The problem with running a Hall of Fame-related website is that many of the big ones we cover all have announcements within months of each other.  The backbone of what we do is list-related, resulting in a long push to revise what we already have, specifically now with our Football Hockey and Basketball Lists.

At present, we have a minor update as we have completed the first ten of the 2024 Hockey List, which you can comment on and vote on:

The new 1 to 10:

1. Joe Thornton*
2. Zdeno Chara*
3. Duncan Keith*
4. Alexander Mogilny
5. Patrick Marleau
6. Theoren Fleury
7. Don Cherry
8. John LeClair
9. Claude Provost
10. Mike Richter 

*Denotes First Year of Eligibility

Rankings are impacted annually based on your comments and votes.

Thank you all for your patience. We will soon unveil more changes to the football and basketball lists.

This March, we have been working diligently on adding to our futures section in the big four sports.  We have another update to share, added names to the 2025 Hockey Futures.

All of the names feature retired players who will first be Hall of Fame eligible for the Class of 2025.  You can now vote and/or comment as to whether you believe these names are (or are not) Hall of Fame worthy.

The added names are:

Andrew Ladd:  Ladd played 16 seasons and won two Stanley Cups, one with Carolina and a second with Chicago.

Andy Greene:  Playing Defense, Greene split his career between the New York Islanders and the New Jersey Devils and led the league once in Defensive Points Shares.

Carey Price: Price played his entire NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens, where he won the Hart Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award, and Vezina in the same year.  He is the all-time leader in Goalie Wins by a Montreal Goalie. He also won Gold in the Olympics and World Cup of Hockey for Canada.

Carl Hagelin: Hagelin won two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins and also played for Anaheim, Los Angeles, and Washington.

Devan Dubnyk: A three-time All-Star, Dubnyk's career record was 177-113-28. He was also a Second Team All-Star and won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.

Jake Muzzin:  Muzzin played 12 seasons and won a Stanley Cup with the Los Angeles Kings.  He also was a member of Canada’s 2016 World Cup of Hockey Championship.

Joe Thornton:  Thornton won everything but the Stanley Cup over his career, and is a former Hart and Art Ross Trophy winner.  A four-time post-season All-Star, Thornton won Gold for Canada at the Olympics and World Cup.

Tyler Bozak:  Bozak played most of his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but won the Stanley Cup late in his career with St. Louis.

You know what we want you to do! 

Cast your votes, and offer your opinions!

As always, we here at Notinhalloffame.com thank you for your support!

Longevity.  Statistics.  Greatness.

Joe Thornton was drafted as the number one overall pick by the Boston Bruins in 1997. His early years in the NHL were slow due to the Bruins Head Coach, Pat Burns, monitoring his ice time. However, by his third season, Thornton became a regular fixture and scored 60 points, which was the first of his 16 seasons in which he scored at least 60 points.

Thornton became an All-Star for the first time in 2002 and broke out as a superstar the following season with a 101-point year. He blossomed as a center, using his size and power to dominate corners and his grace to pass the puck. He was one of the most gifted playmakers of his day, and he would be for years to come. However, it was not going to be in Boston.

In 2003-04, Thornton's points dropped to 73, and fans turned on him, especially after his poor performance in the 2004 playoffs. When play resumed in 2005 after a lockout that cost everyone the 2004-05 season, Thornton was a restricted free agent, and though he resigned with the Bruins, it was a terse negotiation leaving both sides unhappy. Thornton got off to a good start with 33 points in 24 games, but the damage was done, and he was not considered by management to be a leader. He was traded to the San Jose Sharks during the season and, with a chip on his shoulder, won the Art Ross Trophy (125 points), Assists Title (96), and Hart Trophy, making him the first and only player to win the Hart and Art Ross while playing for two different teams.

In San Jose, Thornton became the leader Boston thought he couldn’t be. He topped the NHL in assists the next two seasons and was still a playmaking force over the next ten seasons, performing at a high level over the next decade. The Sharks were Stanley Cup contenders and made the Finals in 2011, but they fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games. Age and injury began to catch up to him, and he tried to chase that elusive cup late in his career with stops in Toronto and Florida. However, it was not meant to be. He retired with 1,539 points and is in the top ten all-time in games played and assists.

Internationally, Thornton has won a bevy of gold medals: one Olympic, two World Cups, and one World Junior.

