Henrik Lundqvist, Pierre Turgeon, Mike Vernon, Tom Barrasso, and Caroline Ouellette were announced as the Hockey Hall of Fame five-player 2023 class Wednesday.
The HOF is also inducting Ken Hitchcock and Pierre Lacroix as builders.
This was Lundqvist's first year of eligibility. One of the greatest goalies of his generation, only Marc-Andre Fleury has started and won more games than "King Henrik" during the salary-cap era. His 459 career victories are the sixth-most in NHL history. Lundqvist won the Vezina Trophy in 2012 when he posted a personal-best .930 save percentage and was a finalist four other times throughout his 15-year career, which he spent entirely with the New York Rangers.
Lundqvist never won a Stanley Cup, but he took the Rangers to the final with a memorable postseason run in 2014. However, he won an Olympic gold medal as the starting goalie with Sweden in 2006, an Olympic silver medal in 2014, and a World Championship gold medal in 2017.
Turgeon's wait ends after being passed over 12 times by the HOF committee. His 1,327 points are the 34th most in NHL history - and were previously the most among eligible players not currently in the Hall.
The knock on Turgeon was that he never won anything outside of a Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 1993, but the counting stats were enough to push him through. He played in 1,294 games across 19 NHL seasons between the Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars, and Colorado Avalanche. Turgeon hit the 80-point mark eight times, including a career-high 132 in 1992-93.
All of Calgary can celebrate for Vernon - a native of the Alberta city who played 13 of his 19 NHL seasons with the Flames, leading them to the Stanley Cup in 1989.
Vernon won another ring as the starting goalie for the Detroit Red Wings in 1997, taking home the Conn Smythe Trophy that year with a 16-4 record and a .927 save percentage during that run. Vernon also enjoyed brief stints with the San Jose Sharks and Florida Panthers. His 385 career victories are the 16th most ever.
Barrasso makes it three goalies in the class. The 1983 fifth overall pick by the Sabres took the hockey world by storm in his rookie year when he won the Calder and Vezina Trophies as an 18-year-old. The Boston native was a Vezina finalist four more times in his 19-year career.
Despite his success in Buffalo, the peak of Barrasso's playing days came during his next stop with the Pittsburgh Penguins when he was in net for back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992. Barrasso also briefly played with the Ottawa Senators, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Blues to finish his career. His 369 career wins are tied for the 20th most ever.
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