Rob Blake Retiring

[flemingc04]

Already been posted ;)

I looked and apparently I was blind My mistake.

Dude, if you think for even a second he won't get in, you're either not very well versed in your hockey knowledge or are just too young to have seen him play start to finish.

The guy will walk in, first ballot, with a key to the front door.

Yes, I am biased but the stats and accomplishments don't lie.

And no, I don't have 3 or 4 hours to type them all out.

Well since I started collecting cards a little before he was a rc, I guess you can argue I'm not well versed with my hockey knowledge, but I beg to differ.

I don;t think it's safe to say it's a sure lock on getting in on the first ballott. I'd say Blake definitely has a decent chance, but with the long list of other very qualified candidates, it might be a little while if he does get in. Yes, the list of Blake's qualifications would be long, but so would the list of other legitamate candidates (Bure, Sundin, Gilmour, Modanno, Andreychuk, Nieuwendyk, Chellios, Fleury, etc.)

Even as once article I read suggests, Ciccarelli, Larmer, and Vernon are still on the list of potentnial candidates and yet they have been retired for quite some time.

[RGM81]

Well considering I knew this about 3 months ago, no biggie.

Not sure what you mean by what am I to "do" Richard?

I actually told Brian Price this was likely his last year as I was trying to acquire a Sharks gamer of Rob's for him for some upcoming releases.

Nothing to say, guy's a first ballot HOFer, one of the best d-men to play and easily one of the classiest dudes.

Thanks for an amazing career Blakey!

Collecting-wise, mostly. I don't know if Blake's in that same echelon as Roy, Lemieux, Gretzky, etc., in the eyes of the card companies to produce a lot of stuff post-retirement. Here's hoping you can still add some nice pieces!

[geschrocks33]

Kudos to Blake for an awesome career!

[gretzky99]

as much as i dislike Blake for what he did to the Kings, i think he's a certain HOFer. you have to compare him to other d-men. you can't compare him to guys like Bure, Andreychuk, Modano, Gilmour, etc.

this of the d-men of the 90's. i can only think of a couple that were better.

Lidstrom is a given, but who else? some might argue Chelios. he played on better teams but i'm not sure he was better. there is Bourque, but he's already in and really made a name for himself in the 80s. same with Coffey, Leetch and MacInnis. those guys won every Norris from 84-99.

so he's a top 5 d-man during the 90s. that gets you in the HOF.

[30ranfordfan]

Probably right. I was actually just talking about this with a co-worker today.... who are the best d-men of the last 20 years? I'm limiting myself to guys that had RCs in 1990-91 or later.

Better than Blake? There's three guys who go on that list. Lidstrom, Pronger, Neidermayer. All three of them are locks to be 1st Ballot HOFers, and I don't think Blake is any different.

as much as i dislike Blake for what he did to the Kings, i think he's a certain HOFer. you have to compare him to other d-men. you can't compare him to guys like Bure, Andreychuk, Modano, Gilmour, etc.

this of the d-men of the 90's. i can only think of a couple that were better.

Lidstrom is a given, but who else? some might argue Chelios. he played on better teams but i'm not sure he was better. there is Bourque, but he's already in and really made a name for himself in the 80s. same with Coffey, Leetch and MacInnis. those guys won every Norris from 84-99.

so he's a top 5 d-man during the 90s. that gets you in the HOF.

[Prime B]

Collecting-wise, mostly. I don't know if Blake's in that same echelon as Roy, Lemieux, Gretzky, etc., in the eyes of the card companies to produce a lot of stuff post-retirement. Here's hoping you can still add some nice pieces!

I gotcha dude, I was lost on that one!

First of all, he'll never even be mentioned in the same breath as those guys. And I am sure the card companies aren't eager to put him in stuff.

Brian pretty much put him in ITG products this year at my pleading.

The outlook for cards? Well, UD has pretty much dumped him the past 3 years. He has had a total of ONE autograph in 07-08, 08-09 and 09-10 UD products.

ITG smashed that this year in Ultimate with two!
So I am not concerned either way. I am sure I'll end up like Sean with Ranford, grabbing what I can when it pops up. I am sure Brian will continue to appease me with some stuff.

Other than that it'll be a nice break and as Austin grows we can focus more on his Anze Kopitar PC.

Maybe I'll start a new player PC from the "over-proliferation-era" of cards?
It's almost like I am retiring!

[Prime B]

as much as i dislike Blake for what he did to the Kings, i think he's a certain HOFer. you have to compare him to other d-men. you can't compare him to guys like Bure, Andreychuk, Modano, Gilmour, etc.

this of the d-men of the 90's. i can only think of a couple that were better.

Lidstrom is a given, but who else? some might argue Chelios. he played on better teams but i'm not sure he was better. there is Bourque, but he's already in and really made a name for himself in the 80s. same with Coffey, Leetch and MacInnis. those guys won every Norris from 84-99.

so he's a top 5 d-man during the 90s. that gets you in the HOF.

Probably right. I was actually just talking about this with a co-worker today.... who are the best d-men of the last 20 years? I'm limiting myself to guys that had RCs in 1990-91 or later.

Better than Blake? There's three guys who go on that list. Lidstrom, Pronger, Neidermayer. All three of them are locks to be 1st Ballot HOFers, and I don't think Blake is any different.

All excellent and valid points Dave and Sean.

You can't compare forwards, d-men and goalies, it's just plain irrelevant.

Blake has one foot in the HHOF already, first ballot, no doubt.

Cya all in TO in 2013.

[Prime B]

Quick update.

Rob is in LA right now but is headed back to SJ on the 18th to make the announcement.

Until then, thanks again for the memories Blakey!

[Prime B]

This article doesn't say either way what he is doing but you can trust me, it's a done deal next Friday the 18th.

Just like the HHOF is a done deal.

Trust me.

http://sharks.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=531568&navid=DL|SJS|home

[CSSports]

Here is how I look at it....

Blakey is definitely HHOF bound....no doubt.... He had a great Career

LA LOVED him in the early 90s....but the year he got traded to Colorado, fans turned on him (Salary demands after becoming Norris winner)....and most never looked back....He returned but he was not the fan favorite he was in the 90s...most didnt cheer for him (some still BOOed him) but LA was starting to get back to the Blake bandwagon.....and helping Jack Johnson along in his rookie year was something we all hoped would last longer than it did....then he took off to San Jose.....THAT brought back the sour taste LA fans had when he went to Colorado....Most thought it was all about $$$$$$ again - The real story, who knows... (well, maybe Barrie knows )

Regardless if you love him or hate him, Blake will get into the HHOF in his first year....