Chelios, 51, was the oldest first-time eligible
candidate the selection committee ever had to consider. He played
until he was 48 years old, compiling 948 points in 1,651 games (fifth
all-time, most among defensemen and most among American-born players)
suiting up for the Montreal
Canadiens, Chicago
Blackhawks, Detroit
Red Wings and Atlanta Thrashers. "I always said I'd go
right until the tank was empty and I believe I did," Chelios
said.
Chelios, who was chosen by the Canadiens with the
No. 40 pick in the 1981 NHL Draft, won the Stanley Cup three times
(1986 with Montreal, 2002 and 2008 with Detroit). He also won the
Norris Trophy three times (1989 with the Canadiens and 1993 and 1996
with the Blackhawks). He said his time with the Canadiens from
1983-90 was like going to Harvard of the NHL. "I came in and
I played with Guy
LaFleur, Steve Shutt, Larry
Robinson, Bob Gainey, they took me under their wings and I
learned from the best. Hockey players are great guys in general, but
to learn from the best, guys who had so much success, you have to
listen to them. That, I think, had a big bearing on my career."
Internationally,
Chelios represented the United States at the Olympics four times
(1984, 1998, 2002 and 2006), the Canada Cup three times and the World
Cup of Hockey in 1996, where the Americans won gold. He won a silver
medal at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. Asked Tuesday to pick
the team he identifies himself most with, Chelios said he didn't want
to offend anyone, so he went with the United States. "I think
back to Salt Lake, the Olympics, playing against Scott and Shanny,
without a doubt I thought that was the best tournament and the best
hockey I have ever played in. It was most exciting because it was in
the U.S. and winning a silver medal, it's one tournament where first
place isn't the only reward. Walking around the Olympic Village, some
of the athletes would die to win any color medal. That was one of the
greatest experiences throughout my career."
Niedermayer is the only player in history to win
every major North American and international championship. He won the
Stanley Cup four times (1995, 2000, 2003, 2007) and a gold medal at
the Olympics (2002, 2010), the World Championship (2004), the World
Cup of Hockey (2004), and the World Junior Championship (1991). He
also won the Memorial Cup with the Kamloops Blazers in 1992. He was
known as one of the greatest skaters of his generation, and perhaps
of all time.
"He made it look so easy,"
Chelios said of Niedermayer. "He was a guy with a ton of
skill but also real competitive. He'd stand up to anybody. Watching
him and [Scott] Stevens together, two different types of players but
both equally effective. He was just as intimidating. You didn't know.
You had to be ready at any time. As far as his skill and his
leadership and the way he went about his business, I find him very
comparable to Steve
Yzerman. I have all the respect in the world for Scott. What a
great career."
Niedermayer was chosen by the New
Jersey Devils with the No. 3 pick in the 1991 NHL Draft. He
played with the Devils until 2004 and signed to play for the Anaheim
Ducks coming out of the lockout-cancelled 2004-05 season.
Niedermayer played 1,263 games over 18 seasons (1992-2010) and
compiled 740 points. He had 98 points in 202 career Stanley Cup
Playoff games. "A young defenseman coming into the League
when I did, I probably couldn't have asked for a better opportunity,"
Niedermayer said of his time in New Jersey. "It was really an
ideal spot for a young guy to come in and try to figure the game out.
We had great teams, we were winning hockey games, we won some
championships, and I just learned a lot."
He specifically mentioned former teammates Stevens
(Hall of Fame Class of 2007), Slava Fetisov (Hall of Fame Class of
2001), Ken Daneyko, Bruce
Driver, Alexei
Kasatonov and Tommy
Albelin as major influences on his career from his early days in
New Jersey. "I'm probably on this [media conference] call
because of guys like that," Niedermayer said.
Shanahan, who like Niedermayer was drafted by the
Devils (No. 2 in 1987), won the Stanley Cup three times with the Red
Wings (1997, 1998, 2002), Olympic gold with Canada in 2002, and World
Championship gold in 1994. Shanahan is one of 18 members of the NHL's
600-goal club; he is 13th all-time with 656. He's 13th all-time in
games played with 1,524 and 25th in points with 1,354. Shanahan
played for the Devils, St.
