Leetch, Lamoriello inducted as part of memorable HHOF class

November 10, 2009   ·   Derek Felix   ·   Jump to comments

Last night in Toronto, one of the greatest Hockey Hall Of Fame classes was inducted. If two years ago was the pinnacle with both Mark Messier and Scott Stevens included along with Al MacInnis and Ron Francis, then it was fitting that again Ranger and Devil roots were an integral part of yesterday with both Brian Leetch and Lou Lamoriello receiving the highest honor along with Luc Robitaille, Brett Hull, Steve Yzerman and John Davidson.

Leetch, who played most of his career for the Rangers helping the club lift a 54-year curse in 1993-94. His brilliant 34-point (11-23-34) performance led to a Conn Smythe, which still to this day is the only American to take home the prestigious award. No.2 was an icon on the blueline eclipsing the century mark in 1991-92 en route to the first of two Norris trophies. The all-time franchise leader in assists (741) also captained the club until Messier’s return. In 18 seasons spent on Broadway, he totaled 981 points for second most trailing only Rod Gilbert (1,021) while also finishing runner-up to Harry Howell (1,160) for most games played (1,129).

He was unpopularly traded to the Maple Leafs prior to his 36th birthday by Glen Sather for a package that included Jarkko Immonen, Max Kondratiev, Lauri Korpikoski (Enver Lisin) and Mike Sauer. Leetch helped the Leafs reach the second round but were ousted by Team USA buddy Jeremy Roenick and the Flyers. Following the lockout, he signed with Boston, playing his final season there. In a brilliant 20-year career, Leetch had 247 goals and 781 assists for 1,028 points- ranking 65th on the all-time scoring list. Other highlights included captaining Team USA to the ’96 World Cup and a silver medal at Salt Lake in 2002.

“I am humbled and excited by this honour, particularly since for me it is difficult to think of myself as a member of the Hall of Fame,” expressed Leetch. “My hockey career has been a long and enjoyable process. I am appreciative of all those who have helped me. From my father, as my youth coach, to Mark Messier who helped me out so much – both on and off the ice surface.“

Spanning three decades, Lamoriello has built one of the best organizations not just in hockey but all of sports. After taking over as Devil GM in 1987 following a successful stint with Hockey East’s Providence College which also was his alma mater where he captained both baseball and hockey teams, Lou rebuilt the Devils into a powerhouse. Ironically, a franchise with a loser tag made their first ever postseason in 1988 making a Cinderella run all the way to the Conference Final before falling short against Boston. It was under his leadership that the club moved down to draft Martin Brodeur, who went onto an illustrious career that continues today as the all-time winningest netminder while on the verge of passing Terry Sawchuk for most shutouts.

Lamoriello also drafted Scott Niedermayer after dealing away Tom Kurvers to the Leafs. But the move that made the franchise legit was of the odd fashion when top sniper Brendan Shanahan signed an offersheet with the Blues. With St. Louis offering Rod Brind’Amour and Curtis Joseph as compensation, instead the crafty executive asked for Stevens. The rest is history as Stevens went onto captain three Stanley Cup winning teams (’95, ’00, ’03) while winning a Conn Smythe along with the hearts of New Jersey. Oddly enough, when they asked him what his best move was, in typical fashion Lou mentioned the deadline deal that acquired vital 2003 piece Grant Marshall from Columbus. While hardly the most skilled, Marshall eliminated the Lightning and it was his nifty backhand feed to another surprise piece Jeff Friesen which ousted the Senators. The Devils would hold off the Mighty Ducks in seven to win their third championship.

Even without Stevens, Niedermayer and Brian Rafalski, the Devs continue to defy logic by remaining competitive, having not missed the playoffs since 1995-96, ranking second to Detroit for longest current streak.

“This award is completely unexpected,” said Lamoriello, who also quipped that the other four inductees contributed to his hair loss. “Over my career I have been fortunate to have been associated with great players, coaches and scouts, and this award recognizes their contributions to my career.“

DID YOU KNOW? Lou Lamoriello was a high school math teacher.

