Sundin, Sakic, Oates and Bure enter ice hockey Hall of Fame

TORONTO: There is something missing from Mats Sundin’s new plaque at the Hockey Hall of Fame — and it’s not because the printer made a mistake.
Among the list of his many achievements is no mention of an 18th National Hockey League season, the one that was never played because of the 2004-05 lockout. Sundin never managed to win a Stanley Cup during his career and can’t help but wonder what could have been had that lockout season been played. His Toronto Maple Leafs were on a run of six consecutive playoff appearances before that work stoppage.
“It was awful,” Sundin on Monday before the induction ceremony. “I think it’s devastating.”
Fellow inductees Joe Sakic and Adam Oates, both from Canada, were also in the NHL when the last lockout hit, while Pavel Bure of Russia was already retired.
With the league back in another dark period brought on by another labor dispute, the induction ceremony was more subdued than usual, though all four new members seem to have thoroughly enjoyed their weekend. They were to have been honored at Air Canada Center before a scheduled Maple Leafs-Devils game last Friday — a missed opportunity in particular for Sundin, the longtime Leafs captain, and Oates, who grew up in Toronto.
Sundin is back living in his native Sweden but the impact of another work stoppage hasn’t gone unnoticed even from a distance.
“I think it’s huge,” he said. “The National Hockey League is kind of representing the game of hockey. It’s the biggest representative of the game of hockey in the world. When the NHL is not going, people lose focus on hockey.
“For everybody that is involved in the sport, it’s huge to get the guys back playing as soon as possible.”
Added Sakic: “It hurts the players, it hurts the owners, it hurts the fans and it hurts the game.”The two men at the center of collective bargaining negotiations, commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr, both attended Monday’s ceremony. Bettman referred to “difficult times” after paying tribute to the inductees in a speech.
All four members of this year’s Hall of Fame class were affected by a labor disruption during their careers — Bure was playing for the Vancouver Canucks during the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season — and it’s reasonable to expect that trend will continue for some time after four work stoppages in the last 20 years.
Oates finds himself in a unique position because the lockout has delayed the start of his first season as a head coach with the Washington Capitals. He was hired on the same June day he found out he was heading into the Hall, making “for a pretty emotional 15 minutes.”
The last season of his playing career came in 2003-04 with the Edmonton Oilers.
“I thought about (continuing to play) because I wasn’t happy with my year in Edmonton, so I didn’t really want to go out that way,” he said. “I was considering it, but (the lockout) made it easy.”
He doesn’t harbor any regrets about being quietly ushered out of the game. In fact, it fit the personality of somebody who avoided the limelight by making his name as an excellent passer rather than a scorer.
“That’s the kind of guy I am — a little bit understated,” Oates said. “Actually Joe (Sakic) said it this morning: We’re all understated guys, believe it or not.”
Bure’s career was ended prematurely because of knee injuries and he ended up playing only 702 NHL games, just slightly less than half as many as Sundin, Sakic and Oates. But he made the most of what time he had by scoring 437 goals.
He never dreamed he’d find a plaque with his name in the Hall and spoke with emotion during his induction speech.
“I think it’s the biggest achievement you can get in hockey,” Bure said. “The selection committee combines everything you’ve done for hockey worldwide, so for me it’s a huge honor. It feels great.”



For now, ice hockey at its highest level remains on hold.
Sakic works as an adviser to the Colorado Avalanche and is as anxious as anybody to see the NHL resume. Looking back, the pain of sitting out an entire season quickly went away when a new CBA was signed.
“I remember coming back that next training camp I was pretty excited to be back and playing the game,” said Sakic. “You realize how much you miss the game.”