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Fuhr, LaFontaine, Ilitch to be inducted into Hockey Hall of Fame
TORONTO ap.-- Grant Fuhr made his living as the last line of defense on one of hockey's great offensive powerhouses. He did it so well that he was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame on Wednesday.
The goaltender became the third player from the Edmonton Oilers' dominating teams of the 1980s to make the Hall. He won five Stanley Cups with Edmonton while the Oilers were playing a wide-open style.
"It's a fabulous honor," said Fuhr. "It's the topping on which was the most enjoyable of things to do for a living. This is the ice cream on the cake."
Fuhr, the first black member of the hockey hall, was joined Wednesday by forward Pat LaFontaine, Detroit Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch and junior team coach Brian Kilrea.
The other Oilers of that era in the Hall of Fame are Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri.
Fuhr helped the Oilers to championships in 1984, '85, '87 and '88 and was a backup to Bill Ranford on the 1990 Stanley Cup winner. He helped Canada win the Canada Cup tournament in 1987 and was a first-team All-Star and Vezina Trophy winner in 1988.
Glen Sather, who coached Fuhr in Edmonton, called him one of the best goalies of the '80s.
"He played on an offensive team and had the ability to win games when the team had to win," said Sather, now the general manager of the Rangers and also a Hall of Famer. "He was a low-profile guy who just wanted to be part of the team. He was a great team guy ... the last one to take credit for what he did and the first one to take blame for what he didn't do."
LaFontaine had 468 goals and 545 assists in 865 career games with the New York Islanders and Rangers and the Buffalo Sabres. He had his best season in 1992-93, totaling 53 goals and 95 assists. He was the third American with 1,000 career points.
LaFontaine was plagued by concussions during his career and played his final NHL season with the Rangers in 1998.
"To be in such an exclusive club is overwhelming," he said. "Growing up in St. Louis, I always played for the love of the game and never dreamed this could ever lead to my being a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame."
Ilitch, whose empire also includes baseball's Detroit Tigers and the Little Caesars pizza chain, purchased the Red Wings in 1982. They won Stanley Cups in 1997 and '98, then again in 2002.
"I am proud to have supported amateur hockey and proud of the Red Wings organization we have built in Detroit over the past 20 years," Ilitch said.
Kilrea reached 1,000 wins this season behind the Ottawa 67s' bench, making him only the second hockey coach to surpass that mark, behind the NHL's Scotty Bowman. Kilrea, 68, just finished his 26th season coaching the 67s.
The Canadian Hockey League's coaching award was renamed the Brian Kilrea Trophy.
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