Thornton, Chara, Mogilny lead 2025 Hockey Hall of Fame class

The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jun 24, 2025 3:24 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

Joe Thornton, Duncan Keith, Alexander Mogilny, Zdeno Chara, Jennifer Botterill and Brianna Decker were the players named to the Hockey Hall of Fame connected Tuesday.

Jack Parker and Daniele Sauvageau were named arsenic builders.

The radical volition beryllium officially inducted successful November.

Defencemen Keith, Chara and Thornton were each successful their archetypal twelvemonth of Hall of Fame eligibility.

Keith, from Winnipeg, was a three-time Stanley Cup winner, two-time Olympic golden medallist, a Conn Smythe Trophy victor and two-time Norris Trophy victor arsenic the NHL's apical defenceman crossed his 17-year career.

He played for Chicago from 2005-2021 earlier a one-year stint with the Edmonton Oilers.

Keith grew up watching Mogilny play for the Vancouver Canucks and marvelled astatine however accelerated helium was.

"I was sitting up successful the nosebleed sections and helium stood retired conscionable with his velocity and skill," Keith said. "I tin retrieve it precise intelligibly conscionable however bully helium was successful person. You spot it connected TV, but it was different level being capable to witnesser that successful person.

"It's a immense honour to beryllium inducted with everybody, and Alex is 1 of those guys. I deliberation he's astir apt blessed that he's inducted now, finally, and it's particularly a chill honour to spell successful with him."

Thornton is 14th all-time with 1,539 vocation points and seventh all-time successful vocation assists with 1,109 from a 25-year career. One of the large playmakers of his generation, Thornton won the Hart Trophy arsenic league MVP and the Art Ross Trophy arsenic the NHL's starring scorer successful 2005-06.

He played for the Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers from 1997-2022. The London, Ont., autochthonal besides helped Canada triumph golden astatine the 2010 Olympics.

'Not an casual feline to play against'

Former teammate Mike Grier said Thornton "saw plays happening a measurement earlier they did and recovered lanes and done layers wherever you ne'er truly thought helium was going to beryllium capable to get you the puck."

"He was underrated, precise pugnacious and benignant of mean," said Grier, present wide manager of the San Jose Sharks. "Not an casual feline to play against. He would fight. He would instrumentality up for himself. He would instrumentality up for his teammates. Just benignant of a unsocial subordinate who astatine that size and that scope could marque the plays helium could and marque everyone astir him better."

Chara, the tallest subordinate successful NHL past astatine six-foot-nine, lived up to his imposing framework arsenic a carnal unit passim his vocation from 1997 to 2022. The Slovak defenceman won the Norris Trophy successful 2008-09 and was a finalist six times overall.

He besides helped pb the Bruins to a Stanley Cup rubric successful 2011, on with trips to the last successful 2013 and 2019. Chara holds the NHL grounds for astir games played by a defenceman with 1,680, third astir overall.

Mogilny has been eligible since 2009, with the Russian having recorded 473 goals and 1,032 points successful 990 vocation games. His 76-goal play successful 1992-93 is 5th all-time for goals successful a azygous season.

He suited up for the Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey Devils, and Toronto Maple Leafs during a 17-year vocation that spanned from 1989-2006.

Ron Francis, president of the 18-person enactment committee for the archetypal time, successful announcing Mogilny's inclusion mentioned he is 1 of conscionable 30 players successful the Triple Gold Club for winning the Stanley Cup and golden astatine the Olympics and satellite championships. Mogilny besides led the league successful goals successful 1992-93 with a full of 76 that is tied for the 5th astir successful a azygous season.

Mogilny answered telephone to Hall astatine 3 a.m.

Outgoing Hall of Fame president Lanny McDonald said Mogilny picked up erstwhile helium yet got the telephone this clip successful the mediate of the nighttime successful Russia.

"He really answered the phone," McDonald said. "Talk astir a Hall of Famer. That's a Hall of Famer answering the telephone astatine 3 o'clock successful the morning."

The Ottawa--born Botterill won 3 Olympic golden medals for Canada (2002, 2006, 2010), and 5 satellite championships, with 2 tourney MVPs.

She is the lone subordinate to triumph the Patty Kazmaier Award twice, claiming the honour arsenic the apical subordinate successful women's NCAA Division 1 hockey successful back-to-back seasons astatine Harvard.

Decker was portion of the United States' Olympic golden medal-winning squad successful 2018 and captured six satellite title titles.

She besides won the Patty Kazmaier Award aft posting 37 goals and 82 points successful 40 games during her inferior play astatine Wisconsin.

Decker and Botterill going successful astatine the aforesaid clip adds different American and Canadian among women inducted, making it a full of 12.

"It's unthinkable to beryllium a portion of a people with her," Decker said of Botterill. "She's done truthful overmuch for the game. Obviously I'm a small spot younger, but astatine the aforesaid time, I conscionable tried to pave the mode arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable conscionable arsenic overmuch arsenic she had."

Longtime Boston University manager Jack Parker and women's manager Daniele Sauvageau were elected successful the builders category. Sauvageau, who led Canada to Olympic golden astatine the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, is present GM of Montreal successful the Professional Women's Hockey League.

"When I received the call, I couldn't talk," said Sauvageau, who got the quality hours earlier the PWHL draught aft interviewing a subordinate who could beryllium chosen. "The timing could not person been better."