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Why isn’t Rick Martin in the Hockey Hall of Fame?


dudacek

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Why isn’t Rick Martin in the Hall?
He was arguably the best left wing of the 1970s before injuries cut his career short. 
4th highest goal scorer, 2nd highest PPG scorer and 9th highest point getter of the decade, leading all left wings in all three categories. 11th all-time in goals per game.
Compares very well to Barber, Gillies and Shutt, each of whom are in the hall.

From his Wikipedia page:

  • 1st Team All Star (1973–74)
  • 1st Team All Star (1974–75)
  • 2nd Team All Star (1975–76)
  • 2nd Team All Star (1976–77)
  • 7 Straight NHL All Star Game Appearances (1972 - 1978)
  • 3rd All Time in Hat Tricks (21) among Left Wingers (Modern Era)
  • 11th All Time in Career Goals Per Game Average in NHL History
  • Gold Championship Canada Cup 1976 (Team Canada)
  • 5 "Top 10" finishes in Goals
  • 2 "Top 10" finishes in Points
  • 5 "Top 10" finishes in Even Strength Goals
  • 3 "Top 10" finishes in Game Winning Goals
  • 5 "Top 10" finishes in Power Play Goals
  • 5 "Top 10" finishes in Goals Per Game Average
  • 2 "Top 10" finishes in Points Per Game Average
  • 6 Team Scoring Records (Buffalo Sabres)
  • #7 Team Jersey Retired (Buffalo Sabres)
  • Buffalo Sabres Hall Of Famer
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2 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

No reason other then lack of longevity of his career.

That's the primary reason.  A strong secondary reason was his, correct, complaints about the Sabres Drs misdiagnosing his leg injury which led to both his being labelled a maligner & also his playing on said injured leg which caused the injury to worsen & become a major factor in aforementioned  lack of longevity.  Both of which additionally led to the Sabres exiling him to LA when the Kings were not particulary a part of the NHL landscape.

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Thank you dudacek.

Rico was my favorite Sabre, and athlete in any sport, when I was a kid.  My beloved family dog is now named after him.

My heart broke when Mike Palmateer undercut his knee, and broke again when Scotty traded him.  And I felt a real loss as an adult when he passed away (which happened right after TP bought the team and reunited the incomparable French Connection, making the reunion kinda bittersweet).

I knew he was great, and entertaining, and a very dangerous and well-respected player around the league for a long time.  But I did not know how compelling his numbers were, especially relative to his era and to the peers you named (each of whom was a great player who was also, and fairly enough, helped into the HOF by the multiple Cups he won). 

Quote

4th highest goal scorer, 2nd highest PPG scorer and 9th highest point getter of the decade, leading all left wings in all three categories. 11th all-time in goals per game.

It's good to know I wasn't just star-struck.

Gil and Dom were better, but Rico has a strong claim for #3 all-time.

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He had the hardest/fastest slap shot in the world.The shoulders he put into every shot was remarkable to see.

At least he won that lawsuit and got a couple million.

But he didnt have it that bad.Bad things happen to all of us and having a messed up knee AFTER gaining some money and lots of fame

isnt that terrible.

I think he should be considered for hall of fame given the circumstances of his career ending knee injury and the high quality and great production

in the years he played...Lots of worse players just hang around forever and accumulate tons of points.

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6 hours ago, FuhrUrsinne said:

I'd like to see Mogilny, Turgeon, and Barrasso in before Martin.

Turgeon was a classic floater...didnt have much of an overall game exc for being opportunistic as a goal scorer.he would skate around like he was at rockefeller ctr in NYC but would usually sneak in there for a goal or assist.He did accumulate lots of points but i think Martin was superior.

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Rico was my favorite player as a kid.  I would agree with others that he may not be a HoF candidate due to the relative shortness of his career.  If he put up the same stats over a longer period of time, he would likely have had more consideration.  Also, he may have been overshadowed by playing with Gil.  RIP, Rico.

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58 minutes ago, Eleven said:

I don't think he belongs.  Mostly because of the short career.

Mogilny, OTOH, is the only 70+ goal scorer not in the HOF.

I definitely agree with Mogilny. I was surprised when I found out Mogilny was not in the HoF a couple weeks ago with the career he had and what he did to get here and play. I was also a bit shocked that Martin was not in, his shooting % was something like 20%. I can’t say to much since I never seen him play I started watching in the early 90s. My dad would tell me stories about his slap shot. 

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The day Rick Martin died we played Ottawa. Nathan Gerbe went streaking down the left side and fired a slapper from just inside the blue line that beat Craig Anderson(pretty sure it was Anderson) up top. A goal reminiscent of Rico. We won that game. I'm not in the habit of remembering random March games. This one sticks out because I was at a St Patrick's day parade and after party where I got jumped into a street fight and was then hit by a car. This is my only memory of Rick Martin.

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3 hours ago, ubkev said:

The day Rick Martin died we played Ottawa. Nathan Gerbe went streaking down the left side and fired a slapper from just inside the blue line that beat Craig Anderson(pretty sure it was Anderson) up top. A goal reminiscent of Rico. We won that game. I'm not in the habit of remembering random March games. This one sticks out because I was at a St Patrick's day parade and after party where I got jumped into a street fight and was then hit by a car. This is my only memory of Rick Martin.

I was at that game!

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