Hockey Hall of Fame welcomes class of 2018

TORONTO The Hockey Hall of Fame has welcomed its class of 2018.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, all-time goalie wins and shutout leader Martin Brodeur, diminutive underdog Martin St. Louis, Canadian women’s star Jayna Hefford, league trailblazer Willie O’ree and Russian great Alexander Yakushev were inducted at Monday’s ceremony.

Bettman and O’ree — the NHL’S first black player — went into the Hall in the builders category, while Brodeur, St. Louis, Hefford and Yakushev entered as players.

The NHL expanded from 24 to 31 teams during Bettman’s 25-year tenure, with annual revenues ballooning tenfold.

“Everyone knows that my public appearances get an energetic reaction,” Bettman joked during his speech. “I get booed when I present the Stanley Cup, particularly to a road team, but even from the home team, and at the draft.

“Tonight should erase any claim that election to the Hockey Hall of Fame is a popularity contest. Rather, I hope that my induction is a testament to what is clearly a collective contribution.”

A three-time Stanley Cup champion and four-time Vezina Trophy winner with the New Jersey Devils, Brodeur won 691 games and had 125 shutouts in his 20 seasons.

“This is a really special day for me,” Brodeur said. “I’m honoured and humbled.”

St. Louis went from undrafted free agent to Hart Trophy winner and two-time scoring champion with the Tampa Bay Lightning, including a Cup victory in 2003-04.

O’ree became the first black player in the NHL when he was called up by the Boston Bruins on Jan. 18, 1958. The 83-year-old, who had a long career in the minors, played just 45 games in the NHL, but returned to the fold in 1996 as a league ambassador.