The Hockey Hall of Fame announced its 2024 class on Wednesday, naming the seven new members to be enshrined among the game’s greats. Pavel Datsyuk, Shea Weber and Jeremy Roenick comprised the class’s contingent of former NHLers, the trio joined by Team USA stars Krissy Wendell-Pohl and Natalie Darwitz, and builders David Poile and Colin Campbell.
As with every class inducted into the Hall, the new crop’s announcement sparked the usual discussions of snubs, disputed credentials, and questions about the selection process, with many a former star still waiting their turn to join the illustrious collection of greats.
With the 2024 class now in the books, attention turns to who might join them in 2025, when a new star-studded group of former NHL mainstays becomes eligible, and a new opportunity for former standouts to get their due arrives.
So, who could get the call to the Hall next year?
THE SNUBS
Before we get to the new group that will become eligible, there’s the matter of the snubs, passed over to this point and pushed down the list each year by the growing number of eligible talents. Unsurprisingly, the list is lengthy.
There are stars of previous generations, like Alex Mogilny (who has one Stanley Cup, one Lady Byng, and more than 1,000 points to his name), or Rod Brind’Amour (one Cup, two Selke trophies, not to mention his coaching career). And there are more recent mainstays too, like Patrick Marleau (the NHL’s all-time leader in games played) or netminders Pekka Rinne and Ryan Miller (each with a Vezina to their name, and four turns as a Vezina finalist in the case of the former).
The list of greats from the women’s game still owed a place in the Hall is just as lengthy, with former stars like Jennifer Botterill (three-time Olympic gold medallist, five-time world championship gold medalist), Fran Rider (a foundational pioneer of women’s hockey), Cassie Campbell-Pascall (two-time Olympic gold medalist, six-time worlds gold medalist), Meghan Duggan (Olympic gold medalist, seven-time worlds gold medalist) and Julie Chu (five-time worlds gold medalist) still awaiting their call.
THE FIRST-YEARS
And then there are those who will enter their first year of eligibility, having not played competitively in the past three seasons. A glance at the star-studded group suggests the selection committee will have plenty to think about. Let’s take a look at a few standout NHLers who could be eligible for selection after next season:
Carey Price
The 15-year Montreal Canadiens veteran will become eligible with a decorated résumé attached to his name — one Hart Trophy (making him just the seventh goalie to ever win the award), one Lester B. Pearson Award, one Vezina Trophy, one William M. Jennings Trophy, and one Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The winningest goalie in Canadiens history, Price never claimed the Stanley Cup, reaching the Cup Final once and falling short, but the netminder did win Olympic gold, World Cup gold, and world juniors gold in a Team Canada sweater. He also went undefeated for Canada in winning the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Zdeno Chara
A mainstay on Boston’s blue line for a decade and a half — between stints with the Islanders, Senators and Capitals — the longtime Bruins captain grew to become one of the game’s most respected leaders, captaining the B’s for all 14 of his seasons with the club. The big-bodied Czech defender finished as a Norris Trophy finalist six times during his run in the league, winning the trophy once. His Bruins reached the Cup Final three times during his reign as captain, emerging with a win in 2011.
Tuukka Rask
The netminder who manned the cage behind Chara will get his first crack at the Hall, too. Suiting up as Boston’s starter for a decade of a successful Bruins era, Rask has a Vezina to his name, was a finalist for the trophy twice in total, and earned a William M. Jennings Trophy, too. He backstopped the Bruins to two Cup Final appearances as a starter, and has a ring from his stint as Tim Thomas’s backup during that 2011 run. Rask’s career .921 save percentage ranks third all-time among all goalies who’ve played at least 100 games, just a shade behind Dominik Hasek’s all-time leading mark of .922.
Ryan Getzlaf
The former Anaheim Ducks captain left behind a sterling legacy in California, finishing as the club’s franchise scoring leader and helping the Ducks lift their only Stanley Cup in 2007. The power forward finished as a Hart finalist once during his 17-year career, and amassed more than 1,000 points over that span. Internationally, the decorated Team Canada pivot claimed two Olympic gold medals and a World Cup gold, along with a world juniors gold and a World U18 gold before that.
Joe Thornton
Jumbo Joe left behind a legacy as one of the game’s great playmakers, and that reputation is made clear by the numbers he amassed, with Thornton’s 1,539 points ranking as the 14th-most all-time in league history. He’s one of only 16 players to amass more than 1,500 career points, and one of only 14 to collect more than 1,000 assists, his 1,109 helpers ranking seventh-most all-time. The 24-year big league vet also has a Hart Trophy and a scoring title to his name, and internationally, claimed gold medals at the Olympics, the World Cup (twice), and the world juniors.
Duncan Keith
For the bulk of his 16 years in Chicago, Keith reigned as one of the premier blue-liners in the game, claiming three Stanley Cups, one Conn Smythe, and two Norris trophies. His place as one of the all-time talents to take the ice in the NHL was seemingly cemented by his selection as one of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players. Internationally, the smooth-skating Canadian defender padded his trophy case further, adding a pair of Olympic golds, too.
P.K. Subban
Manning the blue line in front of Price for nearly a decade in Montreal, another offensively gifted rearguard, P.K. Subban, becomes eligible with one Norris Trophy to his name, three turns as a Norris finalist in all, and a King Clancy Memorial Trophy as well. While the 13-year big-league defender never earned a Stanley Cup ring, having made the Cup Final once and falling short, he does have an Olympic gold and two world juniors gold medals to his name.
Dustin Brown
With all the focus on championships, how will the selection committee view the eligible Dustin Brown? The longtime Los Angeles Kings leader has two Stanley Cup rings, having captained the club to the only two titles in its history. In doing so, he also became just the second American captain to ever lift the trophy. That said, Brown earned no major individual trophies other than the Mark Messier Leadership Award, and was not an elite scorer at any point during his 18-year career in the league, his success coming primarily as a heart-and-soul leader.
