Chara, Thornton, Keith, Mogilny among 8 elected to Hockey Hall of Fame

Zdeno Chara, Joe Thornton, Duncan Keith and Alexander Mogilny were four of the eight individuals elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame on Tuesday.

Chara and Keith, former defensemen, and Thornton, a former forward, were each elected in their first year of eligibility.

Candidates had to receive at least 75 percent of the vote from the selection committee to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. A maximum of four retired male players, two retired female players, two builders or one builder and one retired official may be inducted in a single year.

Two other players will also be inducted: former Canadian women’s national team forward Jennifer Botterill and former United States women’s national team forward Brianna Decker.

In the Builders Category, former Boston University coach Jack Parker and former Canadian women’s hockey coach, general manager and coaching consultant Daniele Sauvageau were elected.

Chara played from 1997 to 2022 for the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals and had 680 points (209 goals, 471 assists) in 1,680 games, the most played by a defenseman and third among all players during his 25 years in the League. He averaged 23:33 of ice time per game and won the Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011. Chara won the Norris Trophy, awarded annually to the League’s top defenseman, in 2008-09 and was a six-time finalist.

"'Zee' is a superb human being in so many ways," Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs said. "Not only in size and skill, but also in his thoughtfulness and the respect he commands. It's no surprise that he was selected in his first year of eligibility, because he's truly special. The Bruins were fortunate to get him and raise the Cup with him."

Thornton had 1,539 points (430 goals, 1,109 assists) in 1,714 games with the Bruins, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers. He’s one of 16 players to have at least 1,500 points and is sixth in regular-season games played. In 2005-06, he won the Hart Trophy voted as the League’s most valuable player and the Art Ross Trophy as its leading scorer with 125 points (29 goals, 96 assists). With Canada, he won gold at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the World Cup of Hockey in 2004 and 2016, and the 1997 IIHF World Junior Championship.

"Holy doodle, I can't believe that I am receiving this honor," Thornton said. "There are so many people I need to thank because I certainly couldn't have done this alone."

Keith is a three-time Stanley Cup winner with the Chicago Blackhawks (2010, 2013 and 2015) and won the Conn Smythe Trophy given to the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2015. He was also voted as one of the NHL's 100 Greatest Players at the League's Centennial celebration in 2017. He played from 2005-22 for the Blackhawks and Edmonton Oilers and had 646 points (106 goals, 540 assists) in 1,256 regular-season games. He also had 91 points (19 goals, 72 assists) in 151 playoff games. Keith averaged 24:41 of ice time in the regular season and 27:07 in the playoffs. He won the Norris Trophy in 2009-10 and 2013-14. Keith also won gold with Canada in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and 2014 Sochi Olympics.

“It wasn’t really until I had retired that, I guess, the thought came into my head about the Hall of Fame, and that was really only because people were asking me that question and telling me that they thought I would get the call," Keith said. "But up until then, playing, my whole focus was just on trying to do the job and be the best I could be to help the team in whatever role I was given. But certainly, as you get older, you kind of hope you can maybe put yourself in a position to be recognized. But it wasn’t until I finished playing.”

Mogilny made NHL history by becoming the first player from the Soviet Union to defect for the purpose of playing in the League when he debuted with the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 5, 1989. He had 1,032 points (473 goals, 559 assists) in 990 games for the Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey Devils and Maple Leafs, and scored an NHL career-high 76 goals for Buffalo in 1992-93. He won the Stanley Cup with the Devils in 1999-00 and gold with the Soviet Union at the 1988 Calgary Olympics and the 1989 World Championship, making him a member of the IIHF Triple Gold Club.

"I am happy to be part of a great organization like the Hockey Hall of Fame," Mogilny said. "I want to thank both my Russian and NHL teammates for helping me achieve this honor."

Said Keith: “I grew up watching him. I still remember going to Vancouver Canucks games and watching him and seeing how fast he was, his amazing speed. I was sitting in the nosebleeds section, and he stood out just with his speed and skill. I can remember it very clearly just how good he was in person. You’d see it on TV, but it was another level being able to witness that in person. It’s a huge honor to be inducted with everybody, and Alex is one of those guys. I think he’s probably happy he’s inducted now, finally, and it’s an especially cool honor to go in with him.”

Botterill is a three-time Olympic gold medal winner with Canada, in 2002 in Salt Lake City, 2006 in Torino and 2010 in Vancouver. She also won gold five times at the IIHF Women’s World Championship (1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007) and was the World Championship MVP in 2001 and 2004. She had 174 points (65 goals, 109 assists) in 184 games with Canada’s women’s team.

“I think the best description is one that, my heart is just full of such gratitude," Botterill said. "It’s been an amazing little moment to reflect and think about the people that have shared the journey with me. I certainly think about my family. Fitting I received this very exciting and special phone call today when I’m visiting my parents back in Manitoba. For me, when I think about growing up in Winnipeg and Wildwood Park, it was my parents would walk me to the end of the street to the Wildwood Community Club when I first started playing hockey, and they knew it was something very special. Just reflective of the unconditional support I’ve gotten from my family, friends and certainly my teammates.”

Decker had 170 points (81 goals, 89 assists) in 147 games with the U.S. team, which she helped win gold at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. She also won six gold medals with the U.S. at the Women’s World Championships (2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019) and was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame last year.

“I’m in complete shock still," Decker said. "Every person that has reached out, I’m obviously extremely grateful for. I got the call when I was on my John Deere lawn mower. I was like, that’s pretty small-town Wisconsin. Fitting, though I’m back in Minnesota coaching at Shattuck-St. Mary’s, where I attended school. A lot of things come full circle, but at the end of the day, I never dreamt I’d be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. It was a place where I’d go and admire all the people in it and all the teams in it. To be part of this class with the incredible athletes and builders, it’s pretty special.”

Parker's coaching career began in 1968 after graduating from Boston University. He returned as an assistant one year later and was named coach in 1973. His teams won three NCAA titles (1978, 1995, 2009) while appearing in 24 NCAA tournaments before he retired in 2013 after 40 seasons. He won 897 games, all at Boston.

"At no time did it ever cross my mind that I was going to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame," Parker said. "I was coach at BU for 40 years. I had a lot of fun doing it, we won a lot of games. And the reason we won a lot of games -- you don’t get to coach 40 years if you don’t win games -- is because I had great assistant coaches and great players and my assistant coaches were the guys who found those players and recruited those players. I always tell people I was the coach at BU for 40 years, what a dead-end job that was. But I thoroughly enjoyed it. I had chances to leave a couple of times. It was a great experience for me all those years, not just because we won a lot of games, but because I had great experiences with the kids who played for me.”

Sauvageau is the first woman ever elected as a Builder in the Hockey Hall of Fame. She has taken part in seven Olympic games as a women's hockey coach, general manager and coaching consultant with Canada and led it to gold at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, becoming the country’s first hockey coach of an Olympic team to win gold in 50 years.

“When I received the call, I have to say I couldn’t talk," Sauvageau said. "I had just finished an interview with a player because today’s an amazing day for the Professional Women’s Hockey League because it’s our draft today. So, I’m very happy we’re ready to do so because since the call, I had a hard time refocusing on what we have to do tonight. But at the same time, what timing. It couldn’t be better, during our third draft of our league.”

The Class of 2025 is scheduled to be inducted in Toronto on Nov. 10.

"The Hockey Hall of Fame is proud to welcome these hockey legends as Honored Members," said Seattle Kraken president of hockey operations Ron Francis, who is Chair of the Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee. "Their contributions to the game of hockey are well documented and their election to the Hockey Hall of Fame is richly deserved."