Hall of Fame honorees discuss favorite moments, memories at fan forum

TORONTO -- Fans filled the Great Hall at the Hockey Hall of Fame on Saturday for their chance to congratulate some of their hockey heroes on being elected to the Hall and ask them a question or two.

The annual fan forum dates to 1999, when Wayne Gretzky wanted a chance to speak directly with the fans during his induction weekend. It has since become arguably the most popular public event of the weekend.
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The 60-minute Q&A, moderated by Gino Reda of TSN, featured Class of 2018 members Martin Brodeur, Martin St. Louis, Jayna Hefford and Aleksander Yakushev. (NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NHL diversity ambassador Willie O'Ree are also being inducted Monday, in the Builders category.) Here, in Q&A form, are some of the many highlights from an entertaining hour with the soon-to-be Hall of Famers:
What hockey-related moment still gives you goose bumps?
St. Louis: "It was 2014 when my mom passed and Mother's Day was maybe two games after that, so Game 6 (of the Eastern Conference Second Round with the New York Rangers). I scored [on] my first shift on Mother's Day. It's a puck that actually went off me. I was just around the net. It wasn't a beautiful goal. It hit my pants and went in the net. I was angry, happy, so emotional that I whacked my stick against the board and almost slashed the ref. If you watch the replay this will all make sense. We're in a pile in the corner and we're in there for 10 or 15 seconds maybe. The boys, I don't think they understand what I'm going through but they know there's a lot of emotion with this goal. So as I get out of the pile to go to the bench, literally the puck kind of comes right in front of me as I'm skating toward the bench. Without even breaking a stride, I just drop down and pick up the puck. I didn't know how it got there. I didn't know if somebody thought I should get that puck. But actually (Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre) Fleury tried to whack it out of the net and it hit something and it bounced right in front of me. So, I definitely felt my mom's presence then. When I think about that, it definitely gives me goose bumps."
Brodeur: "Mine is my first Stanley Cup (in 1995). It was the last minute of play. Just the way everybody was around the building, Mike Peluso crying on the bench, you still think of that moment and it was crazy. It was the longest minute I've ever played in hockey."
Hefford: "It would have to be my final game with the (Canadian) national team in Sochi in 2014. For those that remember it, it was a game that changed momentum quicker than any game I had ever played. Being down two goals with under four minutes to go, we ended up tying it up and going into overtime. When we got that final goal, when we won our fourth consecutive gold medal in overtime, that is one that definitely gives me goosebumps."
I'm Mason St. Louis (Martin's youngest son). I have a question for Jayna. Who is your favorite team and player?
Hefford: "My favorite team is the Leafs now. Of course, I live in Toronto, so I'm a Toronto Maple Leafs fan. My favorite player currently would be Sidney Crosby."

What was the best save you ever made?
Brodeur: "It goes back to [the 1995 Stanley Cup Final]. I made a save, I don't remember who shot it, against Detroit and the puck just trickled through my arm and my body and it was going to go in. I put my stick along the goal line and it got caught in the meshing. Kris Draper took two whacks at it. It's not because I was really strong, it's because my stick was right there, but he couldn't push the puck in. The puck finally squirted out and we went on. At that time, it was a big save in a big moment. Another one is at the (2002 Salt Lake City) Olympics (with Canada) against Brett Hull. It was a 3-2 game, early in the third period."
Reda: "Would you mind standing up and re-enacting this save?"
Brodeur: "No. You guys, if you come tomorrow (to the Hockey Hall of Fame Legends Classic), I'll try it. I might not get up, but it's all right. So I made that save on Brett Hull right on the goal line with my toe. From there, we took the puck and we went in and scored that fourth goal that got ourselves our first gold medal in 50 years in Canada."

For Tampa fans, absolutely your overtime winner in Game 6 (of the 2004 Stanley Cup Final with the Tampa Bay Lightning) was the most important goal we remember. Is there another goal up there like that one?
St. Louis: "The first one I scored in the (Stanley Cup) Playoffs in overtime was the year before to eliminate the Washington Capitals. It was Game 6 (of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals). It was in Washington. [Jaromir] Jagr was on that team. They had a pretty good team. We were down 2-0 to start the series and we came back, won four straight and I ended up scoring the OT winner in [triple] overtime on a Sunday. That was probably one of my favorite goals. Also at Madison Square Garden, when I scored against Montreal in Game 4 (of the 2014 Eastern Conference Final). That playoff run, my mom had passed and I was playing with so much emotion. To be able to get an OT winner like that at MSG was a pretty good feeling."
What record of yours will not be broken?
Brodeur: "I think if anybody gets to my (NHL) wins record (691) it's going to be unbelievable. I was fortunate to play a long time. I played a lot of games on a good team (the New Jersey Devils). I stayed healthy for a long time. Nobody is going to want to play until they're 42 anyway, but if somebody beats it, and I don't think it's going to happen but if it does, I'm going to have so much respect for that individual, that's for sure."
What goalie did you hate to go up against?
St. Louis: "I can't think of one in particular, but I know I played against [Brodeur] in the playoffs twice and he beat us both times. You knew when you went and played (New) Jersey in the playoffs, especially at the time we were playing them, our playoffs were probably over. It's not so much about any particular game or any particular play, it was just the experience of the team and [Brodeur] in net. He was tough to play against in the playoffs."
Reda: "Just to clarify, not all your playoff runs went badly; 2004 turned out OK."
St. Louis: "Yeah, I know, but we didn't play Jersey that year (on the way to winning the Stanley Cup)."
When did it hit you that 552 wins was possible and what drove you to the total that you eventually reached?
Brodeur:"When Patrick (Roy) broke the record, it was 448 at the time, Terry Sawchuk's record, I saw him cut the net and all the celebration. I went, 'Wow, that's pretty cool, that's amazing.' So, I got to 448 and I was like, 'Hmm, OK, where is he at?' I didn't pay attention when he retired to what number he was at. He went all the way to 551. So I said, 'Well, this is a goal.' I was still pretty young and I was playing a lot of hockey on a good team so I figured let's try to win as many games as possible and I'll see if I can get even in the conversation. The year that I got close, I got hurt. I missed four months, the only big injury I had. But I came back and there was enough games. I couldn't really lose too many games, but I was able to tie Patrick in Montreal, where he played most of his career. [Three days] after, in New Jersey against Chicago, that was a great moment to be able to [break the record] in front of our fans. … After that I was like, 'Let's keep on going.' I went all the way up to 691. I tried to get to 700 with another team (the St. Louis Blues), but it didn't work out."
What was the best prank a teammate pulled on you?
Yakushev: "I want to tell not a joke or a prank, but a sad thing. When during the Summit Series in 1972, Game 8, Paul Henderson scored that (game-winning) goal (for Canada against the Soviet Union), I remember that since then and that's a bad joke."
St. Louis: "I used to do this to a lot of my teammates. When we got on the road, you get two room keys, so if I get somebody to stall one of my teammates I would go and grab one of the room keys and go hide in his room. I'd pick different spots. … My favorite spot to hide was in the shower, but I would scare them. It was actually priceless. I got Mike Smith pretty good one time. But one time, they said, 'OK, enough, we've got to get him.' So, they got me, and I thought it was only one, but I got scared like five times in 30 minutes. They all hid in different spots. The first time it happened, I thought it was done, but sure enough five minutes later I open a closet and there's somebody in the closet. Now I think that's done, but then there is one guy behind the curtain. It was all five of them. See, that was the best part about playing hockey and being on a team, those moments. Do I miss playing? I mean, not really, I think played enough, but you miss those moments."