2009 Hockey Hall Of Fame Class To Be Inducted Tonight

Luc Robitaille, Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Brian Leetch and Lou Lamoriello will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame Monday night, live on TSN and the NHL Network at 7 p.m. EST. These are four of the players that defined hockey in the 1990's for me, and were some of the most prolific scorers in the history of the NHL.

Luc Robitaille was drafted in the ninth round of the draft in 1984, a steal for the Los Angeles Kings when most teams passed him up due to questions about his skating ability. He would go on to set scoring records in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League before making his debut with Los Angeles in 1986. He spent most of his career with the Kings, sandwiched around stints with Detroit, Pittsburgh and the New York Rangers. He finished his career as the NHL's highest scoring left-winger with 668 goals and 1,394 points. He was also one of the several star NHL players that left their long-time teams to get a Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in 2003.

Steve Yzerman is one of the few players to spend his entire career with one team, playing 22 seasons for the Detroit Red Wings from 1983 to 2006. He was the captain of the team for the majority of that time and led the Wings to a Stanley Cup in 1997, 1998 and 2002. He retired as the 6th highest scorer in NHL history, with 692 goals and 1,755 assists.

SB Nation's Winging It In Motown shares their thoughts on The Captain:

Steve Yzerman is my favorite player of all time and a key reason for why I love hockey so much today. Why? It's not because he's a great leader. Or at one point a scoring machine, who turned into a complete two-way player. It's because he has a high pain threshold and incredible perseverance. He went out and played. Hockey was his escape. Sure, it made the pain worse. But I bet while he was playing, he felt whole again (I bet you during a stoppage in play, it hurt all over again). Winning was Yzerman's ultimate painkiller.

For me, I am still blown away by his performance during the 2002 playoffs when he was in an incredible amount of pain and struggled to walk up the airplane steps during the playoffs yet continued to play. He didn't just play - he led the team in offensive points to win his third Stanley Cup in five years. It inspired the entire Wings' fan base and created plenty of admirers around the league. As someone who has had 10 knee surgeries and has dealt with chronic knee pain since 2003, his performance hit especially close to home and was an inspiration to me when I spent about a year straight on crutches and at physical therapy back in high school.

Blueshirt Banter lists Brian Leetch's accomplishments:

247 goals, 781 assists, 1028 points

Calder Trophy winner for 1988-89 Rookie of the Year.

Two-time Norris Trophy winner.


Still the only American to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.


In 1994 he led the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup in 54 years.

Holds a dozen Ranger single season and playoff records.

Former Captain of the Rangers.


Voted "The Greatest Ranger of All-Time" in "100 Ranger Greats"

His Number 2 hangs from the Madison Square Garden rafters.

In Lou We Trust (aptly named) has a great article on New Jersey Devils legend Lou Lamoriello:

If you have what Lou wants, then it doesn't matter if you're an American player who came from the NCAA, a player who didn't develop until after a few pro years in Europe, a former draft pick that wasn't signed, a Canadian who have went through juniors, a Russian player, or a player from anywhere else that came out of any system in the world.  It doesn't matter if you're 5'7" or 5'11" or 6'4" or 6'5" - as long as you play big, play with heart, and play with a purpose.  Lou will have a use for you in New Jersey and you will find success in New Jersey.

In a results-oriented business, Lou has been exemplary and they speak for themselves.  And the loyalty in return is incredible.  Here's some examples: David Conte, the long-time Devils director of scouting, has remained with the organization when he could have easily (and still could) been a GM elsewhere.  Pat Burns remains with the organization even while surviving cancer on special assignment.  Larry Robinson, once fired and once left the head coaching position due to illness, remains on staff as a special assignment coach.  Jacques Lemaire came back to New Jersey largely because of Lou.  It even works with some Devils players - Brian Rolston turned down many offers to come back to New Jersey a few years back.   Bobby Holik left the Devils on bad terms after an arbitration - and had no issues coming back before retiring.  John MacLean played for the Sharks, Rangers and the Stars prior to ending his playing career, and yet where did he go afterewards?  New Jersey, of course, as now he is a coach (possibly) rising up in the ranks in the organization.

Lou got and continue to has strong people.  He is confident in his own path and knows when to make the tough decisions and moves on even if they don't turn out so well.  You can't really argue with the results or expect much better than what Lou has done.  And the most amazing part is that he's not done yet - he continues to do this to this very day.  Even on the NHL Hour, when Gary Bettman asked how he felt about the induction - Lou immediately responded that he'd feel better if his team won on the weekend (which they did). Again, it all goes back to results - completely in line with his philosophies.

Finally, we come to Brett Hull. One of the most polarizing players to take the ice in the NHL, Hull spent the majority of his career in St. Louis, scoring an incredible amount of goals and not winning all that much. He was outspoken and had public bouts with coaches and management, and eventually left via free agency. He would go on to win two Stanley Cups, with Dallas and Detroit, and St. Louis Blues fans have mixed feelings about the Hall of Famer:

Everything about the Golden Brett is melancholy. He was an electric player who brought the Blues to the civic and league forefront. His popularity helped build a modern building for the team. He won a Hart Trophy as league MVP. He joined an elite club of players by scoring 50 goals in 50 games...TWICE.

He also never made it out of the second round of the playoffs. He had his captaincy stripped away. He couldn't click with Wayne Gretzky during his short tenure with the Blues. He alienated management. He liked to have too much of a good time off the ice. When his contract expired, the team let him walk as a free agent instead of trading or attempting to re-sign him.

With Hull, all the good memories are a little tarnished with how it ended. That's kind of the story of this franchise. Make the Stanley Cup Finals for the first few years, get swept each time and then never make it back. The number of players to pass through St. Louis to only play big roles on Cup-winning teams is too depressingly long to recite.

Anyone 20 or younger probably doesn't remember Hull in the Blue Note. They can only watch the clips and read the stories and shake their head at how such a tremendous offensive player could be allowed to leave St. Louis.