With six All-Stars, four post-season All-Stars, individual hardware, and international gold, the only thing Joe Thornton is missing is a Stanley Cup. Nevertheless, his achievements make him a no-brainer first-ballot Hall of Famer.

It is official.

Joe Thornton, who played 24 seasons in the National Hockey League, last with Florida in 2021/22, has officially announced his retirement.

Thornton was the first overall pick of the 1997 Amateur Draft, and he joined the team that selected him, the Boston Bruins that year.  The Center’s would prove his worth, breaking the 100 Point plateau in the 2002-03 Season, but he grew disenchanted with the team’s direction, and the franchise in turn were not happy with him.  Thornton was traded during the 2005-06 campaign to the San Jose Sharks, and it was in the state of California that his greatest success came to be.

The Canadian made history as the first player to win the Art Ross Trophy (125 Points) while splitting his season between two teams.  Thornton also won the prestigious Hart Trophy that year, and was a First Team All-Star.  He would lead the NHL in Assists the next two years, and in 2016, he led San Jose to their first Stanley Cup Final. 

Thornton was unable to win a Stanley Cup with the Sharks, and in his final two years, he played a year on the contending Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers respectively, but never hoisted the Stanley Cup.

Internationally, Thornton represented Canada on multiple occasions, and won Gold at the 2004 & 2016 World Cup of Hockey, the 2010 Olympics and 1997 World Juniors.

Thornton is eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2025, and there should be little doubt that he will enter immediately on the first ballot.

We would like to wish Joe Thornton the best in his post-playing career.

Eric Lindros, Pat LaFontaine, Pavel Bure, Marcel Dionne, and the recently retired Henrik ‘The King’ Lundqvist all feature on a particularly unenvious list despite their glistening NHL careers: the list of legends who never hoisted the Stanley Cup. It’s the ultimate achievement in the league but, sometimes, even the greatest talents can’t quite get there.

This season, several players who look to be cementing a place as a future Hall of Famer are vying for their first Stanley Cup triumph. For some, this might just be their last, last chance, but each of those featured here is on a team that could go deep in the playoffs in 2021/22.

Dallas Stars veterans

We’re starting off with the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals runners-up, the Dallas Stars, as they boast three highly likely Hall of Famers who’re edging closer to the ends of their careers but haven’t won Lord Stanley just yet. All of Ryan Suter (36 years old), Joe Pavelski (37 years old), and captain Jamie Benn (32 years old) crave the Cup. Coming into this 2021/22 campaign, the Stars look to have a strong roster.

They did miss out on the playoffs last season, with injuries and perhaps a Finals hangover playing their part, but the talent at the American Airlines Center is enviable. So, it comes as a surprise that the NHL betting has them out dark horses at +2200, but that’s almost certainly due to last season’s finish. This season, Benn, Suter, and Pavelski should be part of a competitive team that can challenge for the Cup.

Joe Thornton

There isn’t a skater more desperate for the Stanley Cup than the active points leader Joe Thornton. He’s 1,680 games and 1,529 points into his career, has played for two legitimate contenders, and is now 42 years old. Now, he finds himself taking the near-minimum salary to play for a Florida Panthers side that’s suddenly realized the talent available to them.

It’s been well-documented that the main thing that’s held back the Panthers has been the front office, but now the Sunrise hockey club looks to have turned a corner. Florida still has to complete a trial by fire in the Atlantic Division just to get to the postseason, but if they do, the team headlined by Sergei Bobrovsky, Aaron Ekblad, Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, and Anthony Duclair might just be able to bring ‘Jumbo’ the silverware that he craves – and are at +2000 to do so.

Jason Spezza

Drafted second overall by the Ottawa Senators in 2001, Jason Spezza has strung together a solid career worthy of the selection. Now 38 years old, the Ontario native has scored 1,034 points in 1,293 games, 441 of which were goals. He’s certainly paid his dues on weaker teams, as demonstrated by his -77 plus-minus, but now that he’s entering his third season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Spezza could finally win the Cup.

The Buds have been rated as top contenders for the Stanley Cup since they lured in John Tavares – way back in 2018. In the playoffs, however, it’s been one first-round exit after another, tallying a five-season streak of getting to the postseason and then bowing out immediately. Star scorer Auston Matthews says that this will change in 2021/22, and given the strength of the skating corps, it’s tough to argue with him or their +1100 odds.

While there are other future Hall of Famers still in need of a Stanley Cup – such as Carey Price to name a prime example – those above look the best set and the most deserving of winning it this season.