Put Recchi in Hall of Fame alongside Lindros

IT'S THE CLASSIC debate about what constitutes fame, or even whether the various sports halls of fame are aptly named. Good-but-not-great players who accumulated gaudy numbers through the fortune of good health have squeezed through the doors of Cooperstown amid great debate, their statistics belying the impression left on some who watched them play and compete and were not overly impressed.

Dave Winfield, Bert Blyleven and Gaylord Perry for starters, for me.

Which is a good way of introducing the Hall of Fame discussion this week surrounding Eric Lindros and Mark Recchi, the 12th highest scorer in NHL history.

Notice I said highest, not greatest. As good a player and teammate as he was, Recchi's greatest achievement might have been the longevity of his productivity, especially given his size, his willingness to go to the corners, and early issues with a concussion - which made him somewhat of a playing expert on the topic. His first wife, from Pittsburgh, was the daughter of a neurosurgeon there.

A workout nut who was using a hyperbaric chamber before most of us could spell it, Recchi played in 22 NHL seasons, accumulating 577 goals and 1,533 points during the regular season while etching his name on the Stanley Cup three times - including his final season with the Bruins. He also had 147 points over 189 playoff games, and when it came to big moments, he was as clutch as they come.

Lindros, of course, had his career curtailed by concussions, playing in just 760 games over 13 NHL seasons - less than half the 1,652 Recchi logged. Six concussions were recorded and at least that many suspected over that span, limiting The Big E to less than 70 games in all but four of those seasons.

That Lindros averaged almost a goal for every two games he played and had more points than games played is some evidence as to how he overcame his shortened career to join the Hall. But it had much more to do with the eye test when he was healthy, and the impact he had on the game in both style of play and team makeup during his brief reign as the game's best player.

If Recchi was Rocky, milking everything he could from his 5-10, 195-pound frame, Lindros was Ivan Drago, the prototype for a future NHL of highly skilled, bone-crushing giants. One reason Recchi may have been traded numerous times despite constant productivity was an annual prediction that smallish players would soon not be able to survive amid such playmaking beasts - a prediction the league later short-circuited by adding some rules and strictly enforcing others.

Lindros' famed Legion of Doom line - which included two like-sized bodies in John LeClair and Mikael Renberg - was, for several seasons, Exhibit 1 for that prediction. It was formed, ironically, by trading Recchi, Lindros' linemate from 1992 through 1995, in the deal with Montreal that returned LeClair.

But it's Recchi's 53-goal, 70-assist 1992-1993 season that still stands as the Flyers' all-time single-season points record. Recchi also played in over 80 games in 11 different seasons and was among the NHL's top five in games played in 11 seasons. He is tied for 16th all-time in game-winning goals, 13th in goals created, and served as an assistant captain on numerous occasions, including all three teams he won a Cup with.

So how is he not in? And how could Lindros have beat him there? If you've lived through some of the maddening debates surrounding Cooperstown explanations, this much is clear: They don't do it in hockey as they do in baseball. Not close.

Of the 18-member selection committee, four are media members: Michael Farber, Bob McKenzie, Marc de Foy and Eric Duhatschek, each owning impeccable credentials. The rest are club executives, ex-players and ex-coaches, most of whom have been, at one time or another, all three.

They chose Lindros over Recchi, it has been surmised, because of his overall impact on the game. "The Next One," as he was called early on, was an avatar, a player who would redefine hockey and signal a new era of gridiron-sized scorers like himself.

Until the hits and injuries that ultimately led to rule changes and a safer game, he did. It's not hard to believe that if he played today, with the clutching and grabbing trap style of the Devils now outlawed, with severe punishments for hitting defenseless players, his career would have been lengthier and more prolific.

Whether you think it was clean or not, there is no doubt the Scott Stevens hit on Lindros in the 2000 playoffs that made him ordinary would today be dealt with by a stiff fine and suspension.

So consider his election payment on an outstanding debt. Hockey's never been more popular or played in more places than it is today, and the idea that a player Shayne Gostisbehere's size can not only play, but prosper, as a defenseman is at least partly attributable to the player safety rules that are now being enforced.

So give the committee a pass for sending Lindros in first. But in snubbing Recchi, they now have another debt. And it better not take more than 365 days to pay it.

@samdonnellon