Sports
Datsyuk, Zetterberg among candidates for Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2024 | NHL.com
The Detroit Red Wings’ “Euro Twins” each could receive his highly anticipated Hall call Tuesday.
Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg are among a host of candidates eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024, which will be voted on and revealed Tuesday.
The vote will take place in the morning and the announcement will be made in the afternoon (3:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN5).
Datsyuk is in his first year of eligibility and Zetterberg his second. They were Red Wings teammates from 2002-16 and won the Stanley Cup with Detroit in 2008.
Each Hall of Fame class is elected by an 18-member selection committee. A maximum of four male players, two female players, and either two builders or one builder and one referee or linesman can be selected each year.
To be eligible this year, a player must have not played in a professional or international game in any of the past three seasons (2021-22 through 2023-24). A builder can be selected if he or she is active or inactive, and a referee/linesperson is eligible if they haven’t worked a professional or international game in the previous three seasons.
Here is a list of candidates for the Class of 2024:
FIRST-YEAR ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
Pavel Datsyuk
Datsyuk is a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Red Wings (2002, 2008). He won the Selke Trophy as the League’s best defensive forward three straight seasons from 2007-10 and the Lady Byng Trophy as the player who exhibited sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability four straight seasons from 2006-09. He had 918 points (314 goals, 604 assists) and was plus-249 in 953 NHL games, placing him sixth in Red Wings history in assists and seventh in points. He had 113 points (42 goals, 71 assists) and was plus-34 in 157 Stanley Cup Playoff games and is fifth in assists and sixth in points in Detroit playoff history. Internationally, Datsyuk, a Russian, won gold at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics and at the 2012 IIHF World Championship, and bronze at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. In Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League, Datsyuk won the Gagarin Cup, the League’s championship, with SKA St. Petersburgh in 2016-17. He was also a two-time KHL all-star (2012-13, 2016-17).
Patrick Marleau
Marleau is the NHL’s leader in games played with 1,779, and 24th in goals with 566. Each of the 23 players in front of him are either in the Hall of Fame or will be (Alex Ovechkin, Jaromir Jagr, Sidney Crosby). He is tied for seventh in NHL history with 109 game-winning goals. Marleau played from 1997-2021, skating 21 of his 23 seasons with the San Jose Sharks. He is San Jose’s leader in games played (1,607), goals (522), points (1,111) and game-winning goals (101). He is also the Sharks’ postseason leader in games played (177), goals (68), points (120), overtime goals (four) and game-winning goals (16). Marleau also played two seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs (2017-19) and eight games at the end of the 2019-20 season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Internationally, Marleau won the Olympic gold medal with Canada in 2010 and 2014, and gold at the 2003 World Championship and 2004 World Cup of Hockey. Marleau played in the Stanley Cup Final with the Sharks in 2016, but he never won the Stanley Cup or an individual NHL trophy.
Shea Weber
Weber was one of the NHL’s most feared defensemen with a heavy shot. He played from 2005-21 with the Nashville Predators and Montreal Canadiens and had 589 points (224 goals, 365 assists) in 1,038 games and averaged 24:03 of ice time per game in his career. He also had 42 points (18 goals, 24 assists) in 97 playoff games, averaging 25:20 of ice time. Weber played in the Stanley Cup Final with the Canadiens in 2021, but never won the Stanley Cup. He was a first-team NHL All-Star in 2010-11 and 2011-12, and a second-team All-Star in 2013-14 and 2014-15. He won the gold medal at the Olympics with Canada in 2010 and 2014. He also won gold at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, 2007 World Championship and 2005 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Pekka Rinne
Rinne played his entire 13-year career with the Predators, retiring as their leader in every major statistical category for goalies. He was 369-213-75 in 683 games, including 667 starts. Among goalies with at least 500 games played, Rinne is tied for seventh in GAA (2.43) and tied for fifth in save percentage (.917). His career GAA and save percentage is nearly indentical to Henrik Lundqvist’s .918 and 2.43. Lundqvist, who was inducted last year, his first year eligible, had 90 more wins than Rinne, but he played 204 more games. Rinne had 60 shutouts; Lundqvist had 64. Neither won the Stanley Cup, but each played in the Stanley Cup Final. They each won the Vezina Trophy, voted as best goalie in the NHL, with Rinne taking it home in 2017-18, when he went 42-13-4 with a 2.31 GAA, .927 save percentage and eight shutouts. Lundqvist, though, had more success on the international stage with Sweden than Rinne had with Finland. Rinne went 45-44 in 89 playoff games with a 2.49 GAA, .914 save percentage and five shutouts.
