Belfour poignant, emotional during brief speech

TORONTO -- Ed Belfour won the Vezina trophy twice, the Stanley Cup in 1999 and a gold medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics. He added "Member, Hockey Hall of Fame" to his impressive hockey resume Monday night.

TSN's James Duthie introduced Belfour and called him a "man of few words," but that his play on the ice was more important than words. During a video commemorating Belfour's career, narrated by former teammate Jeremy Roenick, he called Belfour one of the most intense players he's ever played with or against.

Belfour began his speech by thanking his mentor from his early days in Chicago, Vladislav Tretiak, for being here and traveling from Moscow to be here. He also thanked former teammate Chris Chelios for being here as well.

Tretiak was Belfour's goaltending coach when his NHL career began in Chicago, and Belfour talked earlier today about how the Russian legend was one of his idols growing up ... and how Tretiak didn't speak English when he first became the Blackhawks goalie coach. Roenick mentioned in the video introduction that Belfour wore No. 30 early in his career, but switched to No. 20 as a tribute to Tretiak.

He thanked fans for the "Ed-die, Ed-die" chants, saying they gave him inspiration every time he played. Belfour also thanked his family.

True to Duthie's introduction, Belfour was again a man of few words, but these were poignant and emotional.

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