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CP NewsAlart:Pronger, Lidstrom among those elected to Hockey Hall of Fame

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Memphis Grizzlies’ first-round draft pick Jarell Martin says he has a stress fracture in his foot that will prevent him from playing in any summer league games.

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“Nothing I’ve done has been the easy way, so I guess this would follow suit”, Pronger said on a conference call. With the way I play, it was a natural fit.

“When I was coming to the Red Wings…” “I had no idea whats going to happen to me.

Hay was the first NCAA graduate to play in the NHL. “It’s very exciting to think about becoming an Honoured Member”.

DETROIT >> How star studded was that Detroit Red Wings 2002 roster?

Housley, the second leading all-time scorer among American-born players, played in seven All-Star games in his 23-year-career.

None of the Red Wings have won it since.

A lot of that was Lidstrom, the stable presence on the blue line who earned praise from ex- defenceman Sergei Zubov as “one of the greatest athletes” he played against. “It was a team that really believed we could win the ultimate prize and came up one game short”.

At the top of the list would be ex- captain and current assistant coach Rod Brind’Amour, one of the greatest defensive forwards the game has known. “That was a special team”.

In order to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame a candidate must be retired for three seasons and achieve at least 75 per cent of votes from the 18-member selection committee. Lidstrom and Fedorov, who used to be road roommates, are the ninth and 10th players off the Red Wings’ 2002 championship team in the Hall of Fame.

Pronger is still technically an active player, though the physical defenseman has not competed since the 2011-12 season due to ongoing concussion symptoms. A Vasteras, Sweden native, Lidstrom won the Norris Trophy seven times, which is tied with Doug Harvey for second-most behind Bobby Orr, who won it eight times. “It showed just how talented he was, moving from one position to another”.

Fedorov’s stint in Detroit didn’t end on a good note. “[Whalers owner Peter] Karmanos is the bad guy”.

The Hockey Hall of Fame’s class of 2015 was officially announced on Monday. Joining Housley in the Hall this year are Angela Ruggerio, Bill Hay, Peter Karmanos, Niklas Lidstrom, and Chris Pronger.

Lidstrom and Pronger were two of the most dominant defensemen of this era, and yet they couldn’t have been more different in their approach. He also won the Hart Trophy in 2000 with the St. Louis Blues and was a six-time All Star throughout his career. “He was always in the right spot”.

Karmanos was rewarded for his faith in this market not only with the Stanley Cup in 2006 but with a growing, excited fan base that generated such optimism for the future, and led to a youth-hockey boom in the Triangle that is just now starting to generate NHL prospects. Were it not for a Collective Bargaining Agreement that has more loophole’s than grandma’s knitting, the games being played with his contract would cease.

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Fedorov also made it in his first chance after putting up 483 goals and 969 assists in 1,248 career games. For all his point totals, which were terrific, he did not get them by staying up the ice. Pronger is a slam dunk even though he is still under an NHL contract because bylaws state that he’s eligible since he played his final game three full seasons ago.

Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports