It hurt some of the guys here including me

He was really fun to watch, there was no doubt about that.”Shame On The Hockey Hall of FameAs stated earlier, Vachon’s career statistics and accomplishments make a rock solid case for him being more than worthy of induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.“He wasn’t a big guy, yet he played so well and really, the shame is that he’s not in the Hockey Hall of Fame when the numbers he has are better than some who are in the Hall of Fame, and he has those seasons and those numbers with very mediocre Kings teams,” said Miller.“The nights he played for us, he certainly was in the Hall of Fame category,” said Berry.Vachon’s stellar play in the 1976 Canada Cup tournament also adds to his credentials, as he led Canada to the tournament championship with a 1.39 goals-against average, a .963 save percentage and two shutouts in seven games. He was named as the best goalie of the tournament and the Most Valuable Player for Canada.“That was pretty awesome, too,” Vachon beamed. “It’s totally different from winning the Stanley Cup because you’re playing for your country. We had such a great team and I was really hot in goal, but we still had to go into overtime to win the championship. That’s how good the other teams were.”“I remember the last game we played against the Czechs,” Vachon added I made one of the best glove saves of my career.

A forward came in, about thirty feet away, I think it was Ivan Hlinka He was the top star in those days for the Czech team. Moreover, the Kings only had about fifteen games on television each season at the time.“There were very, very few games on TV,” Vachon explained. “There were probably 15-20 games broadcast locally and the all people back East would just read about it in the paper.”To be sure, Vachon played in complete anonymity on most nights except to those in Southern California.“It’s pretty strange,” said Vachon. “When you played in the West in those days, you didn’t get the recognition that guys like Ed Giacomin got in New York or some of the guys playing in Montreal. It hurt some of the guys here, including me.”“If you compare my numbers with the guys who were inducted at that time, there’s no question that I should’ve been there,” added Vachon.

“But what are you going to do”“If Vachon had been the number one goaltender in Montreal for all those years, he would have been a first ballot Hall of Famer,” Miller emphasized. “But he did it here and they didn’t hear about it.”Although Vachon does not seem to be bitter about being passed over for induction, he is disappointed.“It’s disappointing,” he said, “Every hockey player dreams about being in the Hockey Hall of Fame. But certain things in life you can’t control and that’s one of them.”Vachon came ever so close to induction in 1987, his first year of eligibility.“The first time around, someone on the selection committee told me that I had missed by one vote,” he said.“That’s missing from my resume,” he added. “Even though my jersey has been retired by the Kings, that’s it. Induction into the Hall of Fame is the ultimate for an athlete, to be in the hall All the people come in and see that you're there It would mean a lot.”But since 1987 Nothing. Nevertheless, hope remains.“A few years ago, Dick Duff, who played in Montreal, Toronto and briefly in Los Angeles had to wait all those years but they finally put him in the Hall in 2006,” said Vachon. “He was like me, waiting more than twenty or thirty years.”Miller said that the Hockey Hall of Fame’s credibility is weakened by the fact that Vachon is still not an honored member.“It really is a shame and the Hockey Hall of Fame should be ashamed of themselves that he wasn’t nominated earlier or not nominated at all,” said Miller.