The Hockey Hall of Fame is expected to have some new honorees after the 18-member selection committee convenes and votes in Toronto on Monday. The Hall of Fame is expected to reveal its Class of 2016 at 3:30 p.m. ET Monday.
This year has the makings of being different because there are no obvious first-year candidates. That leaves open the possibility of some former NHL players who have been passed over in recent years to finally get their Hall call.
Here are six former NHL players, all well into their Hall of Fame eligibility, who could get the call they've been waiting for Monday:
ERIC LINDROS
Pros: He was one of the top players in the League in the mid-1990s. He was on the NHL's All-Rookie team in 1993 and won the Hart Trophy in 1995 after finishing with 70 points in 46 games during the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season. He followed that with a career-high 115 points in 73 games in the 1995-96 season. Lindros had 600 points in 431 games from 1992-99. He had 56 points in 48 Stanley Cup Playoff games during those years and helped the Flyers reach the Cup Final in 1997, when they lost to the Detroit Red Wings. Lindros also won gold with Team Canada at the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics. He won gold at the 1991 World Junior Championship, when he had 17 points in seven games.
Cons: His career was cut short because of injuries and he was never quite the same after sustaining a concussion off a hit from Hall of Fame defenseman Scott Stevens during the 2000 Eastern Conference Final. He was limited to 760 games because of injuries and lockouts, and he never won the Stanley Cup.
Career totals (goals-assists-points, games played): 372-493-865, 760
Comparables already in the Hall: Pavel Bure, Cam Neely, Peter Forsberg
Chances of getting in: Good. He should already be in.
DAVE ANDREYCHUK
Pros: Andreychuk is sixth in games played with 1,639 and 14th in goals scored with 640. He is the NHL's leader in power-play goals with 274. He scored 53 goals with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1993-94 and twice reached 40 goals with the Buffalo Sabres earlier in his career. He helped the Tampa Bay Lightning win the Stanley Cup as their captain in 2004. At 40 years old, he scored 21 goals in 2003-04 and had 14 points in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Cons: Andreychuk is known as a compiler, a player who put up strong numbers only because he hung around in the League for a long time (23 seasons). He never won an individual award and didn't get picked for an All-Star Game in the last 11 seasons of his career. He never won on the international level.
Career totals: 640-698-1,338, 1,639
Comparables already in the Hall: Dino Ciccarelli
Chances of getting in: Borderline. Goals suggest yes, but lack of individual awards and international success hurts his cause.
CURTIS JOSEPH
Pros: He is fourth with 454 wins, behind Martin Brodeur, Patrick Roy and Ed Belfour. Brodeur is a lock for the Hall of Fame in 2018. Roy and Belfour are in the Hall. Joseph has more wins than Hall of Fame members Terry Sawchuk, Jacques Plante, Tony Esposito, Glenn Hall, Grant Fuhr and Dominik Hasek. He had seven seasons with 30 or more wins and played in 133 Stanley Cup Playoff games, winning 63. He had three straight 30-win seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs and twice led them to the Eastern Conference Final (1999, 2002).
Cons: Joseph never won the Stanley Cup; he never even reached the Final. He also never won an individual award, although he was a three-time finalist for the Vezina Trophy. He has a gold medal from the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics, but he was relieved as the starter after losing the tournament opener to Sweden.
Career totals: 943 games, 454 wins, 2.79 GAA, .906 save percentage
Comparables already in the Hall: Ed Giacomin, Ed Belfour
Chances of getting in: Borderline. He's got the wins, but it's difficult for goalies who have never won the Cup to get into the Hall of Fame.
PAUL KARIYA
Pros: He was a winner, a scorer and an electrifying, entertaining, skilled player who even drew comparisons to Wayne Gretzky early in his career. Kariya became the first freshman to win the Hobey Baker Award as the top player in NCAA hockey in 1993, when he led the University of Maine to the national championship and had 100 points in 39 games. The same year he won gold with Team Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship. He was a finalist for the Calder Trophy in 1995. He had 50 goals and 108 points in the 1995-96 season, when he won the Lady Byng Trophy for the first time. He won it again in 1997, when he was also a runner-up for the Hart Trophy. He won gold with Canada at the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics and helped the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2003. He scored 989 points in 989 games.
Cons: Kariya's career was cut short because of concussion problems. He fell 11 games shy of 1,000. He never won the Stanley Cup.
Career totals: 402-587-989, 989
Comparables already in the Hall: Pavel Bure, Peter Forsberg, Cam Neely
Chances of getting in: They should be good, especially in a year without elite, first-time candidates.
MARK RECCHI
Pros: His numbers raise the question: Why didn't he get in two years ago, when he became eligible? On the NHL's lists, Recchi is fourth in games played (1,652), 12th in points (1,533), 15th in assists (956), 20th in goals (577), 17th in power-play goals (200) and sixth in power-play points (569). He won the Stanley Cup three times as a player (1991 with the Pittsburgh Penguins, 2006 with the Carolina Hurricanes and 2011 with the Boston Bruins). He has been passed over in the past two years in favor of elite first-time eligible candidates, including Mike Modano, Rob Blake, Peter Forsberg and Dominik Hasek in 2014 and Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Pronger and Sergei Fedorov last year. Phil Housley also got in last year.
Cons: Recchi was never considered elite even though he had 123 points with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1992-93 and 107 points the following season. He was a point compiler for a long time, and a winner, but he never won an individual award. The biggest knock on him is his longevity, usually considered a positive.
Career totals: 577-956-1,533, 1,652
Comparables already in the Hall: Brendan Shanahan
Chances of getting in: Good. He checks every box except for the individual awards, but his statistics are overwhelming and Hall-worthy.
JEREMY ROENICK
Pros: He scored 513 goals and is one of 43 players in NHL history to reach 500. He is 38th in goals scored. Of the 37 players ahead of him, 27 are in the Hall of Fame, three are likely future locks (Jaromir Jagr, Teemu Selanne and Jarome Iginla), and two are on this list (Andreychuk and Recchi). Roenick scored 50 goals twice and had four straight seasons of 40 or more (1990-94). He scored more than 100 points three times, twice getting to 107. He played in nine NHL All-Star Games. Roenick finished as the leading scorer at the 1989 World Junior Championship with 16 points in seven games.
Cons: Roenick never won the Stanley Cup or any major individual awards. He scored 30 goals in three of his final 13 seasons.
Career totals: 513-703-1,216, 1,363
Comparables already in the Hall: Mats Sundin, Mike Modano
Chances of getting in: Borderline. The fact that he didn't win the Stanley Cup or any major individual awards could hold him back for a long time.
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