Archives For Hockey Hall of Fame

Reggie Leach and the quest for recognition

April 17, 2013 — Leave a comment
ReggieLeach

Reggie Leach’s 19 goals during the 1975-76 playoffs is a record that still stands today. (Image courtesy Shoot To Score Hockey)

Reggie Leach has the statistics and the hardware, but a spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame still eludes him. That could change on July 9.

Leach, now 62 and far from his playing days, said he doesn’t think about induction into the Hall of Fame, but his son Jamie believes otherwise.

“I think it would mean the world to him,” said the younger Leach. “I know [the Hall] is probably one of his goals he set for himself. He’s spoken openly that it has been a goal of his, and, I think, if he could do it all again, he would do some things differently.”

Jamie, 43 and a former NHLer in his own right, is referring to Reggie’s past of alcohol abuse, which is a topic Reggie speaks to youth about at his Shoot To Score hockey camps.

“I like to talk to the kids about life choices,” said Reggie. “I’m not an expert, but I tell the kids what I think is important, and I think talking to them about choices they make is important.”

Reggie, a Stanley Cup champion and winner of the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP, may have gone unrecognized by the Hall of Fame’s selection committee thus far, but Winnipeg singer-songwriter John K. Samson is trying to see his hometown hero have his name called.

Samson, who was not available for comment, released a song on his latest album Provincial dedicated to Leach. In fact, the song’s title is a link to an online petition – the very petition that Samson submitted on Feb. 23 in hopes of the Hall recognizing a boyhood idol.

“We’ve received a few petitions this year,” said the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Kelly Masse. “[Samson’s] submission – the singing outside the Hall of Fame – was interesting and unique.”

Leach said he first became aware of the song during CBC’s Hockey Day in Canada, when Samson performed it on stage in Whitehorse, YT.

“I didn’t even know who he was,” said Leach. “There was a big concert, and he sang the song and talked about the people in Riverton. He came down the stairs (after his performance) and I saw him. He researched everything. The song is really, really good.”

As the song touches on, Reggie comes from a lower class upbringing. One of the more powerful lines in the song comes when Samson explains how Leach played on borrowed skates until the age of 14.

“I think telling people about my background is important,” said Reggie. “It doesn’t matter how big a community is, all it takes is hard work. You don’t have to be rich to make it.”

Whether or not Reggie makes it into the Hall of Fame come July 9, he said he’s prouder of the work he’s doing now than he is of any statistic or award he received during his playing days. However, he still shows his appreciation for Samson and the over 3,000 people who’ve signed the petition.

“There have been a few groups trying to get me in,” said Reggie. “These people doing that, those who have signed the petitions, those are the people who are my Hall of Famers.”

In Hockey Hall of Fame, Philadelphia Flyers , , , , ,
permalink

Hall of Very Good

June 28, 2012 — Leave a comment

It’s inevitable; every year the new Hockey Hall of Fame class is announced, there is uproar.

The class of 2012 is no different. There were no questions about Joe Sakic. Pavel Bure was just a matter of time. Adam Oates had long been awaiting his call.

But Mats Sundin lead to some head scratching. Sundin, a first ballot Hall of Fame inductee? It just didn’t seem possible.

Don’t get me wrong, Sundin has the statistics to make a case for the Hall, but to actually be an inductee? I wonder if there is a time when we could pinpoint the Hall of Fame turning from the greatest of greats to those who had good careers.

Sundin — outside of his loyal following in Toronto — was not a superstar. He was a star, sure, but not an upper echelon talent akin to a worthy first ballot inductee like Joe Sakic.

Sakic won the Stanley Cup twice as a member of the Avalanche (and a Conn Smythe to go along with the one in 2001). He put up 1,641 points in 1,378 games. He won the Hart, Lester B. Pearson (before it became the Ted Lindsay), and the Lady Byng. Sakic was undeniably one of the best players of his generation.

Pavel Bure, the Russian Rocket, won the Rocket Richard in consecutive years as a member of the Florida Panthers. He was the most feared goal scorer of his time. When pundits throw around the term “game breaker” now, it doesn’t carry the weight it did when you watched a player like Bure. He could turn a short outlet pass into a breakaway and a red light with what seemed like relative ease. He was the best at what he did, bar none.

While some may argue what credentials Adam Oates has to be included in the Hall, remember that if not for some guy named Gretzky, we would be remembering Oates as the greatest playmaker of his era. No one distributed better. Oates ability to read, react, and make plays is the stuff of legends.

Sundin had a tremendous skill set while also being blessed with a massive frame. He was a good power forward. He was not the best of his time — or frankly, even near it. He was a gifted leader and captained the Swedes to a gold medal in the 1998 Olympics in Nagano.

The Hall of Fame committee needs to take a serious look at its induction process and start limiting the class.

Though many say the current bottle neck of greats the Hall is running into will just do to slow down the process for those who are deserved inductees, wouldn’t we prefer that a first ballot Hall of Fame induction is something almost rare?

Walking through the Hall of Fame, I want to see the greats, not the very good.

In Uncategorized , , , ,
permalink

Chelios a Blackhawks Legend

June 27, 2012 — Leave a comment

December 17, 2010 was Chris Chelios Heritage Night at the United Center in Chicago. As the Blackhawks honoured one of their all-time greats, those in attendance showered him with boos.

Chelios, then 48, pleaded with the sold-out crowd, asking them to, “let bygones be bygones,” and telling the fans that he was one of them. The Blackhawks faithful relented slightly, but seemingly few remember just what Chelios meant to the organization.

The words to describe Chelios as a player are plentiful: warrior, determined, leader, teacher, champion — the list goes on all the way to the one word that encapsulates it all. Legend.

Legend isn’t a word I throw around lightly when it comes to the greats of our beloved game, but Chelios deserves it. A three-time Stanley Cup Champion, three-time Norris Trophy winner, multiple First Team All-Star votes, and an NHL career that spanned over 25 years. He’s the modern icon of career longevity (Gordie Howe being the historical figure that best embodied that attribute).

When he left Chicago, very few fans chose to remember that it wasn’t necessarily on his own accord.

Sure, Chelios had lofty contract demands and he was 36 years old, but the onus — at least in my mind — falls on William W. Wirtz. Wirtz was unwilling to pay his veteran leader the money that he rightfully deserved, thus leading to him being jettisoned to the much maligned division rival Detroit Red Wings. You can’t fault Chelios for this either. Plain and simple, the Wings were the highest bidders.

Days after the trade had taken place, Chelios told reporters he regretted not being able to finish his career as a Blackhawk.

This is a Chicago native, a man who took the Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup Final in 1992, the defenseman who represented the ‘Hawks in several All-Star Games and won two Norris Trophies as a member of the team. He is the third highest scoring defenseman in team history — with the second highest P/PG — and was the captain for five seasons. He was a leader on and off the ice.

With the Hall of Fame inductees for 2012 being announced today, it is without a doubt that come Chelios’s time he’ll be a first ballot inductee.

You can trust this is one the induction committee will get right, that’s not my concern. What is more concerning, and far more interesting, is whether or not the Blackhawks do the right thing: retiring Chelios’s number 7.

Chelios’s credentials are there and his numbers are comparable to all those Blackhawks whose numbers hang from the rafters in the United Center. What he meant to the franchise cannot be quantified. He lead the team to greatness and his exit coincides with one of the greatest tailspins in franchise history.

When Chelios gets the greatest honour in hockey, an induction to the Hall of Fame, it is only right if the Blackhawks do the same and retire his number.

All due respect to Brent Seabrook, but there is only one 7.

In Chicago Blackhawks, NHL , , ,
permalink