after a lot of time to digest this news over the past few months, i'm almost in tears that the sedins and luongo are going in. the career they all had, i'm really not surprised that they're first ballot hall of famers. 2011 aside, they all shown class and dedication to the sport of hockey and just all around professionalism
hockey is an ugly sport; a checkered past with many skeletons in the closet. in a time where those skeletons are unearthed, we're reminded that there are unproblematic kings and queens in an otherwise toxic sport. daniel alfredsson is a no brainer, and should have gone in the year after he retired just for his body of work. he may have not won a stanley cup but he's right there with the peter forsbergs, for knocking down that door for swedish players getting in to the NHL
roberto luongo, early on you know he was an elite goalie on some pretty bad teams. when he joined the canucks, lets not pretend that this team was elite or anything. we meme'd our way through the jan bulis and rory fitzpatrick years, where this team had absolutely no business winning as much as it should have, so to not be an absolute joke in the league
the sedin twins, that whole trade, who would have ever thought that these two dorky looking red heads would become be the most respected players of all time. they defined everything that swedish hockey is all about; skill, toughness and class. they werent tough like a couple of goons, making a mockery of the sport-- but being mentally tough and physically tough to absorb as much punishment as they did. the sedins are a prime example of the importance of conditioning