Hockey Hall class ringed and ready

The illustrious Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2009 received their rings on Monday morning in Toronto, a prelude to their formal induction later this evening.

The class ranks among the best ever assembled: Detroit Red Wings legend Steve Yzerman, sniper Brett Hull, top American defenceman Brian Leetch and Luc Robitaille, the highest-scoring left wing ever.

Lou Lamoriello, the architect of three Stanley Cup wins in two decades with the New Jersey Devils, goes into the builder category.

Drafted fourth overall by the Detroit Red Wings in 1983, Yzerman is the longest-serving captain in NHL history.

Yzerman, who was born in Cranbrook, B.C., and grew up in Nepean, Ont., ranks sixth in NHL scoring with 682 goals, 1,063 assists and 1,745 points.

Yzerman spent all 22 NHL seasons with Detroit, rejuvenating the Wings by leading them to three Stanley Cup titles, including back-to-back championships in 1997 and 1998.

As executive director of Hockey Canada, Yzerman begins a momentous three-month period as he helps assemble the Canadian men's squad that will compete for the gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Yzerman will go in with two former teammates from Detroit's 2002 Stanley Cup team — Hull and Robitaille.

Hull racked up 741 career goals, behind only Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe, with four NHL teams. He added 650 assists for 1,391 points, currently 21st overall.

The legendary sniper won two Stanley Cups during his career, scoring the controversial winning goal to lift Dallas to a championship over Buffalo in 1999.

Hull, who was born in Belleville, Ont., but holds dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship, joins his father, Bobby, in the Hall of Fame — the top father-son duo in league history.

Leetch was a smooth-skating defenceman whose combination of passing and scoring ability made him one of the best defencemen of the 1990s.

Leetch, inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame last year, amassed 247 goals and 781 assists for 1,028 points, ranking him fifth among all defenceman.

He spent the bulk of his 18-year career with the New York Rangers, where he helped end the team's 54-year Stanley Cup drought in 1994.

A Calder Cup winner as the top rookie and two-time Norris Trophy winner, Leetch scored 11 goals and 34 points to win the Conn Smythe Trophy in New York's championship spring, the first non-Canadian to capture the award and the only American-born player still to win the honour.

Robitaille turned into perhaps the greatest late-round draft pick of the modern era. Not taken until the ninth round (171st overall) of the 1984 draft by the Los Angeles Kings, the Montreal native went on to rank 10th in goals with 668 and 19th in points with 1,394 by the time he retired.

"I think for me it was the fear to be sent back home, so I had to produce right away," said Robitaille.

He recorded three seasons of over 50 goals and four with over 100 points.

After 19 seasons with stops in L.A., Pittsburgh, New York (Rangers) and Detroit, Robitaille retired in 2006 with the Kings, who promptly retired his No. 20 jersey.

New Jersey resurgence

Lamoriello has been involved in the game for more than 40 years at both the college and pro levels.

Before joining New Jersey in the late-1980s, he spent over two decades with Providence College. He helped mentor former Providence players Brian Burke and Ron Wilson, the current Maple Leafs general manager and coach, as well as Hockey Canada executive Bob Nicholson.

John Davidson and Dave Molinari are the media honourees. Davidson, the current St. Louis Blues president, is being recognized with the Foster Hewitt Award for his work over 25 years as a hockey broadcaster.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer Molinari is the recipient of the Elmer Ferguson Award voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association.