Longevity vs. peak: The Hockey Hall of Fame debate and 5 players who define it

What kind of Hall of Fame fan are you? With the Hockey Hall of Fame committee meeting tomorrow to pick the class of 2025, and a stellar crop of first-time candidates added to some impressive holdovers, its time to have the annual debate.

After all, half the point of a sport having a highest honor is for fans to argue over who deserves it and who falls just short.

Advertisement When we talk about which kind of Hall a fan wants, we usually default to the old small hall debate, which basically amounts to just how high you want to set the bar and inevitably ends with a fight over Bernie Federko.

But theres another way to look at it, and its the one well focus on today: Which matters more, a players short-term peak or their long-term consistency? Obviously, the ideal answer is both.

But the players who are truly great for an extended period arent the ones we typically argue over.

Joe Thornton and Zdeno Chara had MVP/Norris peaks to go with long careers of sustained excellence.

Both are also getting in on the first ballot, so theres no debate to be had.

Its the fringe cases that usually force us to pick one side or the other.

So, who you got? Lets look at this as a sliding scale, with five stops along the way.

Hall 1: All about longevity You want: Career numbers.

The bigger the better.

And if those numbers are the result of a 20-season career built on consistent production, even better.

The point here is that having a few great years is nice, but youre just as impressed by someone who can contribute year in and year out.

You dont need to see a bunch of individual awards, or even any at all.

But youd better see the big milestones 500 goals, 1,000 points, that sort of thing.

Current HHOFers: Pierre Turgeon, Dino Ciccarelli, Mike Gartner But not: Vince Damphousse Todays poster candidate: Patrick Marleau His case: These candidates are often slapped with the dreaded compiler label, which in sports is usually a derisive way to say that somebody stuck around forever to produce numbers that look more impressive than they really are.

Well, nobody compiled more that Marleau, whose 1,779 career games were enough to break Gordie Howes once unbreakable record.

Over that time, Marleau racked up 566 goals and 1,197 points, which would be enough to get any player into the HHOF consideration.

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he never won an award, or was a postseason All-Star, or finished higher than ninth in Hart voting.

He was rarely in the conversation as the best player on his own team.

And to a certain type of fan, Marleau just never felt like a Hall of Famer.

Should that matter, when the numbers are so high? Yeah, actually, theres a good case that it should.

Odds he gets in: Good.

Hes o-for-1 since becoming eligible last summer, and he feels like a long shot this year given how strong the new candidates are.

But eventually? I think its more likely than not.

Hall 2: Long career, at least some sort of peak You want: Big career numbers, same as the first group.

But while youre not focused on a players short-term peak, youd like to at least see a few personal accolades.

You dont need to see a Hart Trophy or a bunch of first-team All-Star honors.

But you do want to see at least a few standout seasons, preferably with some awards balloting love, if only to reassure you that this player was in the conversation as being the best at something , at least for a while.

After all, consistency is crucial, but just hanging around forever isnt enough lets see some flashes of true greatness.

Current HHOFers: Mark Recchi, Mike Vernon, Phil Housley, Joe Nieuwendyk But not: Bernie Nicholls Todays poster candidate: Rod BrindAmour His case: He got to 452 goals and almost 1,200 points over a 20-year career, despite never being an All-Star, hitting 100 points or getting any Hart votes at all aside from one year where he finished 10th.

Thats pretty compile-y.

But unlike Marleau and others, his trophy case isnt empty.

BrindAmour won two Selke Trophies for his two-way game, taking home the trophy in 2006 and 2007.

Thats one more Selke than guys like Jonathan Toews, Doug Gilmour or Steve Yzerman.

Advertisement In BrindAmours case, those two Selke years are a bit weird because they were the only two seasons where he was given serious consideration.

Not only was he not a finalist any other year, he only had one other year where he was even in the top 10 (he finished ninth in 1999).

Is that enough to turn a guy who was rarely the top center on his own team into a Hall of Famer? Ive mentioned this before, but the evolution of the BrindAmour bandwagon has been fascinating.

Ten years ago, I pitched him as an underrated comparable to (assumed sure thing) Marian Hossa , and people thought I was nuts.

But over the years, hes gone from a virtual afterthought to a sneaky dark horse to a guy some of you are willing to go to battle for.

Meanwhile, hes carving out a career as a very successful coach, which isnt supposed to help his case players and builders are supposed to be completely separate categories but cant hurt.

Odds he gets in: I think Im with HHOF maestro Paul Pidutti, who suggests BrindAmour eventually gets in on the strength of his coaching success, as the committee bends the rules just a bit to get a solid candidate over the finish line.

He wouldnt get my vote, but I wont complain too loudly if (or when) he gets the call.