For Robitaille who the Kings drafted in the ninth round behind Tom Glavine, it was all about proving the doubters wrong. That the likeable French Canadian did by becoming the all-time scoring leader among left wings by amassing 668 goals and 726 assists for 1,394 career points. While most of it was spent in Hollywood where he had his most success even reaching elite status with 63 goals and 125 points during a special 1992-93 season that saw the Kings just fall short losing the Cup to the Canadiens, Lucky Luc also played for the Pens, Rangers and Red Wings, where he finally won it all in 2001-02 teaming with Hull and Yzerman.

“My goal was always just to play in the NHL and I never dreamed of anything beyond that,” said Robitaille, who also made it a point that he’s living proof that anything’s possible if you believe in yourself. “To be honoured in the same room as The Rocket, Guy Lafleur and Wayne Gretzky is a tremendous honour.“

A lasting memory for my family is in 1996 when he personal auto’d a Ranger home white jersey for my brother Justin’s Bar Mitzvah. One of the coolest things ever. Something which my Dad mentioned last night as we discussed the great class.

When you talk about hardest shots, the name Brett Hull has to be mentioned. Of course, he inherited Dad Bobby Hull’s remarkable genes. The Golden Brett began his career with the Flames but was dealt away with Steve Bozek to St. Louis for Rob Ramage and Rick Wamsley, who helped Calgary win the Cup the following year. For Hull, while he missed out, it gave him the opportunity he needed to fulfill expectations by becoming one of the best finishers the game’s ever seen. It didn’t take long for the former sixth round pick to emerge into a star, scoring 40-or-more six consecutive years (’88-89 thru ’93-94). That included a dominant three-year stretch in which he totaled 228 goals (76 avg). In 1990-91, he scored the second most goals in NHL history finishing with 86- six shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record 92. Not surprisingly, he swept the Hart and Lester B. Pearson. Hull also became just the fifth player ever to score 50 in 50 doing it in 49, joining Gretzky, Maurice Richard, Mike Bossy and Mario Lemieux.

In a decade spent in St. Louis, he continued to light the lamp but the teams while good were never good enough to win a Cup. So, after 1997-98, he left for Dallas where he became the missing piece, helping lead the Stars to Lord Stanley the next year. As fate would have it, Hull scored the controversial Cup clinching goal in triple overtime over the Sabres. While it’s true replays showed his toe in the crease for what was one of the dumbest rules ever, it was too late for Buffalo, who cried foul. “No Goal” became the rallying cry. It wasn’t Hull’s fault such a rule existed. Like it or not, he helped Dallas win the Cup and nearly led them to a repeat in which they fell in six to the Devils. After three years in Big D, he played the next three in Detroit which included another Cup in ’01-02 in which he netted 10 markers at 36 following another 30 during the season. Even then, Brett was still a threat.

Following the lockout, he signed with Phoenix to play with the Jets/Coyotes franchise like Pop once did. Unfortunately, it took only five games for the prideful Hull to realize he couldn’t keep up, making for an emotional tearful goodbye. He had nothing to be ashamed of. For almost 20 years, he’d terrorized opposing goalies with a blistering shot that produced 741 goals- ranking third all-time trailing only Gretzky (894) and Gordie Howe (801). His 265 power play goals rank second to Dave Andreychuk (274) with Robitaille (247) third best. In 1,269 career games, he finished with 1,391 points (741-650-1391).

“It is hard to put into words what this means to me, especially since I’m joining my father in the Hockey Hall of Fame,” said Hull, who dedicated the honor to all the beer league players that never made it and hockey Moms who get up at 5 to take their kids to practice. “Simply getting to the NHL was a challenge for me, and I would like to thank all of my supporters who made many sacrifices on my behalf.“

Joining them is the one and only Stevie Y, who went on to become one of the best captains ever, leading the Red Wings to three Cups. When Jim Devellano took him fourth overall in 1983 behind top choice Pat Lafontaine, Detroit wasn’t good at all. But with Yzerman proving his worth by achieving Wing rookie records with 39 goals and 87 points as an 18 year-old, that would eventually change. By age 23, he was named captain and would serve as the longest tenured in Wings’ history (’86 – ’06). On the upswing, No.19 had a great run where he hit the century mark in points six straight seasons spanning 1987-88 thru 1992-93, including his best season ever when he scored 65 goals and a career best 90 assists for 155 points in ’88-89, winning the Pearson as voted on by his peers.

