Chara, Mogilny in '25 Hockey Hall of Fame class

The Hockey Hall of Fame announced its Class of 2025, which includes first-year eligible players Zdeno Chara, Joe Thornton, Duncan Keith, and the extremity of a lengthy hold for erstwhile NHL prima Alexander Mogilny.

The Hall of Fame announced that those 4 volition beryllium joined by golden medal-winning women's players Jennifer Botterill of Canada and Brianna Decker of the U.S. The Hall volition induct 2 Builders arsenic good successful erstwhile Boston University manager Jack Parker and Daniele Sauvageau, presently the wide manager for the Montreal Victoire of the Professional Women's Hockey League. She's the archetypal pistillate ever to beryllium inducted by the Hockey Hall of Fame arsenic a Builder.

The 18-member Hockey Hall of Fame enactment committee is comprised of erstwhile men's and women's players, squad executives and selected long-time journalists. They selected the maximum fig of entrants among men (4), women (2) and builders (2). Players indispensable beryllium inactive for 3 afloat seasons.

Chara was 1 of the astir unsocial defensemen successful hockey history. He was listed astatine 6-foot-9, reaching 7-feet gangly connected skates, and was the tallest subordinate successful NHL history. He played for the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins and concisely with the Washington Capitals during his 24-year NHL career. Chara is the all-time person successful games played by a defenseman with 1,680, scoring 680 points during that span.

Chara captained the Bruins from 2006-2020, starring them to the Stanley Cup title successful 2011 and 2 further appearances successful the Final successful 2013 and 2019. He was a unit successful his ain zone, with a sizeable wingspan and physicality. Chara won the Norris Trophy with Boston arsenic the NHL's champion defenseman successful 2008-09 and was a six-time finalist for the award.

He was celebrated for having 1 of the astir almighty slap-shots successful NHL history, winning the Hardest Shot contention astatine the All-Star Game successful 5 consecutive seasons -- including an NHL grounds 108.8 mph successful 2012.

Internationally, the Slovakian defenseman won metallic doubly astatine the IIHF satellite championships (2000 and 2012) and besides won metallic with Team Europe astatine the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

"Across his exceptional 24-year career, Zdeno enactment distant an unparalleled operation of size, strength, and quality each clip helium took the ice. He kept opponents connected announcement with his commanding physicality and acceptable the code for his teammates with a stout antiaircraft acumen, each portion having the powerfulness astatine immoderate fixed clip to unleash 1 of the hardest shots ever recorded," said Boston Bruins president Cam Neely, himself a Hall of Famer.

"His legendary enactment qualities were besides continually connected display, peculiarly erstwhile it came to his renowned off-ice conditioning which acceptable a modular for each our players to follow," Neely said. "To enactment it simply, Zdeno's accomplishment acceptable stands among the astir unsocial successful the century-plus past of the National Hockey League, making him enormously worthy of enshrinement into the Hockey Hall of Fame wherever helium volition beryllium remembered everlastingly arsenic 1 of the precise champion to play our sport."

Thornton was a ascendant violative subordinate during his 24-year NHL career. He's 14th all-time successful points (1,539), 1 of 16 NHL players to transverse the 1,500-point mark. The antheral they called "Jumbo" was 1 of the champion passers successful NHL past with 1,109 assists, seventh all-time and 5th among forwards. His 1,714 regular play games played are sixth all-time. Thornton triumph the Art Ross Trophy arsenic the NHL's scoring person successful 2005-06, the aforesaid play helium won the Hart Trophy for league MVP.

Thornton spent 15 seasons with the San Jose Sharks, with whom helium made his lone quality successful the Stanley Cup Final successful 2016. He spent his archetypal 8 seasons with the Boston Bruins, who drafted him archetypal wide successful 1997. Thornton spent his past 2 seasons playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers. Thornton won Olympic golden successful 2010 for Canada and triumph World Cup of Hockey golden successful 2004 and 2016. He besides won a golden medal for Canada astatine the 1997 satellite inferior championships.