Louis Blues, Hartford Whalers, Red Wings and New
York Rangers. Shanahan, in particular, called Detroit "such
a special place." He went there when he was in his 10th NHL
season and it was the place he stayed the longest (nine seasons), had
the most sustained team success, and scored more than 40 goals three
times.
"It was just the right fit,"
Shanahan said of the Red Wings. "They had not won the Cup in
several decades. They had been close. At the time that's all I wanted
to do. I think you mature a bit as a player, you want to get yourself
established, get yourself to feel like you belong, and then all of a
sudden you start realizing how hard it is and how difficult it is to
win a Cup and you become obsessed with it. I was lucky at that point
in my career to join a team that was obsessed with it and a group of
guys that were also obsessed with it, and were also talented enough
to be a legitimate contender. I know I wouldn't be on this call today
if it weren't for my time in Detroit."
Shanahan also looked back fondly on his early
years with the Devils, especially 1988, when as a rookie he helped
them reach the playoffs for the first time. He went back and finished
his career in New Jersey in 2008-09. "My first year was Lou
Lamoriello's first year, so obviously he had started something there,
that when I was able to go back at the end I could see that same
philosophy that the name on the back of the jersey is not as
important as the name on the front," Shanahan said. "The
one thing I took from my early years in New Jersey and us storming
back to make the playoffs in the last game of the season was just
what a group of young guys can do when they play as a team. I'm still
friends with a lot of guys from that team."
Shero coached the Flyers to back-to-back Stanley
Cup championships in 1974 and 1975. He was the first coach to win the
Stanley Cup with an expansion team. He also brought the Flyers to the
Stanley Cup Final in 1976 and the New
York Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final in 1979. Shero, who passed
away in 1990, coached for 10 seasons from 1971-81 and went
390-225-119. He is 11th all-time in winning percentage (.612) and was
the first winner of the Jack
Adams Award (1974). "I am thrilled to hear that Fred
Shero was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame," Flyers
chairman Ed Snider said in a statement. "There's no sense
looking back as to why it didn't happen sooner, because today's a
happy day to celebrate the fact that a guy that deserves it immensely
has finally been elected to the Hall of Fame. It's a great day for
the Philadelphia
Flyers."
Shero was considered an innovator because he was
one of the first coaches to put his team through morning skates, and
he went to the Soviet Union to study the hockey philosophies there in
order to incorporate them into his coaching style. He was the first
coach to hire a full-time assistant, to make sure his players used
in-season strength training, and among the first to study film. His
son, Ray
Shero, is general manager of the Pittsburgh
Penguins.
"What my dad always had for the game,
which I think I have as well and I'm trying to pass down to my kids,
who have a passion for the game as well, is I think he had a great
respect for the game and the people in it," Ray
Shero said. "In my job as a general manager it's about
wins and losses, but I really believe along the way that the people
you meet and the friendships are going to be far more important than
wins and losses at the end of the day. That's the way he was. I think
he had some great friends and certainly in my almost 20 years in the
business now I can say the same thing. It's about the respect for the
game and the people in it. If I can pass that on to my kids, I think
that would be great."
Heaney, a long-time defenseman, won the gold medal
with Canada at the World Women's Championship seven times (1990,
1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001). She also won gold at the 2002
Olympics and silver at the 1998 Games. Heaney, Granato and James were
inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in
2008. "Going down to the Hall of Fame, you never saw females
in there so you really didn't think, 'Could this ever happen?"
Heaney said. "I'm so glad that it has, and I think that's
what has helped with continuing the growth of girls hockey. The
number of girls playing now is unbelievable. The IIHF Hall of Fame
was great as well, they started it with having the first women in
their Hall of Fame, and now the Hockey Hall of Fame has followed. I'm
just so happy that they've continued to do it. There are a lot of
other great female hockey players out there that are waiting to get
there as well. This is something very special. You kind of look back
on your hockey career and go, 'Wow, this is something.'
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