With the Red Wings adding remarkable talent in Sergei Fedorov, Nicklas Lidstrom and Vladimir Konstantinov, Yzerman led a club that would become one of the most dominant. But before they could bring the first Cup to Hockey Town since 1954-55 during the glory days of the Production Line (Linday-Howe-Abel), they tasted heartbreak with back-to-back Spring disappointments, upset by San Jose in Round One (’93-94) and swept by the Devils for the hardware during the shortened season. But maybe the worst was losing to the hated Avs in ’96 after posting a league record 62 wins. The series turned nasty due to Claude Lemieux’s vicious hit on Kris Draper that fractured his jaw, nose, cheekbone also concussing him. Adding insult to injury, Colorado ousted Detroit in six en route to their first Cup. Highly motivated, the Wings exacted revenge the next year as key piece Brendan Shanahan was added to a talented group with Yzerman leading them to Lord Stanley by sweeping the Flyers.

Heartache struck the franchise when Konstantinov and trainer Sergei Mnatsakanov suffered brain injuries during a car accident putting a damper on the celebration. Slava Fetisov also was injured but it wasn’t as serious. He returned along with the remaining four Russian Five members (Larionov, Fetisov, Fedorov, S. Kozlov). Under Yzerman’s leadership, the Red Wings came in even more focused, becoming the first repeat champ since the Pens (’91, ’92). Stevie Y would win the Conn Smythe and right away deliver the Cup to Konstantinov in one of the most emotional moments after their sweep of the Caps. Following a few disappointments, the Wings won it all in ’01-02 with a hobbled captain playing through all kinds of pain to help win a third Cup over the Canes in five. That was the epitome of who Yzerman was. He’d do anything to help his team win and it’s why he’s one of the greatest players ever, finishing his career with one team. His 692 goals rank eighth and 1,755 points stand sixth all-time. Fittingly, he was an integral part of the ’02 Canadian Olympic team that finally took gold. Yzerman represented his country for many years. Now, he’s running Team Canada as the Vancouver Olympics approach. Not a bad career.

“It is a tremendous honour to receive this news,” Yzerman said while making sure to thank former teammates who molded him into the leader he became. “I want to thank the Selection Committee for recognizing my contributions — I truly had chills down my spine when I got the news.“

Also winning the Foster Hewitt Award for outstanding contributions to hockey is Davidson for all his great years behind the mic before moving onto become the Team President of the St. Louis Blues. Better known as JD, the former goalie who led the Rangers to a Cup appearance in 1979 before falling to the Canadiens went onto an outstanding TV broadcasting career. Of course, Ranger fans know him for his amazing work and chemistry with MSG’s Sam Rosen.

How to sum up his two decade run in the booth? Brilliant because that’s what the man was. This was a guy who brought tremendous character and knowledge to every broadcast. No matter if it was local or teamed with last year’s Hewitt winner Doc Emrick on Fox, ABC, NBC, OLN, Davidson was a champion of the sport. He was a fixture on CBC during Hockey Night In Canada’s Hot Stove, always bringing his strong views with a passion like no one else. I think I speak for everyone. If he ever decides to leave the Blues who he’s already helped bring back to respectability, I sure hope he returns to TV. The man will always be a fixture.

“We’re all in this game together. We all compete, but we’re all in it together … you’ve got to remember that. And for a kid from Calgary, I can’t believe I’m sitting where I am right now.“

Not only is he great at what he does but is as genuine as it gets. My family has met him several times. Whether it was after a game versus the Flyers in which I climbed over the press box and waited for him to sign a media guide or some other Ranger event, JD is one of the best people ever, treating fans with such respect. Congrats to him and the rest of an outstanding class on this tremendous honor.