbus Blue Jacket and Washington Capitals center Sergei Fedorov. The slick skating Russian was a fantastic two way center, especially on dominant Red Wings teams that won three Stanley Cups with Fedorov in 1997, 98 and 2002. He was an offensive threat to be sure, and won a Hart Trophy as league MVP in 1994, but his defensive game was even better than his offense.
There can be up to four former players inducted into the Hall of Fame every year, and assuming Lidstrom, Fedorov and Pronger get the call, there is only room for one more. A case could be made for several former players including Dave Andreychuk, Jeremy Roenick, Keith Tkachuk or Tom Barrasso. However, following you will find the case for a trio of former Calgary Flames, and hopefully at least one of them will finally be honoured for their on ice heroics.