Hockey Hall of Fame inducts accomplished class of 2023

The Hockey Hall of Fame inducted its star-studded 2023 class Monday night, featuring seven celebrated members who boast lengthy resumes on and off the ice.

Here's a closer look at the newest names to grace the esteemed Hall, as well as each member's induction speech.

Henrik Lundqvist

It's no surprise Lundqvist got his call to the Hall in his first year of eligibility.

The longtime netminder ended his illustrious career near the top of the NHL's record books. He sits sixth among all goaltenders in wins (459), ninth in games played (887), and 17th in shutouts (64). Lundqvist spent his entire 15-year playing career (2005-2020) with the New York Rangers, owning an all-time record of 459-310-96 to go along with a sparkling .918 save percentage and 2.43 goals-against average.

A model of consistency, Lundqvist never finished a season with a save percentage below .900, and he won the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goaltender in 2012.

The crowd erupted into a "Henrik" chant at the end of his speech.

Henrik Lundqvist's supporters made themselves known after his Hockey Hall of Fame Induction speech! pic.twitter.com/a94BsfxgEp

- TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 14, 2023

Lundqvist never won the Stanley Cup, but he backstopped the Rangers to three deep playoff runs in four years, including two voyages to the Eastern Conference Final (2012, 2015) and one trip to the Stanley Cup Final (2014). The 41-year-old owns a career .921 save percentage and 2.30 goals-against average in the postseason, as well as 61 wins in 130 appearances.

The Rangers posted a heartwarming video celebrating Lundqvist's induction earlier Monday.

Henrik:

The most heartfelt congratulations, from in Rangerland - past and present. #HHOF23 pic.twitter.com/P6IP8l9igT

- New York Rangers (@NYRangers) November 13, 2023

The first Swedish goalie to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame, Lundqvist also made a name for himself on the international stage, winning an Olympic gold medal in 2006, an Olympic silver medal in 2014, and World Championship gold in 2017.

Pierre Turgeon

Turgeon has been anticipating his induction into the Hall of Fame since his first year of eligibility in 2010, but it was well worth the wait for the former NHL center.

Over a career spanning 19 years and 1,294 games from 1987-2007, Turgeon suited up for the Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars, and Colorado Avalanche. He never won the Stanley Cup and his list of individual accolades begins and ends with the 1993 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, but Turgeon allowed his point production to do the talking when it came to building his Hall-of-Fame case.

The Canadian currently ranks in the top 50 all time in all main offensive categories with 1,327 points (34th), 515 goals (41st), and 812 assists (32nd). He ended his career with eight 80-point campaigns and eclipsed the 100-point mark twice. His most productive campaign came in 1992-93 as a member of the Islanders when he logged 58 goals and 132 points in 83 outings.

Turgeon, a Quebec native, also served as the Canadiens' captain during their final season at the iconic Montreal Forum in 1995-96. He was drafted first overall by the Sabres in 1987.

Mike Vernon

Vernon has endured the longest wait out of all members of this year's crop, as the former goaltender has been eligible to have his name called since 2005.

The 60-year-old played in the NHL for 19 years (1982-2002), and his 385 wins are the 16th most all time. A Calgary native, Vernon spent 13 seasons with his hometown Flames, who selected him in the third round in 1981.

Vernon's 262 victories with the Flames are the second most in franchise history, and he also backstopped Calgary to its first and only Stanley Cup championship in 1989. During that run, he went 16-5 while posting a .905 save percentage, 2.26 goals-against average, and three shutouts. The Flames made the postseason eight times during Vernon's tenure - including a trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 1985-86 - and he's the organization's leader in playoff starts (79) and wins (43).

He went on to capture another championship with the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 - their first in 42 years - when he was even more dominant. He owned a dazzling .927 save percentage and 1.76 goals-against average that spring and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the postseason. Vernon also suited up for the San Jose Sharks and Florida Panthers in the latter stages of his career, but he returned to the Flames for his final two campaigns.

Tom Barrasso

The third and final goalie to be inducted into the 2023 class, Barrasso has been eligible to enter the Hall since 2006.

