Days after the official retirement of a future Hockey Hall of Famer in Joe Thornton, another significant hockey player has announced his career has come to an end.

Paul Stastny, the son of Hall of Fame inductee, Peter Stastny has retired from the game after last playing with the Carolina Hurricanes.  Stastny was an All-Rookie Center with the Colorado Avalanche in 2006-07, and he eclipsed 70 Points in three of his first four NHL Seasons.  An All-Star in 2011, Stastny also played for St. Louis, Winnipeg and Vegas, and accumulated 822 Points.  Internationally, he represented the United States, where he won a Silver Medal in the 2010 Olympics and Bronze at the 2013 World Hockey Championship.

Stastny, who will be Hockey Hall of Fame eligible in 2026, is unlikely to enter the Hall, but if the Avalanche ever have a franchise Hall of Fame, he is a possible entrant down the road.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to wish Paul Stastny the best in his post-playing career.

The American Hockey League Hall of Fame has announced the four inductees who will comprise the 2024 Class.

Here are the inductees:

Dennis Bonvie:  Arguably the toughest man in AHL history, Bonvie holds the distinction of having received the most Penalty Minutes (4,493) in league history.  Bonvie played for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Providence, Binghamton and Hershey and had 275 Points in 871 Games.

Gordie Clarke:  Clarke played nine seasons in the AHL for Rochester, Springfield and Maine, the last of which he led to a Calder Cup Title in 1979.  A two-time First Team All-AHL All-Star, Clarke had 599 Points in 540 Games.

Gerry Ehman:  Ehman played 429 Games in the NHL and 659 in the AHL for St. Louis, Springfield and Rochester.  With Rochester, Ehman won two Calder Cups and the 1963-64 Scoring Title.

Roy Sommer:  Sommer is the winningiest coach in AHL history (828 Wins) and served 24 years with San Jose AHL affiliates.

The ceremony will take place on February 5.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the impending members of the AHL Hall of Fame.

Baseball lost a good one in Frank Howard, who passed away at the age of 87.

A gargantuan figure at 6’ 7”, Howard routinely blasted monster Home Runs, mostly for the Washington Senators where he was a four-time All-Star, was a two-time Home Run champion, and had two top-five finishes in MVP voting.  Prior to his famed run in D.C., Howard won the National League Rookie of the Year as a Los Angeles Dodger in 1960, and was a member of their World Series Championship team in 1963.

Howard smacked 382 Home Runs and 1,119 Runs Batted In over his career.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the fans, friends and family of Frank Howard.

It is official.

Joe Thornton, who played 24 seasons in the National Hockey League, last with Florida in 2021/22, has officially announced his retirement.

Thornton was the first overall pick of the 1997 Amateur Draft, and he joined the team that selected him, the Boston Bruins that year.  The Center’s would prove his worth, breaking the 100 Point plateau in the 2002-03 Season, but he grew disenchanted with the team’s direction, and the franchise in turn were not happy with him.  Thornton was traded during the 2005-06 campaign to the San Jose Sharks, and it was in the state of California that his greatest success came to be.

The Canadian made history as the first player to win the Art Ross Trophy (125 Points) while splitting his season between two teams.  Thornton also won the prestigious Hart Trophy that year, and was a First Team All-Star.  He would lead the NHL in Assists the next two years, and in 2016, he led San Jose to their first Stanley Cup Final. 

Thornton was unable to win a Stanley Cup with the Sharks, and in his final two years, he played a year on the contending Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers respectively, but never hoisted the Stanley Cup.

Internationally, Thornton represented Canada on multiple occasions, and won Gold at the 2004 & 2016 World Cup of Hockey, the 2010 Olympics and 1997 World Juniors.

Thornton is eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2025, and there should be little doubt that he will enter immediately on the first ballot.

We would like to wish Joe Thornton the best in his post-playing career.