Ryan Miller
Miller played 18 NHL seasons from 2002-21 with the Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks and Anaheim Ducks. He also starred internationally for the United States. He finished his NHL career 16th in wins, with 391 in 796 games. Miller was 391-289-87 with one tie with a 2.64 GAA, .914 save percentage and 44 shutouts. He also went 28-27 with a 2.52 GAA, .913 save percentage and three shutouts in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He never reached the Stanley Cup Final, but he won the Vezina Trophy in 2009-10, when he was 41-18-8 with a 2.22 GAA, .929 save percentage and five shutouts for the Sabres. Miller backstopped the United States to a silver medal in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, narrowly losing out on gold when Crosby scored in overtime of the gold medal game to give Canada a 3-2 win. Despite the defeat, Miller was named the best goalie and the most valuable player of the tournament.
PREVIOUSLY ELIGIBLE
David Poile (builder)
The former Predators general manager would go into the Hall of Fame in the builder’s category and join his father, Bud Poile, who was the first GM of the Philadelphia Flyers and Vancouver Canucks. David Poile was at the helm as a general manager for 40 years, starting in 1982 with the Washington Capitals and holding that role for 15 seasons before he was hired to build the Predators from scratch. Poile, who passed the torch to Barry Trotz at the 2023 NHL Draft, is the only person who has been a GM for at least 3,000 regular-season games (3,075); next is Lou Lamoriello with 2,838. Poile became the first GM to 1,500 wins (1,533); next is Lamoriello with 1,444. His teams made the playoffs in 29 of his 38 seasons as a GM, including 14 straight in Washington. Nashville went to the Stanley Cup Final in 2017.
Corey Crawford (eligible since 2023)
Crawford was a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Chicago Blackhawks (2013, 2015). He is third in Blackhawks history in wins (260) and regular-season games played (488), first in save percentage (.918) and second in GAA (2.45) among goalies who appeared in at least 100 games. He is also first in Chicago history in playoff wins (52; minimum 25 games), GAA (2.38), and save percentage (.918). Crawford twice won the William M. Jennings Trophy, awarded to the goalie(s) having played a minimum of 25 games for the team with the fewest goals scored against it (2013 with teammate Ray Emery, 2015 with Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price).
Justin Williams (since 2023)
Williams, known affectionately as “Mr. Game 7,” was one of the most clutch players in the NHL in the past quarter-century. He did most of his damage in the playoffs, winning the Stanley Cup three times; with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 and the Los Angeles Kings in 2012 and 2014. He was the Conn Smythe Trophy winner, voted as the most valuable player in the playoffs, in 2014, when he had 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) in 26 games, including five points (two goals, three assists) in three Game 7 wins. The forward had 102 points (41 goals, 61 assists) in 162 playoff games, including eight game-winning goals. His teams went 8-1 in Game 7s, and he has the most points (15) and is tied for the most goals (seven) in NHL Game 7s. Williams finished his NHL career with 797 points (320 goals, 477 assists) in 1,264 regular-season games.
Henrik Zetterberg (since 2022)
Zetterberg won the Conn Smythe Trophy, voted as most valuable player in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2008, when he had 27 points (13 goals, 14 assists) in 22 games to lead the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup championship. He had 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in 23 games in the 2009 playoffs, when Detroit fell one win short of going back-to-back. Zetterberg is fifth in Red Wings history in goals (337), assists (623) and points (960), with Hall of Famers Gordie Howe, Steve Yzerman, Alex Delvecchio and Nicklas Lidstrom ahead of him. He is also fifth in Red Wings history in playoff points (120) despite being 10th in games played (137). The forward, selected by Detroit in the seventh round (No. 210) of the 1999 NHL Draft, also won gold with Sweden at the 2006 Torino Olympics and the 2006 IIHF World Championship, making him a member of the IIHF’s Triple Gold Club (Stanley Cup, Olympic gold, World Championship gold).
Meghan Duggan (since 2022)
Duggan’s crowning achievement on the ice came at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, where she was the captain of the United States gold-medal-winning women’s team. She was also the captain at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and the 2014 Sochi Olympics when the U.S. won silver. Duggan won seven gold medals and earned a silver at the IIHF Women’s World Championship, including as captain in 2015, 2016 and 2017. The forward played six seasons of professional hockey, including four with the Boston Blades (2011-15), winning the Clarkson Cup (Canadian Women’s Hockey League championship) in 2013 and 2015. A standout at the University of Wisconsin, she helped the Badgers to three NCAA Division I national championships (2007, 2009, 2011) and had 238 points (108 goals, 130 assists) in 159 games.
Patrik Elias (since 2019)
Elias holds the New Jersey Devils records for goals (408), assists (617), points (1,025), shots on goal (3,287), power-play goals (113), power-play points (333), short-handed points (33), game-winning goals (80) and overtime goals (16). The forward also has the most goals (45), assists (80), points (125), power-play goals (21), power-play points (52) and shots on goal (444) in Devils postseason history and won the Stanley Cup with New Jersey in 2000 and 2003.
Sergei Gonchar (since 2018)
Fellow Russia-born defenseman Sergei Zubov’s induction in 2019 could pave the way for Gonchar, who finished his NHL career in 2015 with 811 points (220 goals, 591 assists) in 1,301 regular-season games, an average of 0.62 points per game. He is 19th among NHL defensemen in points, 10th in power-play points (427), and had at least 50 points nine times. By comparison, Zubov is 22nd among defensemen in points with 771 (152 goals, 619 assists) in 1,068 games, an average of 0.72 points per game. Gonchar won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009.