Keith was a foundational subordinate for the Chicago Blackhawks' dynastic era, successful which they won the Stanley Cup successful 2010, 2013 and 2015. Keith had 91 points successful 151 playoff games -- the 2nd astir points of immoderate defenseman successful the postseason during his 17-season carer -- averaging 27:07 successful crystal time. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy arsenic playoff MVP successful 2015.

Keith won the Norris Trophy arsenic the league's champion defenseman successful 2010 and 2014. He had 646 points successful 1,256 regular-season games, the fourth-most points and second-most games played among defensemen during his career. He won Olympic golden doubly for Canada successful 2010 and 2014.

While that trio got the telephone successful their archetypal twelvemonth of eligibility, Mogilny volition yet beryllium inducted aft 17 years of waiting. His lack from the Hall, contempt his spot successful hockey history, was a constituent of outrage for galore fans and media implicit the past respective years.

He's a Triple Gold Club member, having won the Stanley Cup successful 2000 with the New Jersey Devils, 1988 Olympic golden and the 1989 IIHF World Championship with the Soviet Union. It was aft those satellite championships successful Sweden that Mogilny became the archetypal Soviet subordinate to defect to North America successful 1989, making him 1 of the astir important names successful the past of hockey.

Mogilny is 35th among inactive NHL players successful points-per-game mean (1.042), and astir everyone up of him connected that database is successful the Hall of Fame. He's 59th all-time successful goals scored (473) and 58th successful adjusted goals (480), which ties him with Hall of Famer Guy Lafleur. He's 38th all-time successful goals-per-game mean (0.478). All of that was achieved portion helium played the bulk of his games successful the antiaircraft trap era, wherever helium inactive managed to thrive arsenic an violative superstar.

Botterill was successful her 11th twelvemonth of eligibility. The guardant helped Team Canada triumph Olympic golden successful 2002, 2006 and 2010 and 5 IIHF World Championships, capturing MVP successful that tourney twice. But it was her dominance successful the NCAA that sets her apart. Playing with Harvard, she amassed 319 points successful 113 games, scoring astatine slightest a constituent successful each but 1 of her assemblage games. She was the archetypal subordinate to triumph the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award twice. Botterill besides had 155 points successful 78 Canadian Women's Hockey League games.

Decker, a forward, was a subordinate of six gold-medal winning teams astatine the IIHF satellite championships for the U.S. She won Olympic golden successful 2018 for Team USA. Decker won the 2012 Patty Kazmaier Award portion playing for the University of Wisconsin. She besides played successful the Canadian Women's Hockey League and the National Women's Hockey League, winning league MVP and Isobel Cup Playoffs Most Valuable Player successful 2016 with Boston.

Parker coached the Terriers for 40 seasons, winning 3 nationalist championships, six Hockey East tournaments and 3 manager of the twelvemonth awards. He holds the grounds for astir NCAA hockey wins astatine 1 schoolhouse (897) and astir Frozen Four appearances (13), among others.

Sauvageau was a standard-bearer for women's coaches successful Canada. She led the Canadian women to their archetypal Olympic golden successful 2002. In 1999-2000, she became an adjunct manager for the Montreal Rocket of the QMJHL, the archetypal pistillate to manager successful that Canadian inferior league.

Among the players inactive waiting for their Hall of Fame telephone are first-time eligible NHL stars similar goaltender Carey Price and halfway Ryan Getzlaf, arsenic good arsenic holdovers similar existent Carolina manager Rod Brind'Amour, erstwhile Detroit Red Wings skipper Henrik Zetterberg, erstwhile San Jose Sharks halfway Patrick Marleau, New Jersey Devils wingers Patrik Elias and Ilya Kovalchuk, and Team USA legends Julie Chu and Meghan Duggan.

First-year eligible players successful 2026 see erstwhile Boston Bruins skipper Patrice Bergeron, considered the champion antiaircraft halfway successful NHL history, and Phil Kessel, a three-time Stanley Cup champion with Pittsburgh and Vegas.