The Hockey Hall of Fame names the 2023 Class

It is a huge day for us at Notinhalloffame.com with the announcement of the newest members of the Hockey Hall of Fame, featuring seven new inductees,

The unquestionable headliner is former Goalie, Henriq Lundqvist.  The Swedish netminder played his entire NHL career with the New York Rangers, where he won 459 Games, which is currently fifth all-time.  The 2012 Vezina Trophy winner backstopped the Rangers to a Stanley Cup Final in 2014.  Nicknamed “The King”, Lundqvist had copious success on the International level, winning a Gold Medal at the 2006 Games, and Silver in 2014.

Caroline Oullette is in select company as one of the few people to win Gold in four consecutive Olympic Games (2002, 2006, 2010 & 2014), and she earned Gold Medals in six World Hockey Championships (1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007 & 2010).  This has been a special year for Oullette, who last month was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame.

Tom Barrasso, who was known mostly for his time with the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins, won the 1984 Calder and 1985 Vezina Trophy.  He had a lifetime record of 369-277-86 over 19 seasons.

The third Goalie to enter is Mike Vernon, who won two Stanley Cups, one with Calgary (1989) and Detroit (1997). Vernon won the Conn Smythe in the latter Cup win and had a career mark of 385-274-92.

Prior to his selection, Pierre Turgeon held the distinction of having the highest Points (1,327) of any player not in the Hockey Hall of Fame.  The 19-year veteran is also a former Lady Byng winner.

Ken Hitchcock enters the Hall of Fame as a Coach.  Currently fourth in Wins (849), Hitchcock led the Dallas Stars to a Stanley Cup Championship in 1999.

The final entrant is Pierre Lacroix, who joins the Hall as a builder.  The former player agent became the General Manager of the Quebec Nordiques in 1984 and was with them when they relocated to Colorado.  He oversaw the Avalanche’s Stanley Cup wins in 1996 and 2001.

We will now begin work on revising our Notinhalloffame.com list of those to consider for the Hockey Hall of Fame.  Look for that next month.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the newest members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.