The Hockey Hall of Fame has added NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, pioneering black player Willie O’Ree and all-time winningest goaltender Martin Brodeur to its latest class.
Jayna Hefford, Martin St. Louis and Alexander Yakushev will also be inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame later this year.
Willie O’Ree, the first black player in NHL history, and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will enter in the builder category.
Brodeur is a three-time Stanley Cup winner, a four-time Vezina Trophy winner, and a five-time winner of the Jennings Trophy for the fewest goals allowed in a season. The NHL’s all-time leader in wins with 691 and shutouts with 125, Brodeur gets the nod in his first year of eligibility.
The 46-year-old played 1,259 regular-season games with the New Jersey Devils before a brief seven-game stint with the St. Louis Blues.
Since Bettman was named commissioner in 1993, the NHL has grown from 24 to 31 teams with some US$5 billion in annual revenue.
O’Ree will be the third black player in the Hall, joining Edmonton Oilers goalie Grant Fuhr and Canadian women’s national team captain Angela James.
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St. Louis went from not being drafted to a 17-year NHL career that included 1,134 regular-season games and 1,033 points. A five-time all-star, St. Louis won the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003-04 and was on Canada’s men’s Olympic team that won gold in 2014. He won the NHL’s Hart Trophy as league MVP in 2004.
A giant in the women’s game, Hefford won four Olympic gold medals for Canada.
Yakushev played for Russia at the 1972 Summit Series against Canada. He won Olympic gold in 1972 and 1976.
The formal induction ceremony will be held in November in Toronto.
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