Hall 3: The balanced approach You want: Everything.

Or at least long-term consistency and a strong peak.

You want the major milestones, sure, but youre also going to need at least a couple of seasons where a guy was in the conversation as the very best at this position.

He should have an All-Star honor or two, and ideally would have led the league in something important along the way.

In theory, this is the easiest slot to settle into, because youre covering all the bases.

After all, most of the true legends would fall into this category, mixing longevity with a high peak.

Hey, thats what Wayne Gretzky and Joe Sakic and Nicklas Lidstrom did, right? But it gets tricky with guys whose cases arent as strong, and they often seem to be the ones who get overlooked by the committee.

Current HHOFers: Michel Goulet, Jean Ratelle, the Sedin twins But not: Henrik Zetterberg Advertisement Todays poster candidate: Keith Tkachuk His case: He got over 500 goals and over 1,000 points, so he checks those boxes.

He was also a second-team All-Star twice, in 1995 and 1998.

In between those seasons, he had back-to-back 50-goal years, including one where he led the league.

All told, there was a roughly four-to-six season stretch where he was considered one of the best power wingers in hockey.

And while he wasnt dominant after that, he stuck around for another decade, playing well enough to get those career numbers into Hall-worthy territory.

Odds he gets in: Strong.

In fact, with Jeremy Roenick going in last year, Id expect Tkachuk and his arguably better case are now a question of when and not if.

Hall 4: Show me youre the best You want: A sustained peak, with multiple All-Star picks.

One or two wont cut it you want to see something more like four or five years of best at his position conversation.

As long as you see that, youre not too worried about whether the players career lasted long enough to rack up big lifetime totals.

If anything, you view those late-career 60-point seasons as empty calories that dont mean much.

Instead, you just want to know that a player was among the very best, for an extended period.

Thats what a Hall of Famer looks like, even if they dont add another decade of stat-padding.

Current HHOFers: Cam Neely, Pavel Bure, Eric Lindros, Paul Kariya But not: Tim Kerr The poster candidate: John LeClair His case: From 1995 to 1999, LeClair was a first- or second-team All-Star every year.

He also had back-to-back-to-back 50-goal seasons, in an era where barely anyone was hitting that milestone.

The All-Star streak ended in 2000, but not by much, as he still put up 40 goals and finished third in All-Star voting.

But after that, injuries and age caught up with him.

Mix in the fact that he was a late bloomer, and his career totals dont really look HHOF-worthy; he just barely cracked 400 goals and 800 points.

Advertisement Still, you could make the argument that LeClair was the single best left winger in the league for a six-year stretch.

Good luck finding anyone at any position who can say that and isnt in the Hall of Fame.

Odds he gets in: Low, presumably, since hes been eligible since 2010 and hasnt made it yet.

You still see his name when we talk about potential candidates, but you rarely meet a fan whos adamant that LeClair has been snubbed.

Still, who would you rather have for one season, or one game peak LeClair, or peak Marleau? Its not a hard call for fans who remember watching both guys.

Hall 5: All about peak You want: The best of the best.

Thats it.

Thats what youre looking for.

You want a candidate to be truly and inarguably elite, even if only for a little while.

What did this player look like at their very best? How high do they rank on the you have one game to win and your life depends on it draft board? You dont care how many seasons a player had where they were the seventh or eighth best in the league.

The Hall of Fame should be for guys who were the absolute best, at least for a while.

Current HHOFers: Are there any? Im not sure there are, which maybe isnt surprising given how rare this player is.

I could see some fans trying to put Alexander Mogilny here when he eventually gets inducted, although I think his case is strong even without his legendary 76-goal year.

But not: Reggie Leach Todays poster candidate: Tim Thomas His case: I mean, if you have to play one seven-game series for everything you own, how many goalies would you take over 2011 Tim Thomas? That was the year he went .938 with a 2.00 GAA in the regular season and won the Vezina, then was even better in the playoffs to the tune of .940 and 1.98 to add the Conn Smythe and a Stanley Cup ring.

If you wanted to call it the single greatest season any goalie has ever had, Im open to hearing the case.

And Im almost certain you couldnt find a full season that beats it from anyone who isnt in the Hall, probably as a first-ballot pick like Dominik Hasek or Patrick Roy.

Advertisement Thomas only played four NHL games before turning 30, wasnt a regular until he was 32, and his entire career spanned fewer games played than part-time starters like Petr Mrazek, James Reimer and Jake Allen have today.

But that legendary 2011 season, combined with another Vezina win in 2009, means he can clearly claim best-in-the-world honors, if only briefly.

Odds he gets in: They dont seem especially high.

But maybe they should be? (Top photo of Tim Thomas and Keith Tkachuk: Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images).

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