Ed Belfour along with Joe Nieuwendyk, Doug Gilmour and Mark Howe have been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2011. They will be inducted in a ceremony which will take place on November 14th in Toronto.
Other candidates that will now have to wait another year include Pavel Bure, Eric Lindros, Theo Fleury, John LeClair, and Phil Housley.
Here is TSN.ca write up for each 2011 class member…
Belfour is third all-time in goalie wins with 484, and twice won the Vezina Trophy. He also captured the Calder Trophy with Chicago and claimed the Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars in 1999. Five of the six goalies directly behind him on the wins list are already in the Hall of Fame.
Gilmour, with 1,414 points over 20 seasons, was a Selke Trophy winner who was known for his gutsy playoff performances. He is part of an exclusive group of players who averaged more points per game during the playoffs (1.15) than the regular season (.96), and is seventh all-time in playoff scoring. A natural leader, Gilmour captained both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Chicago Blackhawks.
Nieuwendyk, with 564 career goals, goes into the Hall of Fame on his second attempt. He is one of just nine players to have won a Stanley Cup with three different teams, and is the owner of 93 career game-winning goals. Nieuwendyk played for Calgary, Dallas, New Jersey, Toronto, and Florida, and also won Olympic gold for Canada in 2002.
Howe was a three-time runner-up for the Norris Trophy and twice appeared in the Stanley Cup Final with the Philadelphia Flyers. One of Gordie Howe’s hockey-playing sons, Mark Howe netted 1,246 points over 22 seasons split between the World Hockey Association and the NHL. Howe was a six-time NHL all-star.