Hockey Hall of Fame

Tim Thomas had an incredible season backstopping for the Boston Bruins while leading them to their first Stanley Cup championship since 1972. Although Thomas has only been in the NHL for six seasons, could it be safe to say he is working on a hall of fame career. I say, the numbers don't lie.

Mark Howe and Jesus Christ have a lot in common; they’re both sons of gods who did pretty well in carrying on the family tradition.

On April 14, 1955, Gordie Howe skated off the ice at Detroit’s Olympia Stadium as a Stanley Cup champion for the fourth time with the Red Wings. One month and 14 days later, Gordie and Colleen Howe welcomed their second son, Mark, into the world.

Its a debate that has raged for years and will continue to rage long after this column.

Who are the greatest hockey players in the history of the great sport of hockey?

With this list, I tried to be a fair as possible in considering every aspect I possibly could. 

Taking into account everything I could think of and not necessarily in this order: era they played, stamina, how injuries effected total numbers, of course statistics and the competition level they faced.

It was October 27th, 1993 at the Joe Louis Arena. An anxious 21-year-old rookie netminder out of Peace River, Alberta tended goal for the Detroit Red Wings en route to his first career win in an 8-3 victory over Wayne Gretzky and the powerhouse Los Angeles Kings.

That 21-year-old never looked back since.

When the name Chris Osgood comes to mind, you automatically associate him with Hockeytown and one of the few remaining Red Wings from their early '90s dynasty teams.

On Thursday, the US Hockey Hall of Fame announced the Class of 2010, and front and center is former Chicago Blackhawks superstar Jeremy Roenick .

The thought of celebrating Roenick's career got the wheels turning... so many memories, so many great highlights, such an ugly divorce.

What do you remember most about the Jeremy Roenick Era of the Chicago Blackhawks?

The NHL offseason had officially kicked off as Montreal shipped off playoff hero and pending restricted free agent Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues for two prospects and the Nashville Predators traded their captain, Jason Arnott, back to a place he won a cup and pending free agent prize Dan Hamhuis to the Flyers.

Furious player movement in the summer has become the norm in the salary cap era and has given NHL fans across the board something to wake up and be excited about as teams attempt to win a paper championship.

Next week, the 2009 class will be inducted into the hall of fame, which is arguably the greatest class of all time.

But this isn't about this class; this is a look at next year's class. Some players have been kept out of the hall many years after being eligible, and maybe next year might be the year for them.

Or not...Anyways, here's a look at the top six players I believe have the best chance or maybe should phrase most deserving to make the Hall.

LOS ANGELES — Compared to many of today’s goalies who are six feet tall or more, former Los Angeles Kings’ superstar goalie Rogie Vachon is small by comparison, probably around 5-7 (I’m 5-9 and I am taller than Vachon). But despite his relatively small physical stature, Vachon’s place among National Hockey League goalies, past and present, looms large. Based on his performance throughout his sixteen-year NHL career, Vachon is clearly among the elite.

Here on Bleacher Report, we're looking to start an NHL mailbag—something that's been an on and off attempt for a while, but now we're getting serious about. Got a question about anything NHL? Post it to my profile or email it to me at bryanthiel74@hotmail.com and we'll get to all of them in an upcoming mailbag.

Eight summers ago, Luc Robitaille did a different turn on an old adage.

Normally, it’s, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”

Robitaille spun that a little bit and tried, “AFTER you beat ‘em, join ‘em.”

It worked out. They didn’t call him “Lucky Luc” for nothing.

Robitaille, along with sniper Brett Hull and all-world goalie Dominik Hasek, joined the Detroit Red Wings in the summer of 2001. Robitaille and Hull were free agents; Hasek came to the Wings in a trade.