Which Salary Cap Era Teams Had the Most Hall of Famers?

With the inductions of Nicklas Lidstrom and Sergei Federov into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday, the hockey world spent a great deal of time talking about that 2002 Red Wings team and its place in history. When Pavel Datsyuk gains entry into the Hall of Fame, he will be the tenth player from that roster to have done so.

This got me thinking about where the 2007 Ducks team fits into these kind of discussions, particularly in comparison with other salary cap era teams. I've decided to take a look at each Stanley Cup team since the 2004-05 work stoppage, as well as some other notable non-winning teams that employed four or more Hall-quality players.

Stanley Cup Winners

2006 Carolina Hurricanes

Already In: Nobody.

More Likely Than Not: Mark Recchi

Good But Not Good Enough: Rod Brind'Amour, Ray Whitney, Doug Weight

Wild Card: Eric Staal

Projected Total: 1 or 2. Recchi may have to wait a few more years, but he'll probably get in eventually. If Staal can't rebound to elite form in the next couple of year, he'll need to pull a Recchi and stay productive into his forties in order to push his numbers into Hall territory.

2007 Anaheim Ducks

Already In: Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger

More Likely Than Not: Teemu Selanne, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry

Good But Not Good Enough: Jean-Sebastien Giguere

Wild Card: Nobody.

Projected Total: 5. Maybe putting Getzlaf and Perry in a different category than Eric Staal is reflective of my fan bias, but it seems like they've done enough to earn a spot in the Hall as long as they don't decline too quickly.

2008 Detroit Red Wings

Already In: Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Chelios, Dominik Hasek

More Likely Than Not: Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg

Good But Not Good Enough: Brian Rafalski, Tomas Holmstrom

Wild Card: Chris Osgood

Projected Total: 5 or 6 if the Hall eventually selects Osgood, who is a wild card because you either think he's a slam dunk or you think he shouldn't even be considered.

2009 Pittsburgh Penguins

Already In: Nobody.

More Likely Than Not: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin

Good But Not Good Enough:, Bill Guerin, Daryll Sydor, Petr Sykora Marc-Andre Fleury

Wild Card: Sergei Gonchar, Kris Letang

Projected Total: 3. Gonchar is by no means a shoo-in, but he might be a guy who gets in during a weak year somewhere down the line. Letang still has a shot, but right now that's about as much credit as I'm willing to give him. The Pens get three HOFers here because at least one guy on this list probably gets lucky.

2010, 2013, 2015 Chicago Blackhawks

Already In: Nobody.

More Likely Than Not: Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa

Good But Not Good Enough: Brad Richards (2015), Brian Campbell (2010), Kimmo Timonen (2015), Corey Crawford (2013, 2015)

Wild Card: Nobody.

Projected Total: 4. Hossa would be bordeline if he didn't have three Cups, and of the other guys, only Richards really comes close.

2011 Boston Bruins

Already In: Nobody.

More Likely Than Not: Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron

Good But Not Good Enough: Tim Thomas, Tuukka Rask

Wild Card: Tyler Seguin

Projected Total: 3. Only four goalies have been inducted in the last twenty years, so I'm not putting money on either of these admittedly excellent netminders. Seguin, on the other hand, is on the right track, even if he still has a long way to go. (And I suppose Bergeron might be more of a question mark than I think he should be.)

2012, 2014 Los Angeles Kings

Already In: Nobody

More Likely Than Not: Drew Doughty, Anzer Kopitar

Good But Not Good Enough: Marian Gaborik (2014), Jonathan Quick

Wild Card: Nobody.

Projected Total: 2. It's hard to see anybody other than Doughty and Kopitar making the cut, but it's even harder to see either of them missing it.

Non - Cup Winners

2006 Detroit Red Wings

Lost to the Edmonton Oilers in the first round.

Already In: Steve Yzerman, Niklas Lidstrom, Chris Chelios, Brendan Shanahan

More Likely Than Not: Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg

Good But Not Good Enough: Mathieu Schneider, Tomas Holmstrom

Wild Card: Chris Osgood

Projected Total: 6 or 7, depending on Osgood.

2008 Pittsburgh Penguins

Lost to the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Final

Same as 2009 Penguins, plus Marian Hossa. 4 projected Hall of Famers.

2009 Vancouver Canucks

Lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round.

Already In: Mats Sundin

More Likely Than Not: Roberto Luongo, Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin

Good But Not Good Enough: Pavol Demitra, Cory Schneider

Wild Card: Nobody

Projected Total: 4, because the Hall won't be dumb enough to exclude Vancouver's big three, and Schneider's on the wrong team right now to turn his impressive career into something more than that. Obviously, the '09 Canucks weren't Vancouver's best team in the Salary Cap Era, but if we're counting HOFers, a washed-up Sundin makes a difference.

2009 San Jose Sharks

Lost to the Anaheim Ducks in the first round.

Already In: Rob Blake

More Likely Than Not: Joe Thornton

Good But Not Good Enough: Dan Boyle, Joe Pavelski, Claude Lemieux, Evgeni Nabokov

Wild Card: Jeremy Roenick, Patrick Marleau,

Projected Total: Could be 2, 3, 4, or even 5. If Marleau either wins a Cup or stays productive past 40, he'll be in the conversation. If he does both, he'll be in the Hall. Roenick and Lemieux could come back into the mix down the line the way Phil Housley just did, and Pavelski still has some time to change his legacy.

2009 Detroit Red Wings

Lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Final.

Carbon copy of the 2008 Red Wings, except switch out a 44 year-old Hasek for a 30 year-old Marian Hossa. The HOF count remains 5 or 6 (Osgood).

2013 Boston Bruins

Lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Final.

Already In: Nobody.

More Likely Than Not: Jaromir Jagr, Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron

Good But Not Good Enough: Tuukka Rask

Wild Card: Tyler Seguin

Projected Total: 4 assuming Seguin pans out. Dougie Hamilton hasn't done nearly enough to warrant mention, but it's not impossible to envision him having a HOF career for the Flames.

2014 New York Rangers

Lost to the LA Kings in the Stanley Cup Final

Already In: Nobody

More Likely Than Not: Henrik Lundqvist

Good But Not Good Enough: Dan Boyle, Brad Richards

Wild Card: Martin St. Louis, Rick Nash

Projected Total: 2-4. Nobody here is completely out of the question, but Lundqvist aside, nobody is already a given.

2016 Edmonton Oilers

Nah, just kidding. (For now.)

Closing Thought

As expected, the Red Wings are the top dogs in terms of Hall of Fame count. But if you're trying to figure out who the best teams were, it's worth taking into the consideration the ages of these players. Guys like Yzerman, Chelios, Hasek, and Shanahan were undeniably incredible players in their time, but not necessarily during the salary cap era.

As far as the '07 Ducks are concerned, any argument about Getzlaf and Perry being too young while the others were too old can be negated by a quick look at the stats: Niedermayer won the Conn Smythe Trophy and the other four Hall of Famers finished one through four in team scoring during the playoffs.