By Nathan Moser
The Hockey Hall of Fame announced on Tuesday who is part of their Class of 2024. There are a total of seven members who will be inducted: Pavel Datsyuk, Jeremy Roenick, Shea Weber, Krissy Wendell-Pohl, Natalie Darwitz, David Poile, and Colin Campbell. Datsyuk spent his entire NHL career with the Detroit Red Wings. He was a part of two Stanley Cup championships (2002, 2008), and is one of the best to ever don the Red Wing sweater. He finished his time in the league having played in 953 games and accruing 918 points in that span (314 goals and 604 assists). His two best statistical seasons for Detroit happened in 2007-08 and 2008-09 (97 points each), both seasons where the team went to the Stanley Cup Final and played against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Those two statistical seasons are broken down below:
- 2007-08: 31 goals and 66 assists for 97 points in 82 games
- 2008-09: 32 goals and 65 assists for 97 points in 81 games
Additionally, Datsyuk suited up for 157 postseason games. He scored 42 goals and 71 assists for 113 points in 157 games. He played with some legendary teammates like Sergei Fedorov, Nicklas Lidstrom, Dominik Hasek, and Chris Chelios among others, but he earned becoming a legend in his own right. He brought so much skill every night to the rink and some of his goals are absolute highlight reel material. He won the Selke Trophy three times, the Lady Byng four times, and played in three NHL All-Star Games.
Roenick joins Datsyuk into the Hall of Fame having played in 1,363 games. In that time, he accumulated 513 goals and 703 assists for 1,216 points. He played for several organizations throughout his time in the NHL. He started off with the Chicago Blackhawks before also suiting up for the Phoenix Coyotes (two stints), Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, and San Jose Sharks. He was a part of 17 postseason runs. During that time, he tallied 53 goals and 69 assists for 122 points in 154 games. He never won the Stanley Cup, but he was a nine-time NHL All-Star.
Weber played most of his career with the Nashville Predators. He was drafted by them in the second round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, known as one of the deepest classes in the history of the sport. He spent parts of 11 campaigns in Nashville. His stats during his time there are below:
- 2005-06: two goals and eight assists for 10 points in 28 games
- 2006-07: 17 goals and 23 assists for 40 points in 79 games
- 2007-08: six goals and 14 assists for 20 points in 54 games
- 2008-09: 23 goals and 30 assists for 53 points in 81 games
- 2009-10: 16 goals and 27 assists for 43 points in 78 games
- 2010-11: 16 goals and 32 assists for 48 points in 82 games
- 2011-12: 19 goals and 30 assists for 49 points in 78 games
- 2012-13: nine goals and 19 assists for 28 points in 48 games
- 2013-14: 23 goals and 33 assists for 56 points in 79 games
- 2014-15: 15 goals and 30 assists for 45 points in 78 games
- 2015-16: 20 goals and 31 assists for 51 points in 78 games
Weber was dealt during the 2016 offseason to Montreal for PK Subban. He was with the Canadiens for parts of five seasons before officially being done playing after the 2020-21 campaign. He finished his career playing in 1,038 games. During that span, he produced 224 goals and 365 assists for 589 points. He played in seven NHL All-Star Games.
Krissy Wendell-Pohl, who is currently a scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins, was inducted to the Hall. She played in 147 games for the U.S. National Team between 1997 and 2007. She helped the USA capture the silver medal in the 2002 Winter Olympics, while also helping the team capture the bronze medal in the 2006 Olympics. She also is remembered for her performance, specifically in the 2005 IIHF World Championship when she was named MVP of the tournament and USA won their first gold medal in the tournament. Wendell-Pohl finished her international career with 106 goals and 141 assists for 247 points.
Natalie Darwitz, like Wendell-Pohl, also played for the U.S. National Team. She even was a captain for the USA. She won two silver medals in the Winter Olympics (2002 and 2010) as well as a bronze medal (2006). She also won three gold medals in World Championships for the USA, as well as two gold medals in Four Nations Cup tournaments. She posted 39 goals and 33 assists for 72 points in 50 international games. Since her time playing, Darwitz has also gotten into coaching, including spending time with the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.
David Poile is one of two builders being inducted in the 2024 Hockey Hall of Fame class. He first was the general manager of the Washington Capitals for 15 seasons before becoming the first GM in the history of the Predators. With the Capitals, he helped bring in some of their best players in franchise history like Rod Langway, Peter Bondra, and Sergei Gonchar. In Nashville, he was responsible for bringing in most of the best talent ever in Predators history. He was responsible for players like David Legwand, Jordin Tootoo, Scott Hartnell, Kimmo Timonen, Mike Fisher, Weber, Ryan Ellis, Patric Hornqvist, and Pekka Rinne among others. He became the winningest GM in NHL history. Poile recently retired from the Predators GM job, and he was replaced by his former head coach Barry Trotz.
Colin Campbell was also inducted in the builder category. He has been the NHL’s senior executive vice president of hockey operations since 1998. He was a player and coach before that and has made an impact in the sport for many decades now. His time working for the NHL helped with scouting, officiating, and overall hockey operations.
Stars Buyout Ryan Suter
Buyouts in the NHL are underway, and the Dallas Stars took advantage of that with longtime defender Ryan Suter. The 39-year-old blueliner will become an unrestricted free agent after being with Dallas for three seasons. He accrued 17 points in 82 games (two goals and 15 assists) in 2023-24. Suter has been in the NHL since being drafted by the Predators in the 2003 Draft. He played for Nashville for seven seasons before joining forward Zach Parise as members of the Minnesota Wild during the 2012 offseason. He was with the Wild for nine seasons before signing a contract with the Stars.
Blues Hire Claude Julien
The St. Louis Blues added to the coaching staff by hiring longtime bench boss Claude Julien. Julien is mainly remembered for his time as head coach of the Boston Bruins from 2007-08 until midway through 2016-17. He also coached for the Montreal Canadiens twice as well as the New Jersey Devils. His overall coaching record in the NHL is 667-455-10-152. This is a smart move by the Blues. Julien brings a lot of hockey knowledge to the staff and he has a 2011 Stanley Cup ring to prove it. He joins a St. Louis group led by head coach Drew Bannister. In addition to the Julien news, assistant coach Steve Ott has been promoted to associate coach. Time will tell how this coaching crew works out and how well the Blues play in 2024-25.
Ken Holland and Oilers Part Ways
Longtime NHL general manager Ken Holland will no longer work for the Edmonton Oilers. Both Holland and the organization have agreed to part ways, as his contract expires on July 1. This comes after the Oilers were eliminated by the Florida Panthers, who won their first Stanley Cup championship in organization history. It was the first time Edmonton made it to the Stanley Cup Final since they lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games back in the 2006 playoffs. The last Cup they won was in 1990. Holland will be replaced on an interim basis by CEO of Hockey Operations Jeff Jackson, but he will be looking for GM replacements as he does not want to be permanent GM for the franchise.
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