NHL Hall Of Fame Still Missing "Killer" Edge

Article 2: HOF selections mean the Committee have woken up...but in a way have also dropped the ball.

With this year's nominees for HOF induction all repeats, I thought perhaps something great was about to happen. Finally, the NHL was gonna get it right.

Well it did. And didn't. Let me explain.

5 Stanley Cups in 11 yrs on the same team. OT Winners and Cup winners belong to this man. Moved to Toronto for a run to within one game of the Stanley Cup Final. His name is Glenn Anderson, and he was also one of those chosen for the outdoor Legends game between the old-time Oilers and Habs a few years ago.

He's a great selection. I have no problem electing Anderson. He won a poll a while back asking Hockey News readers what player not in, should be in.

Igor Larionov played pro for over 25 yrs, with the NHL and the Red Army. He won Cups with Detroit, the most recent in 2002. Again, a great choice. Longevity should be rewarded.

Which brings me to the man who was forgotten...again. I think all I have to say is this.

Toronto Maple Leafs-1993.

Forget the goalie, and even Wendel Clark. The reason the Leafs of that year are worthy of mention is because they had a different attitude than teams before them, some might say they had a "Killer" instict. Or more specifically, a killer player.

Doug Gilmour was a member of Calgary, Toronto, St. Louis, Montreal, Buffalo, Chicago and New Jersey. He only won one Cup in his 20 seasons. His time in Buffalo came after the Final "The Goal" was scored, while his stop in NJ ended either the season of or just before the 2000 Cup. However, he was a part of Calgary for their one crowning achievement in 1989.

Gilmour was "Killer" from the Calgary days, but it was in Toronto where he became a legend. Gilmour was Captain in title and in action for the early 90s Leafs, scoring big goals at crucial times and not being afraid to dish out checks when they were needed. Two team records are still his, 127 pts and 95 assists in the same season: 1992-93.

Now, I think any player who can score 1,000 pts in a career is a star in this league, but sometimes players with heart and grit are remembered as more to people.

Such is the case with Gilmour. Before he was told by recently ousted GM John Ferguson Jr. that he "wasn't wanted" after suffering an injury his first game in the blue and white in a generation, Gilmour brought his all to every stop.

He wasn't only an offensive player, either. On top of his near 1,000 career assists and 450 goals, Dougie, as he was also known, won the Selke award as the top defensive forward in 1994.

Ok. So I've given my stats, and tried to back them up but I can't just ask for Gilmour to be inducted. I can't do it myself either.

As great as the last few years of HOFers have been...the league has made a mistake in giving the same treatment to Gilmour as they have given to Anderson. Years and years of waiting with no ring.

And that, for a player who played as hard for hockey-mad Toronto as a leader as he did for St. Louis as a rookie, a player who came back to Toronto because he wanted to, who left Toronto because he needed to (giving the Leafs a rebuilding chip), and who was already unjustly humiliated in the twilight of his career; I can't see any way such treatment isn't wrong.