Messier Heads Up 2007 NHL Hall of Fame Class

An eighteen person selection committee held their final deliberations and announced on Thursday, June 28, that the 2007 Hockey hall of fame class would include four players who all were in their first year of eligibility. The class consists of NHL greats Mark Messier, Scott Stevens, Ron Francis and Al MacInnis. Espn.com news services.

Due to NHL and Hall of Fame rules, a maximum of four players can be inducted into the Hall of Fame each year. For that reason, NHL greats Adam Oats and Claude Lemieux, who were also in their first year of eligibility, were not included in the class. Other former NHL players who were part of the deliberation but did not make the cut were Kevin Lowe, Steve Larmer, Pavel Bure, Doug Gilmore and Igor Larionov.

This is the first class since 2001 in which the maximum number of players were inducted. The 2001 class was comprised of Mike Gartner, Jari Kurri, Slava Fetisov and Dale Hawerchuk.

Jim Gregory, an NHL executive, will be included in this year's class. Gregory will enter as a builder. Gregory was the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1969 thru 1979. He also ran the NHL Central Scouting Bureau and is currently a senior vice president with the NHL.

The induction ceremony for the 2007 class will be held on November 12.

Messier was all but guaranteed election into the Hall. He is second on the NHL all time scoring list with 1887 points. During his illustrious twenty five year career, he won six Stanly Cups, five of them with the Edmonton Oilers, where he was the teammate of the "great one," Wayne Gretzky. Gretzky is the only NHL player who has more career playoff goals and more career points than Messier. Messier won his final Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers. Espn.com news wire.

Messier could have made it into the Hall on his Career stats alone, but the stats only tell half the story. His greatest attribute was his leadership ability No matter what team he played for, whether the Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks or the New York Rangers, he was a team leader. He had the respect of Players who played with him and those who played against him.

Al MacInnis played in the NHL for twenty three seasons. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy for most valuable player in 1989 as a member of the Stanley Cup Champions Calgary Flames. MacInnis won the James Norris Memorial trophy for top defenseman for his performance during the 1998-99 season. MacInnis finished his career with 1,274 points, which ranks third all-time among defensemen. Wikipedia/MacInnis.

Ron Francis won the Stanley cup in 1991 and 1992 as a member of the Pittsburg Penguins. He ranks second all-time in assists with 1249 and fourth all-time in career points with 1798. Francis also won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship in 1995, 1998 and 2002. Wikipedia/Francis.

Scott Stevens won three Stanley cup during his 22 year career all with New Jersey Devils and was selected as the playoff MVP in 2000. Stevens served as the Devils captain from 1992 until his retirement in 2005. Stevens may not have put up the points that the other members of the 2007 class did, but he is arguably one of the best defensive defensemen to play the game. Stevens is the first New Jersey Devil to be elected into the hockey hall of fame. Wikipedia/Stevens.

Sources:
ESPN.com new wire. Messier, Francis, MacInnis, Stevens, Gregory form 2007 class. June 29, 2007. http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2919800. Retrieved June 30, 2007.
Wikipedia. Al MacInnis. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_MacInnis. Retrieved June 30, 2007.
Wikipedia. Ron Francis. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Francis. Retrieved June 30, 2007.
Wikipedia. Scott Stevens. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Stevens. Retrieved June 30, 2007.