The Inner Circle

There are 310 individuals elected in the Player category of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Of these players, 216 have been elected primarily for their NHL careers. The Inner Circle tier of the PPS system represents the greatest among the greatest — the 40 most HHOF-worthy players in NHL history.

The Inner Circle thresholds in PPS were selected at the start of the project to ensure the 40 players offered a reasonable split of eras and positions:

  • Total (40): 20 forwards, 13 defencemen, 7 goaltenders
    • PRE-Expansion (15): top 7 forwards, 5 defencemen, 3 goaltenders in PPS
    • POST-Expansion (25): top 13 forwards, 8 defencemen, 4 goaltenders in PPS
    • Post-Expansion has a larger slice, given the period’s approximate 3:1 ratio of NHL players, representing a growing world population and global NHL talent pool.

How it Works:

  • Membership in the Inner Circle tier is exclusively driven by PPS score based on the above slots. Off-ice impact (example: Ted Lindsay) is not considered.
  • Retired players cannot fall out of the Inner Circle — it can only grow when active players reach the Post-Expansion positional thresholds in PPS.
    • The Pre-Expansion’s 15-member Inner Circle is therefore permanently established.
    • Connor McDavid became the 41st member (and 26th post-expansion member) of the Inner Circle in 2023.

Forwards (21)

  • PRE-Expansion (7):
    • Gordie Howe, 413
    • Howie Morenz, 360
    • Jean Beliveau, 341
    • Maurice Richard, 330
    • Bobby Hull, 309
    • Nels Stewart, 306
    • Stan Mikita, 288
  • POST-Expansion (14):
    • Wayne Gretzky, 549
    • Mario Lemieux, 460
    • Sidney Crosby, 414*
    • Jaromir Jagr, 401
    • Alex Ovechkin, 379*
    • Phil Esposito, 355
    • Connor McDavid, 351*
    • Joe Sakic, 340
    • Brett Hull, 333
    • Steve Yzerman, 333
    • Teemu Selanne, 328
    • Evgeni Malkin, 323*
    • Guy Lafleur, 322
    • Mark Messier, 319

Defencemen (13)

  • PRE-Expansion (5):
    • Eddie Shore, 366
    • Red Kelly, 348
    • Doug Harvey, 346
    • King Clancy, 309
    • Georges Boucher, 276
  • POST-Expansion (8):
    • Bobby Orr, 502
    • Ray Bourque, 477
    • Nicklas Lidstrom, 425
    • Paul Coffey, 406
    • Al MacInnis, 391
    • Denis Potvin, 387
    • Larry Robinson, 366
    • Chris Chelios, 339

Goaltenders (7)

  • PRE-Expansion (3):
    • Jacques Plante, 396
    • Glenn Hall, 390
    • Clint Benedict, 389
  • POST-Expansion (4):
    • Patrick Roy, 409
    • Dominik Hasek, 395
    • Tony Esposito, 394
    • Martin Brodeur, 371
  • Honourable Mentions
    (PPS score <10 below the Inner Circle cutoff)
    • Forwards: PRE: Dit Clapper (-3); Bernie Geoffrion (-9); Bill Cook (-10)
      • POST: Mike Bossy (-2)
    • Defencemen: None
    • Goaltenders: PRE: Terry Sawchuk (-6); Bill Durnan (-8)
  • Closest Active Player by Position
    (above minimum games played threshold)
    • Forwards: Nikita Kucherov, 303 (-16)
    • Defencemen: Victor Hedman, 294 (-45)
    • Goaltenders: Andrei Vasilevskiy, 303 (-68)

* Active NHL player in the 2025-26 season;
PPS scores through 2024-25 season

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