Seven people were elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday, including former NHL forwards Teemu Selanne, Dave Andreychuk, Mark Recchi and Paul Kariya.
Others elected were Danielle Goyette, a retired Canadian women’s ice hockey player, Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs and college hockey coach Clare Drake. Jacobs and Drake each was elected as a builder.
Andreychuk played part of his career with the Buffalo Sabres, while Jacobs was born and raised in the Buffalo, NY area.
Selanne, who set an NHL rookie record with 76 goals for the Winnipeg Jets in 1992-93 and scored 684 times in 21 NHL seasons, was elected in his first year of eligibility. He broke the previous record of 53 set by Hall of Fame forward Mike Bossy of the New York Islanders in 1977-78, and his 132 points also are a record for an NHL rookie. Neither record has been approached.
“You made my day when you called me,” Selanne said to Hockey Hall of Fame chairman Lanny McDonald. “I want to thank you for this big honor. It’s going to be a very special group, and I’m very honored to be one of them. There are so many people who have helped me so much. I’m a very lucky man. I can’t wait for November.”
The 2017 induction ceremony will be in Toronto on Nov. 13.
Andreychuk, who was captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning when they won their only Stanley Cup championship in 2004, had been the only retired player with at least 600 goals (640) not in the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was elected in his ninth year of eligibility.
“When I look back, I always think of hockey as a team game and it was never about me,” Andreychuk said. “As a player it is how we are taught and that makes this individual award even more unique.”
Recchi, a Stanley Cup winner with three teams during his 22-season NHL career and the 12th-highest scorer in League history (1,533 points), was elected after waiting four years. He was the only retired player to score more than 500 goals (577) and finish his career with more than 1,500 points (1,533) not in the Hall.
“I can’t thank the selection committee enough for this recognition,” Recchi said. “It’s an incredible feeling and the icing on the cake after 22 years of playing the game.”
Kariya was a three-time member of the NHL First All-Star Team who finished his NHL career as a point-per-game player with 989 (402 goals, 587 assists) in 989 games with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues. He was captain of the Ducks from 1996-97 through 2002-03 and helped them advance to the 2003 Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the New Jersey Devils in seven games. He also helped Canada win the gold medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.
Kariya and Selanne played together with the Ducks from 1996-2001 and with the Avlanche in 2003-04.
“Teemu, if I didn’t get the opportunity to play with him, I wouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame,” Kariya said.
Of playing with Kariya, Selanne said, “I played my best years with Paul, and chemistry was magic every night. I learned so much from him as a player and as a human being. It’s a great honor to share this honor with Paul.”
Goyette won three Olympic medals — gold at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and 2006 Turin Olympics, and silver at the 1998 Nagano Olympics — and seven golds and one silver playing for Canada at the IIHF World Women’s Championship.
“The Hockey Hall of Fame is where the people I have looked up to all my life are enshrined,” Goyette said. “It will be an amazing honor for me to be with them.”
Jacobs has owned the Bruins since 1975 and was elected as chairman of the NHL Board of Governors in June 2007. He won the Lester Patrick Award for service to hockey in the United States in 2015.
“Being elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame was the furthest thing from my mind when I purchased the team over 40 years ago,” Jacobs said. “To be honored in the same way as former [Calgary Flames] governor Harley Hotchkiss is truly humbling.”
Drake won six national championships in 28 seasons as coach at the University of Alberta. He also coached the Edmonton Oilers during the 1975-76 World Hockey Association season and was a Winnipeg Jets assistant in 1989-90.
“I am truly humbled to be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame” Drake said. “As a Canadian university hockey coach this honor is truly special.”
Each player received at least 75 percent of the vote to earn induction. Four former NHL players is the maximum that can get selected to the Hall each year.
“The Hockey Hall of Fame is proud to welcome these hockey legends as honored members,” McDonald said. “Their contributions to the game of hockey are well documented and their election to the Hockey Hall of Fame is richly deserved.”
(Reprinted with permission of NHL.com) (NHL.com photo)
