There will be one former Toronto Maple Leafs player going into the Hockey Hall of Fame this year. But it's not who you'd expect and he only played in four games with the club.
The 2023 induction class was voted on by the 18-person selection committee on Wednesday and announced by Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee chair Mike Gartner.
Alexander Mogilny, who had been eligible for the Hall since 2009 was not voted in despite 1032 points in 990 NHL games. The lone NHL skater who was inducted was Pierre Turgeon, who is definitely worthy given 1327 in 1294 NHL games.
Three NHL goaltenders are going into the Hall of Fame in the same year for the first time since 1963 and Henrik Lundqvist headlines the group.
Going into the Hall in his first year of eligibility. Lundqvist spent his entire playing career with the New d York Rangers and six sixth all-time on the NHL wins list with 459. He never won a Stanley Cup, but did play in the Cup Final in 2014.
Goaltenders Tom Barrasso and Mike Vernon rounded out the other goaltenders that will be enshrined this fall. Both goaltenders posted a career save percentage of below .900. However, they spent much of their careers in an era that saw more scoring across the league.
What Barrasso and Vernon both have are a pair of Stanley Cup victories.
Barrasso backstopped the Penguins during their 1991 and 1992 Stanley Cup runs and Mike Vernon won a Stanley Cup with the Calgary Flames in 1989 and Detroit Red Wings in 1997.
Curtis Joseph was left off the induction list for 2023, despite sitting 7th on the all-time wins list with 454 and a career save percentage of .906.
Barasso actually backed up Joseph as an insurance piece while with the Maple Leafs in 2002. The Leafs acquired Barrasso from the Carolina Hurricanes for a fourth-round pick and the veteran played four regular season games for the club.
"Eventually, if you are a Hall of Famer, you will get into the Hall of Fame. It might not be when you'd like it to be," Gartner told TSN after the announcement. "I'm a firm believer and I've seen it for 50 years now that if you are a Hall-of-Famer, you will be a Hall of Famer."
The former Leafs goaltender has been eligible for induction into the Hall since 2012 and Joseph's time is likely coming. It was just a bit surprising to see Joseph miss out as two goaltenders who had worse numbers in a year when three goaltenders got the nod.
Caroline Ouellette was also inducted into the players' category while Ken Hitchcock and Pierre LaCroix are into the Hall in the builders' category. All three definitely serving, particularly Oullette who has won four Olympic gold medals with Team Canada.
Meanwhile, it's not clear if Mogilny will ever get into the Hall at this point. His numbers have justified it for years and it's not clear how he missed it this time around.
We'll see what 2024 will bring. But the hall decided to give two players who waited a long time the chance to finally get in over others. And it's difficult to find the rationale behind that.
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