Hockey Hall of Fame class receives their rings

TORONTO — Martin Brodeur’s father took pictures of many of the greatest players in NHL history.

His son’s plaque now sits amongst those legends in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Three-time Stanley Cup champion Martin Brodeur and the rest of the class of 2018 received their Hall of Fame rings on Friday to kick off a weekend of festivities that will culminate with Monday’s induction ceremony.

Team photographer for the Montreal Canadiens during their glory years, Denis Brodeur snapped shots of Jean Beliveau, Guy Lafleur, Patrick Roy and countless others throughout his own storied career.

“It’s kind of a surreal moment for me to live this,” Martin Brodeur said of being enshrined in the hall. “When you play the game, you never really think about these things.”

Brodeur won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goalie four times with the New Jersey Devils, took home the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year, owns two Olympic gold medals and is the NHL’s all-time leader in victories (691) and shutouts (125). Denis Brodeur died in 2013. The other five 2018 inductees announced back in June are NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, diminutive winger Martin St. Louis, league trailblazer Willie O’Ree, Canadian women’s star Jayna Hefford and Russian great Alexander Yakushev.

Brodeur and St. Louis were eligible for the first time.

The Canadian Press Hockey Hall of Fame inductees, from left, Gary Bettman, Martin Brodeur, Jayna Hefford, Willie O’Ree, Martin St. Louis and Alexander Yakushev pose for a photograph in Toronto on Friday. They will officially be inducted at a ceremony on Monday.