Why Mark Recchi and Dave Andreychuk Should Have Been Elected to the Hall of Fame

Who do Dave Andreychuk and Mark Recchi have to blow away to earn their rightful spots in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

When word came down Monday, the obvious and correct decision was finally made—Eric Lindros was going into the Hall of Fame. Beyond that, there weren't many sure things for enshrinement in 2017. Sergei Makarov was a worthy choice and more Russians that didn't come to North America until later in their careers deserve consideration. Pat Quinn as a builder? You bet.

But if you told the average fan that this was the year a long wait ended, they probably wouldn't have said the name Rogie Vachon, who retired during Ronald Reagan's first term as president of the United States and never led the NHL in a goaltending category except goals allowed and losses in 1979-80. The committee decided Vachon's previously unworthy career was now worthy, even though there were more than a dozen occasions when the committee didn't induct the maximum numbers of players while Vachon was eligible.

For Andreychuk and Recchi, the odd timing of the 70-year-old Vachon's induction can serve as inspiration over the next two decades of their lives; but really, their latest snub should make them wonder who they wronged during their (potentially) Hall of Fame careers.

Recchi is 12th all-time in points with 1,533; Andreychuk is tied for 29th with Denis Savard (Hall of Fame inductee, 2000) at 1,338. Recchi won three Stanley Cups; Andreychuk won his in 2004 after spending most of his career on mostly very good but not great teams.

Of the NHL's 31 all-time points leaders, four are not in the Hall of Fame: Jaromir Jagr and Joe Thornton will be inducted once their careers are over and then there's Recchi and Andreychuk, who are being treated as though they desecrated the Hall in their playing days by urinating on Maurice Richard's gloves or something.

A side note about the outstanding numbers of Recchi and Andreychuk—they'd be even greater if not for work stoppages. They both lost a half season in 1994-95 and a full season in 2004-05, which is 116 games apiece. If Recchi was at 1,600 points and Andreychuk at 1,400 points, is either person staring at a computer screen wondering how Vachon was inducted before them?

Andreychuk (640 goals) and Recchi (577 goals) almost definitely would have reached 700 goals and 600 goals, respectively, if not for lockouts.

Even with the knowledge that each player lost 1.5 seasons to owners' greed, Andreychuk ranks 14th all-time in goals and Recchi ranks 20th. Assuming Jarome Iginla (611 goals) is enshrined when he retires, guess how many of the NHL's top-30 goal scorers aren't in the Hall of Fame.

That's not a very difficult question—of course it's just Andreychuk and Recchi.

The easy answer to why Recchi and Andreychuk aren't in the Hall of Fame—they are compilers. They both played until they were 42 years old, so their career totals look better than others who decided to retire in their mid-to-late-30s.

One person's compiler is another's durable player. And let's not act like Andreychuk and Recchi were being pushed around in wheelchairs near the end; no, they weren't Jagr and Gordie Howe but they were still very good players at the end of their careers that contributed to championships. From age 37 to the end of their careers, Recchi ranks fourth in points while Andreychuk sits in 24th.

To be clear, Recchi's case for the Hall if much stronger than Andreychuk's. To be clearer, Recchi's case is practically airtight, especially in a year like this where Vachon is one of three players inducted and the fourth spot isn't utilized. Throw in the fact that both Recchi and Andreychuk lost 82 games at the end of their careers to the season-long lockout, and their NHL senior citizen statistics probably would've left them ranked third and 20th, respectively.

Those are the final acts of their careers; what were Recchi and Andreychuk doing during their peak years?

From 1983 to 1994, Andreychuk scored at least 30 goals in nine of 11 seasons, at least 40 goals four times and reached at least 50 goals twice. During that time period, only seven players scored more than Andreychuk's 412 goals and all seven players are in the Hall of Fame (as are the five players directly behind Andreychuk). He's 15th in points (871) over that time with 12 of the 14 players ahead of him already in the Hall.

Andreychuk's 183 power-play goals are No. 1 during that 10-season span and the 274 for his career are the most all-time.

Recchi was at his most dominant from 1990 to 2001 when he had 941 points, the fourth-most over that time behind (yes, all Hall of Famers) Jagr, Joe Sakic and Adam Oates. While Andreychuk was the consummate finisher, Recchi was sixth in assists with 584.

If your response to those time periods for both Andreychuk and Recchi is, "Why should these two get into the Hall of Fame because one dominant 10-year period?" ask yourself why Lindros was tapped for the Hall on Monday.

Something else to consider about Andreychuk, who has a weaker resume than his counterpart—he got to play with Gilbert Perreault during the tail end of his Hall of Fame career but wasn't consistently surrounded with the same level of talent as Recchi. Andreychuk did a lot of his damage once Pierre Turgeon and Dale Hawerchuk got to Buffalo and after he went to Toronto and briefly played with Doug Gilmour, but Andreychuk did a lot of the work on very good teams while other players around him on the all-time goals list were blessed with all-time greats on their lines.

At the same time, Recchi shouldn't be punished because he got to play with Jagr, Mario Lemieux and Lindros during his career. If Luc Robitaille wasn't punished for spending his prime years alongside Wayne Gretzky and falling off the table after the age of 35, why are we punishing Andreychuk and Recchi?

Robitaille is the perfect, "Why is he in the Hall but not Andreychuk and Recchi?" argument. He had 28 more goals and 56 more points than Andreychuk and 139 points fewer than Recchi. The real question should be, "Why aren't all three of these guys in the Hall of Fame right now?"

The answer is a mix of optics, reputation and faulty memories, probably.

But if the Hall of Fame committee can somehow remember that Vochon belongs in the Hall, maybe that same committee will wake up to the fact that Andreychuk and Recchi belong there, too.

Next year, Martin Brodeur is a lock. Martin St. Louis will receive strong consideration and should gain entry, too. Barring a player who retired during the Cuban Missile Crisis getting the call, Andreychuk and Recchi should get the recognition they deserve in 2018.