Al MacInnis would go down in NHL history as one of the top offensively skilled Defencemen of all time. He is one of the few of that position to hit the magical 100 point mark in a season and his career total of 1,274 was very impressive. He won the Norris Trophy in 1999 and was a seven time NHL All Star selection. MacInnis actually had the hockey eyes of Alberta on him (no easy task during the Gretzky years) when he led the Calgary Flames to a Stanley Cup in 1989 and won the coveted Conn Smythe Trophy for his post season play.

Patrick Roy was one of the greatest goaltenders that ever lived. Like Ken Dryden did fifteen years before, Roy came out of nowhere to become the starting netminder for the Montreal Canadians and took them to a Stanley Cup in 1986. The difference though, is that the 1986 team had no real business winning that trophy, and had it not been for the emergence of “Saint Patrick” it would not have happened. The same could have been said for the Montreal team that won in 1993; as again Roy backstopped a squad that probably would not have come close without him. Roy was beloved in Montreal and was certifiably amongst the best goalies in the NHL, but even legends have an off night.

The architect of the “Miracle on Ice”, Herb Brooks assembled and coached the United States to the impossible: a Gold Medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics which included a semi-final victory over the most powerful International Team in Hockey, The Soviet Union. That alone is worth enshrinement to the Hockey Hall of Fame, but Brooks did have a decent run as the Head Coach of the New York Rangers and coached the Americans to a Silver Medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Herb Brooks was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame posthumously in 2006.

Harley Hotchkiss was part of the consortium that brought (or rescued) the Flames from Atlanta and brought them to Calgary. He also worked to build the Saddledome, which was built for the Calgary Flames and served as the Hockey venue for the 1988 Winter Olympics. Likely what secured Hotchkiss’ Hall of Fame induction was his long serving tenure as the Chairman on the NHL’s Board of Governors. We will wager without that last role on his resume, he would not have gotten in.