Will any Edmonton Oilers be named to the Hockey Hall of Fame this year?

The Edmonton Oilers already have a number of players in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Glenn Anderson, Paul Coffey, Grant Fuhr, Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Mark Messier, Adam Oates, Chris Pronger, Jacques Plante and Norm Ullman. The later two, of course, suited up for the Oilers of the WHA.

But there’s one player in my mind who is a notable omission: Kevin Lowe. If you’re a regular reader of what I write here on OilersNation, you’ll have seen me mention his name a few times in recent weeks.

While that stuff was mainly about his time as head coach, general manager and president of hockey ops, his time as a player is what should arguably have him in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Lowe is now in his 20th year of eligibility he’s won six Stanley Cup rings in the league and while he wasn’t known for his offensive prowess, he was a key cog in the defensive game of the Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers.

As noted by TSN’s Steve Dryden, last year’s HHOF committee elected of the best defensive forwards in Guy Carbonneau, arguably the first since Bob Gainey in 1992.

Again, as Dryden noted, this could bode well for Lowe and his chance to get into the hall. I hope he’s able to make it in.

There’s only one other Oiler who may get a phone call tomorrow and that’s Curtis Joseph. His case is on the weaker side and may not ever get the call.

Playing in his favour, however, is the fact that he is seventh on the all-time wins list. Playing against him, however, is the fact he never won a Stanley Cup nor a Vezina. Ahead of CuJo in the wins category are Henrik Lundqvist, Marc-Andre Fleury, Ed Belfour, Roberto Luongo, Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur.

Belfour, Roy and Brodeur are already in the HHOF, and the other three are very good candidates too.

Nonetheless, with the announcement set for 2:30 p.m. MST on Wednesday, it will be interesting to see if Lowe will get the call. I think he’s deserving of it especially considering he has been waiting so long.

The committee has some tough options, though. Jarome Iginla is all but a lock in his first year of eligibility and here’s a list of some of the other top candidates: Alexander Mogilny, Daniel Alfredsson and Marian Hossa.

Here’s a look at the voters: Jari Kurri, Igor Larionov, Bobby Clarke, Luc Robitaille, Ron Francis, Mike Gartner, Anders Hedberg, Brian Burke, David Poile, John Davidson, Mike Murphy, Mark Chipman, David Branch, Cassie Campbell-Pascall and media selectors Mike Farber, Bob McKenzie, Pierre McGuire and Marc De Foy. A total of 14 out of 18 votes are needed for entry.

On Twitter: @zjlaing