Keith, Thornton, Price headline potential 2025 Hockey Hall of Fame class
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With the 2024 Hockey Hall of Fame class set to be inducted in November, the 2025 class is shaping up to be a strong one.
Joe Thornton, Duncan Keith and Carey Price are among the first-time eligible players who can be inducted next year.
Thornton, who last played with the Florida Panthers in 2021-22, finished his NHL career having skated in 1,714 games, notching 1,539 points, including 1,109 assists split between the Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Panthers.
Drafted first overall by the Bruins at the 1997 NHL Draft, Thornton became a six-time All-Star, winning the Hart Memorial Trophy and Art Ross Trophy in 2006.
Internationally, Thornton is well-decorated with Team Canada, winning gold at the World Juniors (1997), World Cup of Hockey (2004, 2016) and Olympic gold in 2010.
Keith was the defensive pillar for the Chicago Blackhawks, winning three Stanley Cup championships in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
The four-time All-Star skated in 1,256 career NHL games, notching 646 points split between the Blackhawks and Edmonton Oilers.
He was a two-time Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s best defenceman (2010, 2014) and took home the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2015. With Team Canada, he won two Olympic gold medals (2010, 2014).
While he hasn’t played since the 2021-22 season due to a knee injury, Price is one of the most decorated goaltenders of his generation after a 15-year career spent entirely with the Montreal Canadiens.
He had a career season in 2014-15, posting 44 wins, a .933 save percentage and 1.96 goals-against average, sweeping the NHL awards with the Hart Trophy, Vezina Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award and the William M. Jennings Trophy. He also took home the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in 2022.
Drafted fifth overall by Montreal in 2005, Price was a seven-time All-Star.
On the international stage, he backstopped Canada to gold at the 2007 World Juniors, winning tournament MVP and best goaltender honours. He also led Canada to gold at the 2014 Winter Olympics and the World Cup of Hockey in 2016.
Zdeno Chara, Ryan Getzlaf, Tuukka Rask and Jason Spezza are also eligible for the first time in 2025.
The list of first-time eligible players for the Hall of Fame is formidable, but there are a number of players who are still waiting for their call.
Alexander Mogilny has not played since the 2005-06 season but has yet to be inducted. He had 1,032 points in 990 career NHL games, won a Stanley Cup in 2000 as well as the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 2003. He became a member of the Triple Gold club in 2000.
Curtis Joseph, Keith Tkachuk and Henrik Zetterberg are also on the list of players with a case to be in the Hall of Fame.
On the women’s side, the Hall of Fame inducted two women for the first time since 2010 as Americans Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell-Pohl both got the call.
The Hall of Fame has a maximum on the number of female players it will induct every year and while the list of deserving players gets longer, one player who is due is former Team Canada star Jennifer Botterill.
Botterill had a decorated international career, winning three Olympic gold medals (2002, 2006 and 2010) and five women’s world championships.
In college, she won the Patty Kazmaier Award as the top female player in women’s NCAA Division I hockey in two straight campaigns (2001-02 and 2002-03) with Harvard. Botterill remains the only player to win it twice.