NHL 2007 Hall of Fame Class [J. Mark English]

And what a class it is, including my favorite hockey player of all time, former New York Rangers captain, Mark Messier. Here is more from NHL.com:

They elected “The Captain” into the Hockey Hall of Fame today.

Four of them, in fact.

It was a sad week for hockey when Mark Messier, Ron Francis, Al MacInnis and Scott Stevens retired on the eve of the 2005-06 season, but hockey fans today hailed the election of these four team leaders from the recent past.

Those four players will form the Class of 2007 inducted Nov. 12 in a ceremony at the Hockey Hall of Fame building in Toronto. National Hockey League Senior Vice President Jim Gregory was elected in the Builders category.

Included in this group are the second- and fourth-leading scorers of all time, Messier and Francis, and three winners of the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Messier, Stevens and MacInnis.

All four have hoisted hockey's most important trophy. Messier won six Stanley Cups, Stevens three, Francis two and MacInnis one.

“The players elected today represent the epitome of hockey excellence," said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. "Their careers were distinguished by their skill, by their drive, by their refusal to accept anything less than the best. I congratulate the honorees and I commend the Selection Committee on having created a spectacular Class of 2007.