Jennifer Botterill (since 2014)
Botterill won gold with Canada at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, 2006 Torino Olympics and 2010 Vancouver Olympics, after taking home silver at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. She also won gold at the IIHF Women’s World Championship five times (1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007) and was named MVP of the 2001 and 2004 tournaments. The forward had 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in 21 games of Olympic competition and 59 points (26 goals, 33 assists) in 40 games at the World Championships. Botterill had 340 points (157 goals, 183 assists) in 113 games at Harvard University and is the only two-time winner of the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, awarded annually to the top player in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey (2001, 2003).
Chris Osgood (since 2014)
Osgood is a three-time Stanley Cup champion with the Detroit Red Wings (1997, 1998, 2008), and was the starting goalie in 1998 and 2008. He also led the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup Final in 2009, losing in seven games to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He is 13th in League history in regular-season wins (401) and ninth in playoff wins (74).
Rod Brind’Amour (since 2013)
Brind’Amour won the Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes in 2006. Now the Hurricanes coach and Jack Adams Award winner as the League’s coach of the year in 2020-21, he finished his NHL career with 1,184 points (452 goals, 732 assists) in 1,484 games. Considered one of the best defensive forwards of his generation, he won the Selke Trophy in 2006 and 2007.
Keith Tkachuk (since 2013)
Tkachuk has the second most goals of any Hall of Fame-eligible player with 538 behind Marleau’s 566. He also has 527 assists for 1,065 points in 1,201 games. The forward won a gold medal with the United States at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey but never won the Stanley Cup or a major NHL award.
Curtis Joseph (since 2012)
Joseph, with 454 NHL wins, has more wins than Hall of Fame goalies Terry Sawchuk (445), Jacques Plante (437), Tony Esposito (423), Glenn Hall (407), Grant Fuhr (403) and Dominik Hasek (389). They each won the Stanley Cup at least once; Joseph never won the Stanley Cup. He never won the Vezina Trophy but was a finalist three times (1993, 1999, 2000).
Jeremy Roenick (since 2012)
Roenick has the most points (1,216) and the third most goals (513) among eligible players not in the Hall of Fame. But Roenick never won the Stanley Cup or a major NHL award. He also never won a gold medal on the international level with the United States, but he got silver at the 1991 Canada Cup and the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.
Alexander Mogilny (since 2009)
With Paul Kariya inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017, it stands to reason Mogilny should be there, too. A forward, Mogilny played 990 NHL games, one more than Kariya, and scored 71 more goals (473-402) and 43 more points (1,032-989). Mogilny won the Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 2000; Kariya never won the Cup. They each won a gold medal at the Olympics (Mogilny with the Soviet Union at the 1988 Calgary Olympics, Kariya with Canada at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics), the IIHF World Championship (Mogilny 1989, Kariya 1994), and the IIHF World Junior Championship (Mogilny 1989, Kariya 1993).
Karen Bye-Dietz (since 2005)
Bye-Dietz was part of the United States women’s team that won a gold medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics and a silver medal at the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics. The forward also helped the United States win silver at six IIHF Women’s World Championships (1992, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001). She is a member of the IIHF Hall of Fame (2011), the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame (2014), and the University of New Hampshire Hall of Fame (1998).
Reggie Leach (since 1987)
Leach was part of the Philadelphia Flyers’ “LCB line” with Hockey Hall of Famers Bobby Clarke and Bill Barber. He had 666 points (381 goals, 285 assists) in 934 regular-season games, and 69 points (47 goals, 22 assists) in 94 Stanley Cup Playoff games, winning the Stanley Cup with the Flyers in 1975. The forward scored at least 30 goals in a season six times and 50 or more goals twice, including an NHL-best 61 in 1975-76. Leach won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs in 1976 with 24 points (19 goals, five assists) in 16 games, and remains the only non-goalie to win the award playing for the team that lost in the Stanley Cup Final when the Montreal Canadiens swept Philadelphia.
Alexander Maltsev (since 1987)
Like Boris Mikhailov (candidacy below), Maltsev won gold at the 1972 Sapporo Olympics and 1976 Innsbruck Olympics. The forward is a nine-time IIHF World Championship gold medal winner and was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 1999. He played 151 games with the Soviet national senior team and played for Dynamo Moscow in the Soviet League from 1967-84, scoring 329 goals in 530 games.
Boris Mikhailov (since 1984)
Aleksander Yakushev’s induction in 2018 could eventually pave the way for Mikhailov. The 78-year-old was the right wing on the Soviet national team’s top line with Valeri Kharlamov and Vladimir Petrov. The captain from 1972-80, he won a gold medal at the 1972 Sapporo Olympics and 1976 Innsbruck Olympics and helped the Soviets win the IIHF World Championship eight times. Mikhailov was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2000.