Is Brad McCrimmon Hall of Fame worthy?
Daily News Flyers blog
Is Brad McCrimmon Hall of Fame worthy?
The question was simple enough: Is former Flyer Brad McCrimmon worthy of being enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame?
Sadly, the question is sometimes asked when a former player or coach leaves us far too soon, as was the case when former coach Pat Burns was snubbed two years in a row by the Hall of Fame’s veiled voting. It’s surely the case with McCrimmon, who tragically passed away on Wednesday at the age of 52 in a plane crash in Russia.
But the question popped into mind when his former teammate, Brian Propp, called McCrimmon one of the “most underrated” defensemen in the NHL.
McCrimmon, who played in the NHL from 1979-1997, played in the shadow of some of the game’s greatest – mostly on the same defense pairing. Throughout his career, he was paired with Ray Bourque, Mark Howe, Nicklas Lidstrom, Paul Coffey, and Chris Pronger.
All will one day be in the Hall of Fame, some are already.
He also played mentor and leadership roles in nearly every locker room he set foot in.
On the ice, consider these statistics:
- 1222 games played; 81 goals; 322 assists; 403 points; 1416 penalties in minutes.
- 1989 Stanley Cup Champion, Calgary Flames
- Two-time Stanley Cup Finalist, Flyers (1985, 1987)
- 1988 NHL All-Star, 1988 NHL 2nd Team All-Star
- 1988 NHL leader in plus/minus rating with plus-48. Five times ranked in Top 5 in league in plus/minus for a season
- Regularly logged heavy per-game minutes in the NHL before it was kept as an official statistic
So, why didn’t McCrimmon garner the accolades he likely deserved?
For starters, he played in an era when fellow defensemen were racking up major points. For instance, his best offensive year was 1985-86, when he netted 56 points playing alongside Howe. Howe posted 83 points that season.
McCrimmon was not a flashy player. “The Beast” was a tough, stay-at-home defenseman who did the dirty work in the corners and cleared the front of the net with ease. He looked and played much bigger than his 5-foot-11, 197 pound frame. That’s part of the reason why he dealt with injuries throughout most of the second half of his career. Just twice in 18 seasons did he play an entire slate of games.
Still, McCrimmon finished his career on in the Top 10 all-time in plus/minus with a plus-444 rating.
Here’s where he stands:
1. Larry Robinson +730
2. Bobby Orr +597
3. Ray Bourque +528
4. Wayne Gretzky +518
5. Bobby Clarke +506
6. Serge Savard +460
6. Denis Potvin +460
8. Guy Lafleur +453
9. Bryan Trottier +452
10. Brad McCrimmon +444
11. Nicklas Lidstrom +429
12. Mark Howe +400
13. Scott Stevens +393
13. Steve Shutt +393
15. Mike Bossy +381
16. Al MacInnis +373
17. Brad Park +358
McCrimmon, Howe and Lidstrom are the only players on that list that are not currently enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Howe, one of McCrimmon’s closest friends, will be inducted in November. Lidstrom is still active and an easy first ballot Hall of Famer.
The numbers, in fact, may benefit McCrimmon even more since his next closest on the list, Lidstrom, had his first career minus season last year as a minus-2.
To put that in perspective, the only active player with a shot to catch McCrimmon is Detroit forward Pavel Datsyuk, who is a plus-194 after 9 full NHL seasons. Even if he keeps up that pace and plays a full 18 seasons, like McCrimmon, he will still only hit plus-388.
Admittedly, a lot of arguments have been made against the validity of the plus/minus statistic. To me, it’s no coincidence that some of the game’s greatest players all ended their career on this list.
A recent fan poll listed McCrimmon as the 198th best player in NHL history. Is there a spot in the Hall of Fame for a steady-but-not-flashy defenseman?
Does another decade after his playing career spent on an NHL bench factor into his legacy? Does his death? You be the judge.
At the very least, he is worthy of the conversation.
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Based on that +/- list---Brad has my vote.— Romus- He'd have my vote in a heartbeat. It's no coincidence that he was paired with 5 of the greatest defensemen of all time. RIP Brad!— kjuggs77
- He also has one of the best nicknames in NHL history. "The Beast"— dcm220
He and Howe were a pleasure to watch - the Flyers should have paid him and not let him go - a great, great player - in a great era for the Flyers - the accident should have never happened - what a tragedy for all those who lost friends, family and loved ones. Would better regulations and oversight have forced the airline to hire and pay for more qualified pilots and mechanics - it seems that country has had quite a few airline accidents the past year...just awful.- I always loved the Beast. Would be classy for the FLyers to recognize his efforts and memory with retiring #10 (although could be argued that there are a couple of #10's that should be displayed from the rafters). RIP Brad, Philly loves you.— Podein25
- With a career +444 you would think he would have to be considered. It's a shame this is only being brought up now after his death.— BobbyD
- I know offensive stats usually determine whether a player is HOF worthy, but there has to be room for a guy like The Beast.— Raggamonkey
- Love the Beast, but it took Howe almost 20 years to get in. Beast should be in the Flyers HOF, though— JSaq
- Wow, that's some serious company to be hanging with on that list. Think of the folks NOT on the list (Lemieux, Messier, Esposito, Richard, Coffey, Leetch, Barber, etc...). Howe & McCrimmon were the best defensive pairing I've ever seen. Unfortunately for the last 25 years worth of Flyer's defensemen, that is still the standard that I hold them to.— HorshamGuy
- Loved when they traded for him, hated it that they traded him away. Bigger question -- why isn't he in the FLYERS HOF?— Firebird7478
- NHL Champion with Calgary, finalist twice with Flyers teams, All Star, Elite plus/minus, No Norris trophies, neither did Mark Howe. I think the case can be made for the ultimate kunch pail hard work guy, mentor to be a HOFer and pop into the Flyers HOF thi8s year! And have the team wear a +444 jersey patch this season.— RI_flyers_guy
- Sorry messy typing above. It's sour grapes for the Cup losses, I admit it without hesitation, but isn't it sweet to see Howe and McCrimmon both finished with better plus/minus than Scott Stevens the Capital and Devil Flyer-nemesis/assassin.— RI_flyers_guy
- "arguments have been made against the validity of the plus/minus statistic"???? Plus/minus is in fact the most valid of any statistic. The name of the game is winning. While an individual player's plus/minus can be affected by the others who he plays with on the ice, in a sport with only 4 others (+ the goalie), one player's commitment to beating the other team while he is on the ice is absolutely what it's all about. Fancy plays might make highlight reels, but those same flashy players often give up more goals while they are on the ice than are scored while they're on the ice, because of a lack of commitment to defense and due to a lack of understanding of the objective - not only to score more goals than the opponent, but to allow fewer goals than the opponent.— Truth B. Told
- 6th all-time in +/- among defensemen = clear hall of famer. Anything short of that displays a lack of knowledge/understanding by the media members involved.— Truth B. Told
