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Hockey Hall of Fame committee had it easy this year

November 5, 2009 04:11 PM | Posted by   Mike Milbury  

How easy a time did the Hall of Fame Selection Committee have this year? The four players selected were as close to no-brainers as the committee has seen in some time.

While I only had the questionable pleasure of playing against some of them for a short time, I did have a rinkside view of them as an NHL coach.

Smooth operator

There was no more wonderful skater to watch than Brian Leetch. I mean, it seemed he could slide in any direction. His vision was outstanding and his ability to make things happen off the rush was always crowd pleasing. Wasn't he the Derek Jeter of the Rangers? Quiet, professional and always productive.

Brett Hull was annoying. How could anyone score with such apparent ease? And he was having way too much fun too. Despite most teams best efforts to shut him down, to shadow him with their best checkers, he always found a way to get open for the millisecond necessary to release one of the most potent shots in the game's history.

The worker

And Luc Robitaille was befuddling. The guy didn't skate that well. He wasn’t that big or mean, but he had the knack of getting it done. Last I looked, the team with the most goals scored wins the game. With Robitaille, the odds were in your favour. Of this group, I have a soft spot for Robitaille because it seemed that he had to pay a bigger price to get it done. The others seemed more natural.

And speaking of natural, Steve Yzerman played with more grace than anyone has a right to. Fluid, athletic and supremely talented, he sacrificed adding even more to his impressive point totals because he learned along the way that a more balanced approach brings a better team result. And talk about courage! By the end, he was taped together and still brought it on a nightly basis.

And the one other guy who will share the spotlight never scored an NHL goal. He did, however, net a few in a semi-pro league for the Walpole Sweepers of the old North American or Eastern League or whatever they called it at the time.

Loyal Lou

Lou Lamoriello played with a bunch of great American players who had little to no chance of ever seeing the NHL during the 1960s. Man, they played tough and they played hard and they played for the love of the game. As a little kid in that town, it was the closest thing to the NHL that I would experience in my youth.

But as we all know, Lou's greatest contributions have been as general manager of the Devils. No other GM spends more time fretting over his team and managing ... yeah, maybe micromanaging is better … but it works. Three Cups later, Lou seems fit and trim and ready for more. And his greatest quality? This guy is as loyal as they come. If you had to be in a foxhole with someone, it would be Lou because he would cover your back. Pat Burns could tell you a thing or two about that.

So, to the Committee, well done on electing these deserving guys. Next year might not be so easy. A guy by the name of Lindros is up for consideration.

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