New Kids In The Hall

The new Hall of Famers

Hey puckheads! I was fortunate enough to be invited to the Hockey Hall of Fame Induction weekend. This was a special occasion for me because of the Red Wing flavor of the proceedings. Although I am firmly entrenched in tropical Tampa Bay, I am a native Detroiter and a lifelong Wings fan. So after a flight from Hockey Bay to Hockeytown, I headed across the border, down the 402 for a four-hour drive to the hockey Mecca of Toronto.

For those of you that have never been to this cathedral of hockey lore, it is anything but that. I find it quite cheesy that one must walk through the retail jungle of Brookfield Place Mall, and through the hallowed halls “storefront” entrance adorned with an impotent sign that simply says “HOCKEY,” to visit our ice heroes of the past. But, I digress.

Throughout the weekend I talked with fans and players alike and the question that everyone seemed to be debating was, “Is this the greatest Hockey Hall of

Is this the place?

Fame class in history?” I came away with a simple answer, “You betcha!” Not even the class of 1972 that inducted Gordie Howe, Bernie Geoffrion and Jean Beliveau or the class of 1983 honoring Bobby Hull, Ken Dryden and Stan Mikita comes close.

The 2009 Hall of Fame quartet of Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille and Brian Leetch scored a total of 2,348 goals, had 3,320 assists, for a grand total of 5,568 points in 5,419 games over an aggregate total of 73 NHL seasons. In total they have a Lady Byng Trophy, a Hart Trophy, a Selke Trophy, a Masterton Trophy, two Pearson Awards, two Calder Trophies, two Conn Smythe Trophies and seven Stanley Cups on their mantles.

This is, without a doubt the best four players to enter the Hockey Hall of Fame together.

Paint Toronto Red

It certainly was a Red Wing weekend as Yzerman, Hull and Robitaille all wore the winged wheel during their careers. In 2001-02 these three classmates played together on what may be the greatest team ever. This legendary squad was 51-17-10-4, scored 251 goals and allowed just 187 goals on the way to a Stanley Cup championship. They had four confirmed Hall of Famers on the roster (Steve Yzerman, Luc Robitaille, Brett Hull and Igor Larionov) and realistically could end up with five or six more (Nick Lidstrom, Chris Chelios, Dominik Hasek, Sergei Fedorov, Pavel Datsyuk and Brendan Shanahan). They were coached by Hall of Famer Scotty Bowman.

In a question and answer session, the new inductees spoke about that Stanley Cup winning team:

“It was one of the greatest moments of my career and I will be thankful forever,” Luc Robitaille said.

“Ken Holland gave me the opportunity to play for what might be the greatest team ever assembled,” stated Brett Hull.

“It’s funny that you and many others say that the three of us would be a good line. Scotty tried it once and hated it. He split us all up and put us on different lines,” a chuckling Yzerman said.

This group of 2001-02 Stanley Cup champions was only the third group of teammates ever inducted into the Hall of Fame together.

The new kids answer questions

The Class of 2009

Brett Andrew Hull

“The Golden Brett” scored 741 career goals over 19 seasons, third on the league’s all-time list and won two Stanley Cups. But what I will take away from the weekend is his respect for his father, the Golden Jet, Hall of Famer Bobby Hull, and his sense of humor.

Brett was born in Ontario and is a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen. He joins his father, Bobby, in the Hall of Fame with the distinction of being the top father-son duo in NHL history. Bobby and the rest of Hull family were in Toronto for the weekend.

“He gave me giant footsteps to follow,” Hull said of his father. “He taught me to speak my mind. He gave me the best advice that a father could have ever given: “The further you are from the play, the closest you are to it. I am really fortunate that I was able to figure out what the hell he was talking about.” Huh?

Luc Robitaille

I rank “Lucky Luc” as the second best left-winger of all time, behind only Bobby Hull. He is the greatest late round draft pick in hockey history. He was drafted in the ninth round of the 1984 draft by the Los Angeles Kings, and he went on to rank 19th in NHL history with 1,394 points.

I listened as Luc talked to a group of us in the hotel restaurant: “I was on one draft list. There was one person who believed in me. That was Alex (Kings scout Alex Martin). He is the reason I’m speaking English today, the reason I am here in the Hall.” Luc would say much the same thing in his induction speech on Monday.

I caught him later in the evening and congratulated him on a well-deserved honor, and he said, “Thank you, but I’m still in shock.”

Brian Joseph Leetch

I rank Leetch as my third all-time greatest American born player behind Pat Lafontaine and Mike Modano and just ahead of Chris Chelios. He had five, 20 goal seasons and accumulated 1,028 points during his stellar career.

I saw Brian just once during the induction weekend. He was in the lobby of the hotel and was signing autographs for anyone who wanted them. He was truly taking in everything that he could during the weekend. He seemed to be enjoying himself more than any other newly enshrined player.

I asked him how it felt to be a Hall of Famer. Leetch responded with, “It’s hard to put into words. It’s really overwhelming. Bobby Orr and Guy Lafleur were the Hall of Fame. Those are Hall of Famers. Those players belong here. I feel like I am just visiting.”

I asked Leetch if he wanted to continue working in hockey and maybe coaching. He said, “I won’t be a head coach, but I’d work with the young defensemen and share my experiences with them.”

I then asked if he was looking forward to skating in the Legends Game on Sunday. He rolled his eyes, smiled and said, “I haven’t been on skates in over a year, and I’ll probably fall.”

After being around “Lucky Luc,” Leetch and “The Golden Brett,” I can only describe this trio one way…self-effacing. All three of these sports icons considered themselves background decorations to the celebration of hockey in Toronto.

Next up, “The Captain,” Stevie Y enters the hall.