We are now just a few days away from hearing who will form this year's class of candidates for the Hockey Hall of Fame. There are several new players this year including former Montreal Canadiens and Nashville Predators captain Shea Weber, former Detroit Red Wings Pavel Datsyuk, former San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Pittsburgh Penguins Patrick Marleau, former Atlanta Thrashers, New Jersey Devils, Los. Angeles Kings, Canadiens and Washington Capitals Ilya Kovalchuk, former Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks and Anaheim Ducks Ryan Miller, former Predators' Pekka Rinne, former Blues, Boston Bruins, and Ducks David Backes, former Minnesota Wild captain and Columbus Blue Jackets shortstop Mikko Koivu, former New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders Travis Zajac and finally, former Chicago Blackhawks and Arizona Coyotes Niklas Hjalmarsson.
Not all candidates deserve consideration and according to HOF rules, only four male players can be included in each category of induction. As usual there was much debate about the merits of the candidates for admission and it is not easy to agree. To enter, a player must receive 14 votes from the 18 committee members. Here is my opinion on whether Weber is worth importing.
Weber's statistics
Weber's career spanned 16 seasons in the NHL, 11 in Nashville with a team that posted 49 points.th overall in the 2003 Draft and fifth in Montreal. In 1,038 total games played, Weber posted 589 points including 224 goals. Throughout his career, he had a plus-79 average and 714 penalty minutes.
A power-play specialist thanks to his rocket of a shot, Weber scored 106 goals in that capacity and added 133 assists for a career-high 239 points. He also had 35 game-winning goals.
On average, he spent more than 24 minutes on the ice every night and had an 8.1% shooting percentage, although that number varied greatly over the years. It was up 11.8% and down 4% so this figure should be taken with a grain of salt.
The hulking defenseman also racked up 2,212 hits during his career and blocked 1,691 shots; he had never been one to fear the physical side of the game. There's a reason Mike Babcock describes him as “The Mountain of Man” (from 'Mike Babcock sings the praises of defenseman Shea Weber,' A starSeptember 6, 2016).
“Physically, (Weber is) a mountain of a man,” Babcock said of the Canadiens defenseman. “You are a good person just like me. He doesn't need to say much. He just has to look at you and change into a situation. You're crossing a big hole over there. He shoots so hard, no one wants to stand in his way.
“What I like about him the most, when he walks into the dressing room, he knows it's business. He is the type of person who was brought up in culture. You make your franchise better when he walks in the door.”
Speaking of numbers, Weber has a good total, but nothing overly impressive here. Of course, there is more to the role of a defender than scoring, but defenders in the modern era all seem to be more productive offensively. For example, Mark Howe, who is at the bottom of the ladder in points, still has 0.80 points per game (P/G). As for Weber, he has a 0.57 P/G, while Chris Pronger has a 0.60 P/G, but he has more hardware awards.
Weber's Lack of Medals
Although no one can deny that Weber was a good defenseman, he never won a single title in the NHL. Pronger, mentioned in the previous section, won the Stanley Cup and the Hart Trophy (the first blueliner to claim it since Bobby Orr). In addition, he is a member of the Triple Gold Club. He received two Olympic gold medals and a gold medal at the World Championships. During that time, Weber received votes for the Norris Trophy but did not win it.
On the international stage, Weber has two Olympic gold medals and a gold and silver medal from the World Championships. While this is nice to have on your resume, those are really team awards. Canada didn't win those titles because of Weber alone. Sure he was there and contributed to the team effort, but that alone won't get him into the Hall of Fame in my humble opinion.
Personally, I don't think someone needs to win a Stanley Cup to get into the HOF. It was great when there were only six teams but, now that there are 32 teams chasing the final goal, it doesn't make sense. If that were the case, it would be the players from the best teams who would win the trophies. There is also the Conn Smythe Trophy which can only be won by the players of the two teams that reached the finals. I don't think there is any law about that, it just ends up like that.
Weber's character
There is absolutely no contradiction when it comes to Weber's character, he is a great leader and captain. In a rebuilding team full of children, he can even be a good father and help them grow in many ways. I remember an anecdote I read in Pierre Gervais and Mathias Brunet's book, Tales from the Dressing Room, which I don't have, but someone quoted it on X:
Regarding his leadership, when the Canadiens made those Stanley Cup games in 2021, it was not for their coach or anyone else but for their captain, who could see the end of his career coming, and Carey Price who was also fighting a knee. problems. When they lost against the Tampa Bay Lightning, many Canadiens players went to console Weber, as if they knew it was the end of the line for him.
Related: Shea Weber's best moments with the Canadiens
Don't get me wrong, I know Weber is a great player and leader, but the Hall of Fame shouldn't be for great players, it should be for those who truly made a mark on the game. The fact that he got 1,000 games is great, but personally when I think of Weber the first thing that comes to mind is the ridiculous gift card he got from the Philadelphia Flyers. Defenseman Raymond Bourque, who had the entire league rooting for him to win the trophy with the Colorado Avalanche, is a prime example of the type of defenseman I would like to see in the Hall of Fame. For me, Weber doesn't cut it, but everyone is entitled to their opinion. Feel free to let me know why you think he should be upvoted.
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