Seravalli: Class of 2020 makes Hall of Fame wait one to savor
TORONTO — If proper perspective was one of the keys to surviving the pandemic, well, then these six about to enter hockey’s hallowed Hall are Hall of Famers in that department, too.
Because by the time Jarome Iginla, Kevin Lowe, Marian Hossa, Doug Wilson, Kim St. Pierre and Ken Holland walk down the red carpet on Monday night, some 509 days will have passed since they got the call back on June 24, 2020.
“It’s been a long wait,” St. Pierre said. “But I think it gave us the opportunity to celebrate for longer.”
Or as four-time Stanley Cup winner Holland said: “It’s taken all of us a lifetime, what’s a few more months?”
The COVID-19 pandemic pushed back the Class of 2020’s induction weekend a full calendar year – wiping out the Class of 2021 in the process. The delay was designed to ensure the inductees could enjoy the full Hall of Fame weekend experience – from the ring ceremony to the Legends game to the parties and the ceremony itself – while surrounded by the warm embrace of family, friends and former teammates.
“I’m certainly anxious to get to the induction night, but I understand the delay,” Holland said on the DFO Rundown podcast. “Times have been difficult for everyone. We wanted to have our family and friends there to support us.”
In the end, the Hockey Hall of Fame adapted – like we all have since our world was upended 20 months ago.
The only difference now is your hockey heroes may be wearing masks.
And there is some irony to that, because there are no villains in the Class of 2020. There is a purity to this class that makes them easy to applaud.
The definition of class and character, Iginla is the first Black male skater (non-goalie) to be inducted into the Hall. He goes in as one of the best goal scorers of his generation.
Joining Iginla as an entrant in his first year of eligibility is Hossa, who is the first player trained in Slovakia to enter the Hall since becoming an independent state in 1993. Hossa was the first player to reach the Stanley Cup Final in three straight years playing for three different teams – and that third time was the charm.
Lowe and Wilson had a combined 43 years of waiting and wishing wiped away last June with a ring from Hall of Fame chairman Lanny McDonald.
Wilson was first eligible in 1996; Lowe could have appeared on a ballot for the first time in 2001.
To put that length of time in perspective, Wilson has been eligible since his son – Doug Wilson Jr. – was 10 years old. Doug Wilson Jr. is now 34 and has served as the San Jose Sharks’ director of scouting for a number of years.
They could not be more different defensemen – stylistically and statistically.
Wilson was a tour de force on the Blackhawks’ blue line. He captured the Norris Trophy in 1982 as the league’s top defenseman and finished in the top five in voting three other seasons. Now 62, Wilson racked up an impressive 827 points in 1,024 career NHL regular-season games, including nine campaigns of 50 points or more.
Wilson also owns a 39-goal season, which is the seventh-highest-scoring season by a defenseman in league annals. The other six are owned by men named Bobby Orr and Paul Coffey.
Coffey’s offensive exploits in Edmonton may not have been possible without Lowe.
There were few low points in Lowe’s storied career. All he did was win.
Lowe’s offensive numbers and individual accolades were not gaudy, which may have drawn out his bid for the Hall, but he is the first pure defensive defenseman elected since Rod Langway in 2002.
Lowe hoisted five Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers and was then brought to the Big Apple to help the New York Rangers end a 54-year drought in 1993-94 for a total of six Cup wins.
Holland, who will enter in the builder category, has his name etched on Lord Stanley’s mug four times – including three as the Detroit Red Wings general manager (1998, 2002, 2008).
He may tell the story on Monday night about how he nearly became a door-to-door Electrolux vacuum salesman in Vernon, B.C., before the Winged Wheel came calling with a job after his playing career wrapped.
And then there is St. Pierre, who was cut from four consecutive girls hockey teams as she tried to make the transition from Midget “AA” boys hockey to the women’s game.
She only went on to become arguably the best goaltender Canada has ever seen, backstopping Team Canada to three Olympic gold medals and five World Championships. St. Pierre holds the distinction of being undefeated (8-0-0) in Olympic play with a staggering 0.79 goals against-average.
“At some point, I was ready to give up on everything,” St. Pierre said on the DFO Rundown podcast. “There’s so many factors. Luck. Opportunity. Injuries. Where you live. You just need one person to believe in you and give you a chance. For me, it’s all about if you’re having fun through it, you’ll find a way.”
And find a way they did, all of them, through amazing careers and an uncertain run up to induction that will forever link them together.