With the induction of possibly the best HOF class ever yesterday, it sparked some debate on which class is better: the 2009 class of Yzerman, Hull, Leetch and Robitaille, or the 2007 class of Messier, MacInnis, Stevens and Francis. It’s a tough call, and there probably is no wrong answer here. But let’s run through the NHL regular season numbers:

2009 Class:

  • Goals: 2,348 (Yzerman-692, Hull-741, Leetch-247, Robitaille-668)
  • Assists: 3,220 (Yzerman-1,063, Hull-650, Leetch-781, Robitaille-726)
  • Points: 5,568 (Yzerman-1,755, Hull-1,391, Leetch-1,028, Robitaille-1,394)
  • Stanley Cups: 7 (Yzerman-3, Hull-2, Leetch-1, Robitaille-1)
  • Awards: 1 Hart (Hull), 2 Pearson (Yzerman, Hull), 2 Conn Smythe (Yzerman, Leetch), 1 Selke (Yzerman), 1 Masterson (Yzerman), 1 Byng (Hull), 2 Norris (Leetch), 2 Calder (Leetch, Robitaille)
  • All-Star Appearances: 36 (Yzerman-10, Hull-8, Leetch-10, Robitaille-8)

2007 Class:

  • Goals: 1,779 (Messier-694, MacInnis-340, Stevens-196, Francis-549)
  • Assists: 4,088 (Messier-1,193, MacInnis-934, Stevens-712, Francis-1,249)
  • Points: 5,867 (Messier-1,887, MacInnis-1,274, Stevens-908, Francis-1,798)
  • Stanley Cups: 12 (Messier-6, MacInnis-1, Stevens-3, Francis-2)
  • Awards: 2 Harts (Messier), 3 Conn Smythes (Messier, MacInnis, Stevens), 2 Pearsons (Messier), 1 Norris (MacInnis), 1 Selke (Francis), 3 Byngs (Francis), 1 Clancy (Francis)
  • All-Star Appearances: 47 (Messier-15, MacInnis-15, Stevens-13, Francis-4)

It really is a toss up. There is no wrong answer here, cases can be made for both, and these are just the raw numbers. There was much more to each of these players than just statistics, especially with Scott Stevens.

The only surprise here is that Ron Francis was only voted to the All-Star Game four times. That’s an absolute travesty.

Update 4:00pm: Actually, let’s make a poll out of this. It’s mid-page, on the right hand side.

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