Every year, the debate over what players should be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame rages on.
Everything from statistics and leadership credentials to individual awards and championships won are taken into consideration, but the formula for what makes a player "Hall of Fame" calibre remains unclear.
The Hall of Fame selection committee seems to place a premium on players with winning pedigrees (see Gillies, Clark), as well as those who were fan favorites in their respective cities (check out Bernie Federko and Cam Neely).
Sometimes, players who had statistically more dominant careers get overlooked simply because they opted to stay out of the spotlight over the course of their career.
This was the case with centerman Adam Oates.
Oates was a playmaker, the type of pivot who turns 10-goal scorers into 29-goal snipers (see Chris Simon's stats from 1998-99), or a 50-goal man into an 86-goal phenomenon (Brett Hull's MVP season). Oates' greatest downfall was that he lacked goal scoring touch, so traditionally, his popularity didn't extend beyond the city he happened to be playing in ...
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Article written by Ryan Davenport
Adam Oates: The Best Player Who Won’t Make the Hall Of Fame
June 21st, 2010 by Ryan Davenport Leave a reply »
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