In Lou We Trust

On Monday, 4 more players and 1 builder will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Legends of Hockey - an official site related to the Hockey Hall of Fame - has all the information from the prior weekend and biographies about the inductees. NHL.com has a ton of information about them as well.

The builder is Jim Gregory, the current NHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations. A profile for him is here at Legends of Hockey; and John Mcgourty has a more detailed article on Gregory at NHL.com. His most recent contribution (that I know of) is the implementation of video reviews for goals.

The players, well, you may have heard of them already. Al MacInnis, Ron Francis, Mark Messier, and Scott Stevens. You can list one trait about them almost immediately when thinking about each of these players. MacInnis? Ridiculous slap-shot. Francis? Playmaker. Messier? Leader. Stevens? Open ice-hit. However, that wouldn't be enough. In addition to reading those Legend of Hockey profiles I linked earlier, NHL.com has two articles on each of those players that go into further depth of each player. They were more than just one trait - each of them are arguably among the best players in their era.

John McGourty writes that Ron Francis is still persuing the Stanley Cup again as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes organization; and Adam Kimelman writes about how quiet Francis' campaign was - becoming the fourth highest scorer in NHL history under the radar.

On the topic of Al MacInnis, McGourty has two pieces on him. First, McGourty writes about his impressive 1989 playoff run, culminating in the Calgary Flames' sole Stanley Cup and MacInnis' Conn Smythe trophy. Second, McGourty takes a larger look at MacInnis' playing career - highlighting his quiet confidence and passion for the game fueling his career.

It's Hall of Fame time, and while I despise the Rangers, I can not begrudge Mark Messier. He truly is one of the best leaders in hockey history and is definitely worth commending. Among his biggest accomplishments is his 6 Stanley Cup wins - McGourty has a piece focusing on those victories and how Messier loves them all. Kimelman notes that Messier's career has been lined with greatness (aside: except for the end of it, but let's not talk about his Vancouver tenure) and this induction is just one more.

Dan Rosen writes twice about the Devil of the bunch: Scott Stevens. First, Rosen discusses how Scott Stevens became a champion - as he held up hockey's greatest prize three times. Then, Rosen describes Stevens as a difference maker, not just in how his bone-crushing hits changed games, but as he was a cornerstone for a mediocre Devil franchise developing into the contender it has been since 1994.

I assure you, I'm not trying to shill NHL.com; but these are some very well-written and enlightening pieces on each of the inductees. I highly suggest you read them. I can't really say that much more about Stevens other than that I am very fortunate to have seen him play and that I am proud that he is getting what he deserves. He will be remembered as one of the greatest defensive defensemen to have ever played the game, a cornerstone and leader in the emergence of a franchise, the most powerful and effective hitter in hockey history (so far), and the first New Jersey Devil to achieve greatness with his retired number #4 and this induction. I don't care what you tell me, I believe Stevens is a much better defenseman than Ray Bourque regardless of how many Norris trophies the latter has over the former. I know he wasn't always a Devil -originally he was a hot-headed offensive defenseman on the Washington Capitals - but he developed into the defensive force he eventually became known for (along with his hitting) first for St. Louis for a second and from then on for New Jersey. To me and to everyone, he will always be a Devil and I can say to Mr. Stevens is "thank you" for doing what he did to make the Devils more than a good team, but a great team.

Regardless of how the Devils do tomorrow night in Pittsburgh, the fact that Scott Stevens will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame will make it a great night for the New Jersey Devils.