The Hockey Hall of Fame on Wednesday announced its 2020 class, composed of first-year eligible players Jarome Iginla and Marian Hossa, as well as Kevin Lowe, Doug Wilson, and Kim St-Pierre as players, and Ken Holland as a builder.
It's never too early to look ahead to the 2021 class of players and see who becomes eligible and who remains eligible after previously being snubbed, so let's take a look at some potential 2021 candidates.
Up to four men and two women may be in a single Hall of Fame class, and candidates must have not played in a professional or international game for at least the past three seasons.
FIRST-YEAR ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
Daniel and Henrik Sedin
The twins will surely be chosen for the Hall of Fame together, but yes, they will count as two separate people.
The pair never won a Stanley Cup in their 17 seasons with the Canucks but are both former Art Ross Trophy winners, three-time All Stars, Olympic gold medalists and World Championship gold medalists. Daniel also has a Ted Lindsay Award and a silver World Championship medal on his resume, and Henrik has a Hart Memorial Trophy on his.
Daniel scored 393 goals and 1,041 points in 1,306 career games, and Henrik scored 240 goals and 1,070 points in 1,330 games.
"Character" is part of the criteria, and the twins are leaders in that category with their work in the Vancouver community over the years.
Henrik Zetterberg
Zetterberg's 15-year career with the Red Wings included a Stanley Cup win in 2008, one in which he was the Conn Smythe Award winner. He scored 337 goals and 960 points over his 1,082 games. He won a King Clancy Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to "the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community,” so he checks off the "character" box as well.
On the international stage, Zetterberg won a gold Olympic medal and a silver Olympic medal, and is a four-time (one gold, one silver, two bronze) World Championship medalist, making him a member of the elite Triple Gold Club (Olympic gold, World Championship gold, Stanley Cup).
Rick Nash
Nash is a long shot, but he's among the notable first-year eligible players. His 15-season NHL career included six All-Star appearances, a Rocket Richard Trophy, and 437 goals and 805 points in 1,060 games. He won two Olympic gold medals with Team Canada, as well as a World Championship gold medal and two World Championship silver medals.
Caroline Ouellette
Ouellette is the Canadian women's fifth all-time leading scorer in the Olympics, third all-time leading scorer in the World Championships. She was one of three women to win four consecutive Olympic gold medals with Canada from 2006-14, and has a whopping 12 World Championship medals (six gold, six silver) on her resume.
Ouellette had a successful professional career as well in the CWHL, winning four Clarkson Cups in her nine years with the Montreal Stars/Canadiennes organization. She's tied for the all-time lead in goals in the CWHL with 131, and is the all-time leader in assists (183) and points (314) in her 179 games.
OTHER ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
Alexander Mogilny
Year of eligibility: 13th
I don't know how Mogilny isn't already in the Hall of Fame. He was a trailblazer, becoming the first Soviet player to defect and join the NHL when he did so in 1989, paving the way for many other future Russian players to do the same. He is one of six players to ever score more than 75 goals in one NHL season when he scored 76 to lead the league in goals in 1992-93, and he won a Lady Byng Memorial Trophy later in his career.
Mogilny is also a member of the Triple Gold Club after winning the Stanley Cup with the Devils, World Championship gold, and Olympic gold.
Daniel Alfredsson
Year of eligibility: Fifth
Alfredsson never won a Stanley Cup in his 18-year career, but his individual accomplishments (444 goals, 713 assists in 1,246 games) and success on the international stage (both an Olympic gold and silver medal for Sweden) should make up for that.
He won a King Clancy Memorial Trophy and a Mark Messier Leadership Award in his career, as well as the Calder Memorial Trophy as a rookie.
Sergei Gonchar
Year of eligibility: Fourth
With half of the men's spots for the 2021 class likely going to Sedins and some of the other qualified candidates, I think Gonchar will have to wait at least another year. He played in more games (1,301) and recorded more points (811) than any other Russian defenseman in NHL history.
Gonchar never won the Norris Trophy in his career, but he was a big part of the Penguins' 2009 Stanley Cup team and was a four-time All Star.
Theo Fleury
Year of eligibility: 13th
Fleury deserves to be in the Hall. I understand why he would have been snubbed in his first few years of eligibility, given his substance abuse issues in his career. But I also believe that with our understanding of mental illnesses now, and Fleury's writing about how his issues stemmed from being sexually abused by his junior coach, Fleury's substance abuse issues shouldn't keep him out of the Hall of Fame.
Fleury's a seven-time All Star Stanley Cup champion, Olympic gold medalist, World Championship silver medalist, and a Canada Cup winner. He has the credentials.
Jennifer Botterill
Year of eligibility: Eighth
I was surprised to see Botterill snubbed from the 2020 class, especially given that only one of the two spots for women was used.
Only Hayley Wickenheiser and Jayna Hefford have skated in more games in the Olympics for Team Canada (26 each) than Botterill (21), and Wickenheiser and Hefford are already in the Hall of Fame. Botterill is a three-time Olympic gold medalist, one-time Olympic silver medalist, five-time World Championship gold medalist, and three-time World Championship silver medalist. She was twice named MVP at the World Championships, one of only two women's players to do so.
Julie Chu
Year of eligibility: Second
Chu is one of the greatest American women's hockey players of all-time, and is a trailblazer as the first Asian American women to play for the national team. Her career with Team USA spanned 14 years, and she captained the team in her final two World Championships.
Chu is a three-time Olympic silver medalist, Olympic bronze medalist, nine-time (five gold, four silver) World Championship medalist, and a three-time CWHL champion with the Montreal Stars/Canadiennes organization.
Chu and Ouelette, who were teammates in the CWHL and rivals in international play, are married with two daughters. It'd be pretty cool if they managed to go into the Hall of Fame at the same time.
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