Nieuwendyk, Belfour among top HOF candidates

Tuesday could be a big day in the history of the Dallas Stars. A couple of their former Stanley Cup champions will find out if they are heading into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Ed Belfour and current Stars general manager Joe Nieuwendyk are among the favorites to be honored by the 18-member Selection Committee, which will reveal the Class of 2011 in a live televised announcement at 3 p.m. ET. It will be carried in the United States by NHL Network, which is picking up TSN's coverage in Canada.

Belfour headlines the list of first-time candidates eligible for induction and Nieuwendyk is in his second year of eligibility after being passed over last season. Both played for the Stars' 1999 Stanley Cup championship team, with Nieuwendyk winning the Conn Smythe Trophy and Belfour posting a 1.67 goals-against average.

Belfour, a two-time Vezina Trophy winner, is third all-time in wins with 484. Nieuwendyk won the Stanley Cup three times with three different teams in three different decades (Calgary in 1989, Dallas in 1999, New Jersey in 2003). He collected 1,126 points over his 20-year playing career.

Belfour and Nieuwendyk are just a few of the names up for consideration for the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Joining Belfour as a first-time candidate is former Vancouver captain Trevor Linden, who played 19 seasons in the NHL and scored 867 points.

Former players that have been on the waiting list include Doug Gilmour, Pavel Bure, Adam Oates, Eric Lindros, Alexander Mogilny, Mark Howe, Kevin Lowe, Phil Housley, Dave Andreychuk and Steve Larmer.

It's possible that the Hockey Hall of Fame also selects the late Pat Burns for induction into the Builder's Category. Burns, who passed away last year after a long bout with cancer, won the Jack Adams Award three times and led the Devils to the Stanley Cup in 2003.

Interestingly, if Belfour, Nieuwendyk, Burns and Gilmour (another favorite) get the call Tuesday from the Selection Committee, it will also be a big day for the Maple Leafs.

Gilmour is a legendary Leaf and Burns won his second Jack Adams Award as the Leafs' coach in 1993. Belfour played in Toronto from 2002-06 and Nieuwendyk played there for the 2003-04 campaign.

Follow Dan Rosen on Twitter at: @drosennhl