Last week, the NHL continued one of its longest traditions with the annual induction of new members to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. The Hockey Hall of Fame has been criticized for not being selective enough in its selection of new members. However this year sees one of the best lineups of inductees ever. The four players inducted, Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille, and Brian Leetch, combined for 2348 goals, 5568 points, and seven Stanley Cups.

Long time New Jersey Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello was also inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder. Lamoriello began his career in hockey as the coach of the Providence College hockey team from 1968-1987, while at the same time working as a high school math teacher. In 1987, the New Jersey Devils hired Lamoriello to serve as team President, and he named himself general manager, a move that surprised many considering he had never played or managed outside of college hockey. Lamoriello soon began a rebuilding process that would turn a perennially losing team into yearly cup contenders. In the coming years the Devils would draft future stars Scott Niedermayer, Martin Brodeur, and Patrik Elias and acquire Scott Stevens and Claude Lemieux. In the twenty seasons that Lamoriello has been the Devils GM they have made the playoffs in all but two of them, including three Stanley Cup victories in four finals appearances. In addition to working as President and GM of the Devils Lamoriello has on two occasions stepped in as an interim head coach of the Devils. Most notably in the 2005-2006 season he coached fifty games going 32-14 with four overtime loses, leading the Devils to first in the Atlantic Division, before being eliminated in the second round of the playoffs. When asked if he was interested in coaching the Devils full time Lamoriello’s response was “Absolutely not.”

Steve Yzerman was raised in Ottawa, Ontario, and excelled in Junior hockey. Taken fourth overall by the struggling Detroit Red Wings in 1983 Yzerman jumped straight to the NHL as an eighteen-year old rookie. Prior to the 1986-1987 season, Yzerman, then just twenty-one, was named team captain. A position he would hold for the rest of his career. Early in his career, Yzerman was often outshone by the likes of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, often missing out on the bigger awards from the NHL, despite multiple 100 plus point seasons, including 1988-1989 where recorded 155 points, the most by any player other than Gretzky or Lemieux. In 1997 however he won the sweetest award of all, leading Detroit to their first Stanley Cup in forty-two years. He would win the Cup again the following year, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP along the way, and a final time in 2002. Yzerman has been voted the most popular sports figure in Detroit history, and is often referred to as simply “the Captain.” Yzerman suffered from serious knee problems later in his career and he eventually retired from playing following the '05-'06 season, and took up a management position with the Detroit Red Wings. His final stats read: G:692 A: 1063 P:1755 in 1514 games played. Yzerman will also be the GM of the Canadian Olympic team at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Luc Robitaille had possibly the quietest career of all the inductees, due in large part to spending most of it with the Los Angeles Kings. Drafted one hundred and seventy-first overall in 1984, he made his debut in the 1986-1987 season, winning the Calder Trophy as the top rookie. He entered the spotlight in 1988 when Wayne Gretzky was traded to the Kings, although his numbers were already very respectable prior to Gretzky’s arrival. In 1992-1993 he recorded 125 points, which still stands as the record for left wingers, although his goal record of 63 has been surpassed by Alexander Ovechkin. Robitaille played three stints with the LA Kings, separated by short stints with the Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, and Detroit Red Wings with whom he won his only cup in 2002 with 577 goals as a King Robitaille holds the franchise record, more than players such as Marcel Dionne and Wayne Gretzky. His final stats read: G:668 A:726 P:1394 in 1431 games played.

The son of one of the greatest players to ever play the game Brett Hull was faced with great expectations his entire life. Drafted one hundred and seventeenth overall by the Calgary Flames in 1984, Hull never fully developed in Calgary under Coach Terry Crisp. However upon being traded to the St Louis Blues in 1988, Hull reached a level that few could have foreseen. Between 1988 and 1992 Hull, paired with centre Adam Oates, went on one of the greatest goal scoring binges the NHL has ever seen. In those three seasons Hull scored 72, 86, and 70 goals, leading the NHL in all three years. His tally of 86 goals in 1990-1991 is the second most ever recorded in one NHL season, he won the Hart trophy as MVP as well. He also scored 50 goals in 50 games twice in his career. Adam Oates was traded mid-way through the 1991-1992 season and Hull would never return to those numbers again. However he remained one of the premier goal scorers in the NHL for the remainder of his career. In 1999 as a member of the Dallas Stars Hull scored possibly the most controversial goal in NHL history. In double overtime of Game 5 in the 1999 Stanley Cup final Hull scored the cup winning goal for the Stars against Dominik Hasek of the Buffalo Sabres. The play was never reviewed, despite there being clear evidence that Hull skate was in the crease before shooting the puck, at the time this would have been a crease violation. Hull would later join the Detroit Red Wings for three seasons winning another Stanley Cup in 2002. His final tally of 741 career goals sits third all time behind only Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe.

Brian Leetch enters the Hall of Fame as the best American defenseman of all time. If not best American player of all time, a title he competes with Brett Hull for. Drafted ninth overall by the New York Rangers in 1986 he made his debut at the beginning of the 1988-1989 season, and would go on to win rookie of the year honours and set a record for rookie defensemen of twenty-three goals which still stands. By 1992, he had developed into one of the premier defensemen in the NHL, and won the first of two Norris Trophies as top defenseman. That season he recorded 22 goals and 80 assists for 102 points, to date the last defenseman to score 100 plus in a season. During the Rangers 1994 playoff run, he recorded eleven goals and a league leading thirty-four points in twenty-three playoff games. When his Rangers won the cup he became the first non-Canadian to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP and remains the only American to ever win it. Following that Stanley Cup victory the Rangers began to fade, but Leetch remained one of the NHL’s top defensemen, winning another Norris Trophy in 1997, and staying with the struggling Rangers for another nine full seasons. With his career nearing an end in 2004 he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs near the deadline and recorded fifteen points in fifteen games. Following the NHL lockout he played one more season for his hometown Bruins before retiring. His final stats read: G: 247 A: 781 P: 1028 in 1205 games played.