Alexander Mogilny, Joe Thornton, Zdeno Chara named to 2025 Hockey Hall of Fame class

Toronto Maple Leafs right winger Alexander Mogilny celebrates his second goal of the game during third period NHL Eastern Conference semi-final game 7 action against the Ottawa Senators in Toronto on Tuesday, May 14, 2002. (CP PHOTO/Frank Gunn) (FRANK GUNN)

Duncan Keith, Alexander Mogilny, Joe Thornton, Zdeno Chara, Jennifer Botterill and Brianna Decker were the players named to the Hockey Hall of Fame on Tuesday.

The group will be officially inducted in November.

Defencemen Keith, Chara and centre Thornton were all in their first year of Hall of Fame eligibility.

Keith, from Winnipeg, was a three-time Stanley Cup winner, two-time Olympic gold medallist, a Conn Smythe Trophy winner and two-time Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s top defenceman across his 17-year career.

He played for the Chicago Blackhawks from 2005-2021 before a one-year stint with the Edmonton Oilers.

Thornton is 14th all-time with 1,539 career points and seventh all-time in career assists with 1,109 from a 25-year career. One of the great playmakers of his generation, Thornton won the Hart Trophy as league MVP and the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s leading scorer in 2005-06.

He played for the Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers from 1997-2022. The London, Ont., native also helped Canada win gold at the 2010 Olympics.

Chara, the tallest player in NHL history at six-foot-nine, lived up to his imposing frame as a physical force throughout his career from 1997 to 2022. The Slovak defenceman won the Norris Trophy in 2008-09 and was a finalist six times overall.

He also helped lead the Bruins to a Stanley Cup title in 2011, along with trips to the final in 2013 and 2019. Chara holds the NHL record for most games played by a defenceman with 1,680 — third most overall.

Mogilny has been eligible since 2009, with the Russian having recorded 473 goals and 1,032 points in 990 career games. His 76-goal season in 1992-93 is fifth all-time for goals in a single season.

He suited up for the Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey Devils, and Toronto Maple Leafs during a 17-year career that spanned from 1989-2006.

Botterill, from Ottawa, won three Olympic gold medals for Canada (2002, 2006, 2010), and five world championships, with two tournament MVPs.

She is the only player to win the Patty Kazmaier Award twice, claiming the honour as the top player in women’s NCAA Division I hockey in back-to-back seasons at Harvard.

Decker was part of the United States’ Olympic gold medal-winning team in 2018 and captured six world championship titles.

She also won the Patty Kazmaier Award after posting 37 goals and 82 points in 40 games during her junior season at Wisconsin.

Longtime Boston University coach Jack Parker and women’s coach Daniele Sauvageau were elected in the builders category. Sauvageau, who led Canada to Olympic gold at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, is now the general manager of Montreal in the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2025