Barrasso racked up 369 regular-season victories over the course of his 19-year career (1983-2003), good for the fourth most among all American-born goaltenders. In 1997, he became the first U.S. goalie to win 300 games.

Tom Barrasso: "I would like to thank my teammates through the years, with whom we shared great success, failure, epic card games, golf games - we have a bond that cannot be broken. And we shared a time in all of our lives that cannot be replicated. My thanks to all of you." pic.twitter.com/R2Z9q8Ixfv

- Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 14, 2023

He impressed as a rookie fresh out of high school for the Sabres in 1983-84. After posting a 26-12-3 record, he took home the Calder Trophy as the league's most outstanding first-year player, as well as the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's best netminder. Barrasso won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and 1992. During those runs, Barrasso amassed a .913 save percentage and 2.72 goals-against average across 41 appearances. In all, Barrasso won 61 playoff games during his NHL tenure, which leads all U.S.-born goaltenders.

The 58-year-old also spent time with the Ottawa Senators, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Blues.

Caroline Ouellette

Given how decorated Ouellette is on the international stage, it doesn't come as a shock that she's been inducted into the Hall during her second year of eligibility.

The Montreal native has a whopping four Olympic gold medals to her name (2002, 2006, 2010, 2014) and never tasted defeat at an Olympic final. The former forward's dominance didn't end at the Olympics, either: She racked up 12 medals total - six gold, six silver - at the World Championship.

Ouellette ranks seventh all time in World Championship scoring with 70 points (23 goals, 47 assists) in 59 outings, as well as eighth in production at the Olympics with 26 points (nine goals, 17 assists) in 20 matchups.

Team Canada sent a special message to Ouellette prior to her induction.

Team Canada sends a message to Caroline Ouellette ahead of her Hockey Hall of Fame Induction! pic.twitter.com/mtcyBk8Ga1

- JayOnSC (@JayOnSC) November 14, 2023

The 44-year-old also tore up the NCAA, accumulating 229 points in 97 games across three campaigns with the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs from 2002-2005. As a result, she was tabbed a top-3 finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award in 2005 honoring the NCAA's best female player. Ouellette won the NCAA championship with Minnesota-Duluth in 2003 and was named the tournament's most valuable player.

Ken Hitchcock

Moving onto this class' builder category, Hitchcock enters the Hall as an accomplished head coach.

Over a career that spanned 22 seasons and 1,598 games, the 71-year-old spent time behind the benches of the Dallas Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Blues, and Edmonton Oilers. Hitchcock amassed 849 career wins during his time, fourth most in NHL history, trailing only Barry Trotz, Joel Quenneville, and Scotty Bowman.

Ken Hitchcock: "There weren't many cases where I had hockey clubs that didn't sacrifice for each other, and it means the world to me." pic.twitter.com/yLnYrnleja

- St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) November 14, 2023

Known for his strong defensive systems, Hitchcock captured a Stanley Cup with the Stars in 1999. Dallas also made the Stanley Cup Final the following year under Hitchcock but fell to the New Jersey Devils. He has 86 playoff victories to his name, good for the 10th most in league history.

Hitchcock won the Jack Adams Award as the league's best head coach after inspiring the Blues' major turnaround in 2011-12. Then-head coach Davis Payne had been fired just 13 games into the season after St. Louis got off to a 6-7-0 start, but the Blues went 43-15-11 the rest of the way under Hitchcock to finish first in their division.

Pierre Lacroix

Lacroix was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame's builders category and was represented by his grandson, Max, and his widowed wife, Coco.

The former NHL executive became president and general manager of the Quebec Nordiques in 1994 and won two Stanley Cups (1996, 2001) with the franchise after it relocated to Colorado. Lacroix made the necessary moves to help the Avalanche lift Lord Stanley's Mug on both occasions.

During the team's first season in Colorado in 1995-96, Lacroix traded for goaltender Patrick Roy, who posted a .921 save percentage and 2.10 goals-against average in 22 playoff games en route to the Avalanche's first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history. Lacroix later acquired Hall of Fame defensemen Rob Blake and Ray Bourque in a pair of moves that helped the Avs win the Stanley Cup in 2001.

Lacroix died in 2020 due to complications from COVID-19 at the age of 72.

Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.