The Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2022 features a trio of former Vancouver Canucks.
Goaltender Roberto Luongo and star forwards Daniel and Henrik Sedin headline the class, alongside Daniel Alfredsson and Riikka Sallinen. Black hockey pioneer Herb Carnegie has been inducted as a builder.
Twin brothers Daniel and Henrik starred for the Canucks across their entire 17-year careers after being drafted second and third overall in the 1999 NHL Draft — and they wowed fans with their incredible coordination with each other.
Henrik captained the Canucks for eight seasons and finished his career with 1,070 points — including 830 assists — in 1,330 games. Henrik won the Art Ross Trophy and the Hart Trophy in 2009-10 and was a two-time recipient of the King Clancy Trophy. He added 78 points in 105 playoff games.
Daniel Sedin often was the finisher on his brother's incredible passes. Winner of the Art Ross and now-Ted Lindsay Award in 2010-11, he had 393 goals and 1,041 points in 1,306 career games. He had another 71 points in 102 playoff games.
The pair of brothers also starred internationally for Sweden, winning Olympic gold in 2006 and World Championship gold in 2013. They both factored in on the same goal 743 times at the NHL level, which ranks second-most all-time behind Oilers/Kings legends Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri.
Luongo, who was a teammate of the Sedins from 2006-14, is among the all-time leaders in a number of goaltending categories and a well-respected teammate by everyone he played with. The Montreal native is fourth all-time in wins with 489 and second behind only Martin Brodeur in games played (1,044), shots against (30,924) and saves (28,409).
Luongo was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy three times, was captain of the Canucks for two seasons and won two Olympic gold medals with Canada. He, along with the Sedins, led the Canucks to within one win of the Stanely Cup before losing to the Bruins in 2011.
Eligible for induction since 2017, Alfredsson put up 444 goals, 713 assists and 1,157 points during his 18 NHL seasons. The former Senators captain and face of the franchise won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year in 1996, despite being drafted 133rd overall. He played almost his entire career in Ottawa, with his last season coming with the Detroit Red Wings.
Alfredsson played internationally for Sweden 14 times, winning Olympic gold in 2006 and silver in 2014, as well as a pair of each of silver and bronze medals at the world hockey championships. He collected 100 points in 124 playoff contests and led Ottawa to the 2007 Cup final, where they lost to Anaheim.
Carnegie, who died in March 2012 at age 92, has often been mentioned as the best Black hockey player to never play in the NHL. Born in Toronto, Carnegie won Quebec Provincial League MVP honours in 1947 and ’48, tallying 48 goals and 127 points in 56 games during the 1947–48 campaign, and captured a QSHL MVP in 1949.
He was invited to the New York Rangers’ training camp in 1948, but balked when the minor-league contract they offered was for less money than he was earning playing in Quebec for Sherbrooke St. Francis.
Following a long career in senior hockey, he founded Future Aces, one of Canada's first hockey schools in 1955. Carnegie was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2014. He is was named to the Order of Ontario and the Order of Canada.
Sallinen is the first woman not born in North America to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. She starred for 16 seasons on Finland's national team, winning two Olympic bronze medals, and one silver and six bronze medals at the world championships.
A forward, Sallinen is the all-time leading European scorer in international women's hockey with 63 goals and 123 points in 81 games for the senior national team. On a professional level, Sallinen played most of her career with Naisten SM-sarja, winning five Finnish championships.
This marks the first time the Hall of Fame has elected a new class in two years. The Class of 2020 — which included Marian Hossa, Jarome Iginla, Kevin Lowe, Kim St-Pierre, Doug Wilson and Ken Holland — was honoured last fall in a ceremony that was delayed a year by the COVID-19 pandemic.
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.