The latest selections to the Hockey Hall of Fame have been made. Not without the usual public disagreement, four great players have been inducted for 2012. Mats Sundin, Pavel Bure, Joe Sakic and Adam Oates have all entered the Hall. Sakic was a no-brainer. Oates should have been inducted much sooner. Sundin and Bure certainly deserve to be there.
Mats Sundin
Pavel Bure
Joe Sakic
Adam Oates
Mats Sundin
Mats Sundin played in the National Hockey League from 1990-91 to 2008-09 with the Quebec Nordiques, Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks. Originally, Mats was the first overall pick at the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, going to the Nordiques. Over his NHL career, Sundin played 1,346 regular season games, scoring 564 goals and assisted on 785 for 1,349 points. He topped out in 1992-93 with 114 points on 47 goals and 67 assists.
The Mats Sundin rookie card is the 1990-91 O-Pee-Chee Premier #114 card. The 1990-91 ProSet #636 and 1990-91 Score 398 are also considered Sundin RC’s. The O-Pee-Chee card is valued at $5.
Pavel Bure
Pavel Bure was a longshot sixth round pick of the Vancouver Canucks in 1989, 113th overall. He played in the NHL from 1991-92 to 2002-03 with the Canucks, Florida Panthers and New York Rangers. He was the Calder Trophy recipient in 1991-92 as the NHL’s top rookie. Five times over his career, Pavel scored more than 50 goals. Twice Bure scored 60 in a season, both times with the Canucks. His career ended at 702 games. He scored 437 goals and assisted on 342 for 779.
The Pavel Bure rookie card is number 526 in the 1990-91 Upper Deck set. the card is valued at $4.00.
Joe Sakic
Joe Sakic was the fifteenth overall pick at the 1987 NHL Entry Draft by the Quebec Nordiques. Sakic played 1,378 NHL regular season games from 1988-89 to 2008-09 with the Nordiques / Colorado Avalanche, scoring 625 goals and assisting on 1,016 for 1,641 points. Sakic had six 100+ point seasons and twice crossed the 50 goal threshold. Joe was a one time recipient of the Hart Memorial Trophy, Conn Smythe Trophy and the Lady Byng Trophy.
The Joe Sakic rookie card is number 113 in the 1989-90 O-Pee-Chee set. The card is valued at $12.00.
Adam Oates
Adam Oates is one of the greatest players to never be drafted. He played 1,337 regular season games in the NHL from 1985-86 to 2003-04, scoring 341 goals and assisting on 1,079 for 1,420 points. During his career, Oates played for the Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers, Anaheim Mighty Ducks and Edmonton Oilers.
The Adam Oates rookie card is number 123 in the 1987-88 O-Pee-Chee set. The card is valued at $15.00.