A more-deserving group of Hall of Fame entrants would be tough to find.
I felt old on Tuesday.
Maybe it was because I was offered the senior's discount at Denny's, but more likely it was because four players I covered in the NHL for their whole careers were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Between them 80 years of pro hockey excellence.
All fierce competitors. All professional. All deserving.
As Jim Gregory and Pat Quinn read out the names, it took only a couple of words of each introduction for every hockey fan to blurt out the name…
"Carmen, Manitoba", Ed Belfour… "A Native of Kingston, Ontario", Doug Gilmour… "A member of one of hockey's most storied families", Mark Howe..." He won the Calder Trophy in 1988", Joe Nieuwendyk.
You couldn't help love watching each of these guys play the game.
I first saw Eddie Belfour thrown in goal against the Edmonton Oilers of the Gretzky-Messier era. As the years passed, you grew to love his tenacity in goal and with his stick. Those duels he had with Patrick Roy were legendary. And as he grew older, he learned the craft of goaltending so well. He became so efficient. Minimal moves, maximum results. I was around the Maple Leafs during Belfour's time in Toronto. Watching him in practice was phenomenal. Working of deflections, angles, screens was beyond anything any other goaltender was doing. Oh sure, he had his demons, but never, ever on the ice. It is no coincidence he follows his mentor Vladislav Tretiak into the Hall.
Doug Gilmour played the game as hard as anyone ever could. His stat sheet says he was 5'11" and 175 pounds. I bet he was never a fraction over 5'9", and never finished a season over 160 pounds. But he played the game like he was 6'3" and 220 pounds. It's important to note that he became the driving force of that Stanley Cup team in Calgary in 1989. That team that was truly a team of superstars like Lanny McDonald, Mike Vernon, Theo Fleury, Gary Roberts, Al MacInnis, Joe Mullen and Nieuwendyk, but it was Doug Gilmour who was the team's catalyst.
His time in Toronto has been well-documented, and has made him a Southern Ontario legend. The stories of between-period IVs are now urban myths. The famed overtime goal against the Blues is etched in every Leaf fans memory. From Toronto and onto four other teams before his one-game return to the Big Smoke, Doug developed into a character from the movie Gladiator. He was a time-honoured warrior that fans in every city wanted and needed to see.
As a college student, I remember walking into Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum to watch Mark Howe play for the Houston Aeros along side his brother Marty, and some old guy named Gordie. I was one of those kids who kept the Macleans magazine that asked the question "Could Gordie play hockey with his sons?" I had seen the boys help the Toronto Marlboros win the Memorial Cup in 1973. So I watched in amazement as 18-year-old Mark controlled a game played by men. He was smooth, confident and had a sense of being every time he skated with the puck. And few remember that he was part of the 1972 US Olympic team that won a bronze medal in Sapporo, Japan (as a 17 year old!) Mark Howe was a great defenceman. He was physical, when needed. He had speed and finesse when it allowed. His talent on the ice exceeded the expectations of his last name.
Joe Nieuwendyk won three Stanley Cups with three different franchises. He was on those great Flames teams of the late 1980's, along with Gilmour. He entered the league as a pure goal-scorer, and morphed into one of the great-two way players of his time. Crippling, chronic back issues forced Nieuwendyk to learn how to play the game away from the puck, and in the face-off circle. His second Cup in Dallas, and his third in New Jersey were testaments to his ability to accept lesser roles, truly attributes that superstars in this sport (or any other for that matter) would not or could not understand.
To this day, Joe remains the same person he was when he entered the NHL; kind, approachable and patient.
And while there might be some criticism of why some others didn't make this year's class at the Hall, (assuming they were nominated,) make no mistake that these greats met my personal criteria for the Hall of Fame. Team accomplishments, longevity, evolving skill and professionalism are the keys that put these four in Hockey Hall of Fame.
