2022 NHL HOF CLASS

NHL / Hockey

Written by Chase Howard

This year's Hockey Hall of Fame class was announced this past Monday. Without further ado, the 2022 HOF class will be

Source (Background Photo): Hockey Hall of Fame

Daniel and Henrik Sedin

If there were ever two players who deserve to get enshrined together it's the Sedin brothers. Daniel and Henrik will enter the Hall 23 years after being taken second and third overall by the Canucks in 1999, with whom they played their entire 17-year NHL careers.

Henrik became known as one of the best passers and playmakers in the NHL during his tenure and is the Canucks' all-time leader in assists (830), points (1,070), games played (1,330), plus-minus (plus-165), and power-play points (369). He also had 78 points (23 goals, 55 assists) in 105 playoff games. Henrik won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player and the Art Ross Trophy as the League's leading scorer in 2009-10, when he had 112 points (29 goals, 83 assists) in 82 games.

From Left to Right: Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin | Source: Getty Images

Daniel had 1,041 points (393 goals, 648 assists) from 2000-18, seventh in the NHL in that span, and 71 points (25 goals, 46 assists) in 102 Stanley Cup Playoff games. His 393 goals are first in Canucks history, and he is second behind his brother in assists, points, plus-minus (plus-147), games played (1,306), and power-play points (367). He won the Art Ross Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award (given annually to the most outstanding player in the NHL as voted by members of the NHL Players' Association) in 2010-11 when he had 104 points (41 goals, 63 assists).

They truly had a special connection on and off the ice, which will not be forgotten anytime soon. The Sedin twins only got one excerpt, as I cannot imagine a better way to address two players who were so intrinsically linked throughout the entirety of their carers.

Roberto Luongo

The Quebec native is fourth all-time in wins (489) and second in games played among goalies (1,044). He was drafted fourth overall in 1997 by the New York Islanders after only a season he was traded to the Florida Panthers where he spent the next half-decade. Luongo eventually joined the Sedins in Vancouver on June 23, 2006, by trade. In his first season with the Canucks he was the runner-up for both the Hart and the Vezina trophies, during his time he was named captain of the Canucks for two years before stepping down. Luongo ended his time in Vancouver as their all-time leader in wins and shutouts. He remained with the Canucks until he was traded back to the Panthers on March 4, 2014. He spent the rest of his career with the Panthers

Daniel Alfredsson

You are forgiven if you thought this was a Canucks exclusive. Alfredsson however, was teammates with the Sedins on the Swedish national team. They won the gold medal at the 2006 Olympics and finished second at the 2014 Olympics. Alfredsson piled up 1,157 points (444 goals, 713 assists) in 1,246 games from 1995-2014 with the Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings. Selected by the Senators in the sixth round (No. 133) of the 1994 NHL Draft, he is their all-time leader in goals, assists, and points, and is second in games played (1,178) behind Chris Phillips (1,179). Alfie, as he often was known, played 17 of his 18 NHL seasons with Ottawa before finishing his career with Detroit in 2013-14. Alfredsson won the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in 1995-96, when he had 61 points (26 goals, 35 assists) in 82 games for the Senators.

Riikka Sallinen

She just became the first female Finnish-born player inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, after putting up 514 points (240 goals, 274 assists) in 227 Finnish Elite League games. The former forward was the oldest hockey player to be awarded an Olympic medal (44) when Finland finished third at the 2018 PyeongChang Games.

Herb Carnegie

Carnegie competed on four Allan Cup teams in the 1940s. He led the Quebec Aces to the Alexander Cup as Canadian semi-pro champions in 1952. After retiring in 1954, Carnegie worked to further enhance and diversify the game of hockey until his death in 2012. "So many people wanted this for my father," said Bernice Carnegie, his daughter. "So many people wanted this, and this is going to make a lot of people happy, honestly, because they so believed in everything my father has done for all these years”.

Let's take a look at a handful of guys with interesting Hall of Fame candidacies.

Guys who just became eligible

• Rick Nash - A great example of the rare power forward breed of winger Rick Nash finished his career with 437 goals and 805 points in 1,060 games. Nash won the Rocket Richard with 41 goals in 2004 (tied with Jarome Iginla and Ilya Kovalchuk) and NHL Foundation Award (2009). Nash is the Columbus Blue Jackets franchise leader in games played (674), goals (289), and points (547). Might be a little biased here, as he was one of my favourite players growing up but I think Nash is worthy of a black jacket.

• Thomas Vanek - Another excellent goal scorer with fairly similar totals, Vanek has fewer points with 789 but played fewer games with 1,029. The real kicker here though is Vanek has fewer goals with 373, which unfortunately puts him under the 400-goal mark often needed to get in the Hall of Fame. While Vanek certainly had an excellent career, it seems likely he's going to end up in the Hall of very good.

• Henrik Zetterberg - Former Detroit Red Wings captain and playoff performer Henrik Zetterberg finished his career with 337 goals and 960 points in 1,082 games. Zetterberg also put up 120 points in 132 playoff games; he was the runner-up for the Calder in 2003 and the Selke Award in 2008. Zetterberg however is a Conn Smythe winner (2008) and has also won the NHL foundation (2013) and King Clancy (2015) Awards. The Swedish native is also a member of the elusive Triple Gold Club having won gold at both the 2006 Olympics and World Championships, before winning the Stanley Cup in 2008. Zetterberg seems a highly likely future hall of fame member.

Guys who should already be in

• Alexander Mogilny -Honestly I don't understand why he's not in the Hall of Fame already, in 990 games Mogilny scored 473 goals and 1032 points. His defection from the USSR is a monumental moment in hockey history. He's won a Lady Byng; he led the league in goals and is a member of the Triple Gold Club. We are talking about a guy who two-time Jack Adams winner Pat Quinn called “the most talented player he's ever coached” and Sergei Fedorov called him the best of the legendary Pavel Bure-Fedorov-Mogilny line. If somebody knows why he is not in the Hall, feel encouraged to contact me and fill me in.

• Rod Brind'Amour - the two times Selke award winner and Stanley Cup champion played almost 1500 games (1,484) in his long-lasting career, scoring almost 1,200 points (1,184) in this time. Brind’Amour was widely respected around the league for his 200-foot game and Leadership skills. With Guy Carbonneau being called to the Hall of Fame in 2019 it seems one way or another Rod Brind'Amour will get the call too.

• Pierre Turgeon - The five-time All-Star is the NHL player with the highest career points total to not be elected to the Hall of Fame, registering 515 and 1327 points in 1294 games. Outside of a singular Lady Byng is without any notable hardware, while this should not detract from the long and successful career he had, one that is seemingly deserving of a Hall of Fame nod. I can't help but wonder if him being late and somewhat unwilling to participate in the punch-up-in-Piestany is somehow playing into his delay.