Dave Andreychuk
1639 GP, 640 goals, 698 assists, 1338 points
Two time 50 goal scorer
2004 Stanley Cup
I should add, not in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Andreychuk has the most career goals, assists and points of any player eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame, but has not been inducted. With the induction of Chris Chelios, Andreychuk has also played the most games for a player not in the HHOF. That is perhaps the knock on Andreychuk, he was consistently good for a long time, but never consistently great.
Andreychuk was drafted 16th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 1982. He would help Team Canada win the bronze medal at the 1983 World Junior Championship. Andreychuk led the team in scoring, scoring 11 points, one more than Mario Lemieux. He would end the season with Sabres and would be their top goal scorer for years to come. His 368 goals with the Sabres ranks him third in franchise history.
Andreychuk was drafted 16th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 1982. He would help Team Canada win the bronze medal at the 1983 World Junior Championship. Andreychuk led the team in scoring, scoring 11 points, one more than Mario Lemieux. He would end the season with Sabres and would be their top goal scorer for years to come. His 368 goals with the Sabres ranks him third in franchise history.
By 1992, with the emergence of Alexnader Mogilny along with Pat Lafontaine and Dale Hawerchuk, the Sabres had no trouble scoring, but felt they had an issue between the pipes with Darren Puppa and an unproven Dominik Hasek. The Toronto Maple Leafs felt they had an emerging star of their own with goalie Felix Potvin, which made aging star Grant Fuhr expendable. The Leafs and Sabres worked out a midseason trade with Andreychuk and Fuhr being the key players.
In Toronto, Andreychuk, teamed with Doug Gilmour, put up back-to-back 50 goal seasons and 99 point seasons in 1993 and 1994. The Leafs made it to the Campbell Conference Final two years in a row but came up short each time. Andreychuk's production dropped each of the next two seasons and at the 1996 trade deadline, Andreychuk was traded to the defending Stanley Cup Champions, New Jersey Devils for a pair of draft picks.
Andreychuk was past his prime and was now playing for the offense-adverse Devils. He scored 27 goals and 61 points in his first season as a Devil, total he would not approach again for the rest of his career. With the exception of his rookie season and final season, his two seasons with the Devils are the only seasons Andreychuk did not score 20 goals.
Andreychuk would join the Boston Bruins in 1999 as a free agent. The Bruins had a miserable season, which included trading the face of the franchise, Raymond Bourque, to the Colorado Avalanche. Andreychuk was included in the deal, as both players gunned for their first Stanley Cup. The Avs lost in game 7 of the Conference Final. Andreychuk's old team, the Devils, bookended Andreychuk's time with the Devils with another Stanley Cup win. Too bad for Andreychuk, he was on the wrong end of the bookends.
Andreychuk would return to Buffalo for another 20 goal season. Andreychuk scored 20 goals 19 times during his career. After the 00-01 season, Andreychuk signed with a team that seemed to have no chance to win a Stanley Cup, the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Lightning had missd the play-off in five straight seasons and made it a sixth straight in Andreychuk's first season. But by 2002, a core of star became to emerge in Tampa. Led by coach John Tortorella, the team included Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Vinny Prospal, Dan Boyle and Nikolai Khabibulin. With Andreychuk as the Captain, the team made it to the Stanley Cup finals in 2004 and beat the Calgary Flames in seven games. Andreychuk had four assists in the Finals. It took 22 seasons, but Andreychuk was now a Stanley Cup champion.
After the 2004 lockout, instead of retiring, Andreychuk resigned with the Lightning for another two seasons. Halfway into the season, the Lightning waived Andreychuk. Instead of reporting to Springfield in the AHL, he retired, never playing a single game in the minors during his 23 year career.
Andreychuk finished with impressive career numbers, including being the all-time leader in career powerplay goals, but finds himself on the outside looking in when names are called for the Hall. Do you think Andreychuk will make it into the Hall of Fame? Do you think he should be in the Hall of Fame?
Andreychuk finished with impressive career numbers, including being the all-time leader in career powerplay goals, but finds himself on the outside looking in when names are called for the Hall. Do you think Andreychuk will make it into the Hall of Fame? Do you think he should be in the Hall of Fame?
Unfortunately, no, I don't think he deserves to be in the Hall. Even his Cup left a sour taste in my mouth.
ReplyDeleteHe was never essential to any team he ever played on, usually the third- or fourth-best forward on those teams. And if you start including those, might as well include the best players on awful teams, meaning Stephen Weiss and Chris Kontos would be a lock, as would Pat Falloon.
There are too many worthy candidates NOT currently in the Hall: Jean-Claude Tremblay, one of the 5 best defensers of the 1970s-1980s; Kevin lowe, the blue-line anchor on the too-good Oilers; Guy Carbonneau, the best two-way forward 1986-1998, and the best defensive centerman of all time.
Also, I'd pick players who DOMINATED for at least three years (Lindros, LeClair) way ahead of him, but I don't think they're worthy either.
Andreychuk played with greats - Gilmour, LaFontaine, Mogilny, St. Louis) and potential greats (Lecavalier), but he himself fell short. In my opinion.
I don't think you can compare Andreychuk to Kontos, Weiss or Falloon. Andreychuk was a very good player for a very long time. I think he'll get in based on his career totals, but it's take awhile, a la Mark Howe.
DeleteI think Lindros should have already been in the Hall. Perhaps in 2015 when the first year class looks weaker.
If you put LeClair in the you also have to put Tkachuk in and consider Bondra.