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Roberto Luongo, Daniel Sedin, and Henrik Sedin are heading to the Hockey Hall of Fame

Sedins, Luongo into the Hall

Just one player who spent more than three seasons with the Vancouver Canucks is in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Pavel Bure, one of the most electrifying goal scorers in NHL history, was deservedly inducted in 2012.

A handful of other former Canucks who were better known for their time with other teams are in the Hall, such as Igor Larionov, Cam Neely, and Mats Sundin, but Bure is the only true Canuck.

He’s about to be joined by three more.

The Hockey Hall of Fame announced their class of 2022 on Monday, including three Canucks legends: Roberto Luongo, Daniel Sedin, and Henrik Sedin. Luongo and the Sedins are heading into the Hall in their first year of eligibility.

Luongo is fourth all-time in wins in the NHL, has four gold medals — two at the Olympics and two at the World Championships — and is one of just three goaltenders in NHL history to start at least 1000 games. He was also a Second-Team All-Star in 2004 and 2007.

While he was snubbed multiple times at the NHL Awards — notably missing out on the Vezina in both 2004 and 2007 to Martin Brodeur — he won’t be snubbed by the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The Sedins have fantastic individual resumés.

Henrik was a two-time First-Team All Star, won the Art Ross and Hart Trophies, and cracked 1000 career points. He’s also the only player in NHL history to be a two-time winner of the King Clancy Award for leadership and humanitarian contributions to his community.

Daniel was a First-Team All-Star once and a Second-Team All-Star once. He has an Art Ross Trophy and a Ted Lindsay Award and also cracked 1000 career points and sits just outside the top-100 all-time in goals. He also shared the King Clancy Award with Henrik in 2018.

Beyond their individual achievements, of course, is the unique element of the Sedins being identical twins who spent their entire career playing on the same line for the same team. They also brought new innovations to the game with the way they cycled and passed the puck. Their uniqueness made them a lock for the Hall of Fame.

There was a possibility for a Canucks sweep of the 2022 class, with Alexander Mogilny one of the most deserving players not currently in the Hall. But with no class of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a stacked group of players eligible, so Mogilny will have to wait at least another year.

Joining Luongo and the Sedins in the class of 2022 will be Daniel Alfredsson, Finnish great Riikka Sallinen, and builder Herb Carnegie.

Alfredsson has been eligible for the Hall since 2017. He has over 1000 career points, won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 1996, and won Olympic gold in 2006.

Sallinen was dominant internationally for Finland, carrying them to multiple bronze medals and one silver at the Olympics and World Championships behind the juggernaut Team Canada and Team USA. Her performance at the 1998 Olympics, where she led the tournament in scoring with 7 goals and 12 points in 6 games to secure bronze, was particularly legendary.

Carnegie faced discrimination and adversity throughout his career, with racism keeping him out of the NHL despite being one of the best players of his time. Conn Smythe, the owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs at the time, is infamously alleged to have said that he would take Carnegie if he could "turn him white." Related, the NHL should change the name of the playoff MVP trophy.

A star for the Quebec Aces in the Quebec Senior Hockey League, he founded the Future Aces Hockey School and Foundation to help and inspire young people. He was named to the Order of Canada in 2003 and it's been a long battle to get Carnegie recognized by the Hockey Hall of Fame.



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