Paul Henderson (Hall of Fame)

[speedster]

Al Strachan of the Toronto Sun brought this up yet again in his column last week.The question is:Should Paul Henderson be in the Hall of Fame.I know hockey guys like Realgeorge,Jaxvid and Don will know who Henderson is,but for those who don't I'll tell you.Hang in here with me as I'll attempt to be brief.Paul Henderson is a hockey legend in Canada but for only one thing and that is for scoring the winning goal that beat the Soviet Union that gave Canada a razor-thin 4 games to 3 with one tie win.This historic series took place back in 1972 and it was the first time Canada was able to use it's best players,all NHL'ers,in any international play.It was supposed to be a white-wash for Canada,but they nearly blew it, thanks to Henderson's heroics,who also scored the winning goals in games 6 and 7,Canada was saved of a national embarassment.This series was so huge for Canada that when the 8th and final game was being played that Sept.28 afternoon the country literally stood still.It's akin to asking someone,where were you when Kennedy was shot or where were you during 9/11.Ask a Canadian where they were when Paul scored,they know.When he fired his winner the country went nuts.But outside of that he had a rather ordinary career.He was okay to start off his career in Detroit,but nothing special when he got traded to Toronto he showed he could score some,yet he wasn't amongst the elite.He had a career year in goals in '72 which was what got him on the Team Canada roster then after he had a couple of average seasons then he left for the WHA and returned briefly to the NHL for one year after the merger.He popped in something like 236 goals and a total of 477 points.Not bad but not Hall of Fame worthy in my book.The Henderson supporters never point out his career numbers when their talking Hall of Fame just that he scored the biggest goal in Canadian history and that should be enough.The Hockey Hall of Fame is the easiest of the halls to get into,not at all like Cooperstown,but they have let players like Clark Gillies in so they might relent on the Henderson issue,but up to this point the have not.What do you guys think? You can check out Hendrson's numbers at hockeydb.com.

 

[jaxvid]

Like you said RG the Hockey Hall of Fame is not Cooperstown where the bar is set so high. Paul Henderson is one of the most well remembered of hockey players and his time in the limelight was one of the brightest ever for the game. I remember him a bit on the Red Wings, he was a decent player but not what you would call spectacular or Hall of Fame, but that series changed everthing. Boy do I remember that goal!!! It was bigger then the Team USA win against the USSR. I think yeah, what the heck put him in so they can talk about the old days and one of the most memorable times in hockey history.

 

[Don Wassall]

Ithink a place in the Hall of Fame in any sport is built over a career and not just a play or even a season or two. That's a major reason whyHallsrequire aminimum amount of seasons played before a player can be considered for election.


AreMike Eruzione and Jim CraigHall of Famers?No, but they'll always be heroes to U.S. hockey fans. Henderson willalways have fame and be remembered with great nostalgia by Canadian (and some American) hockey fans, which is recognition enough.