The Inner Circle

There are 298 individuals elected in the Player category of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Of these players, 209 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 in 2022 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 of the Inner Circle in 2023.

Forwards (21)

  • PRE-Expansion (7):
    • Gordie Howe, 401
    • Howie Morenz, 361
    • Jean Beliveau, 339
    • Bobby Hull, 323
    • Maurice Richard, 319
    • Nels Stewart, 309
    • Stan Mikita, 288
  • POST-Expansion (13+1):
    • Wayne Gretzky, 567
    • Mario Lemieux, 494
    • Sidney Crosby, 429*
    • Jaromir Jagr, 428
    • Alex Ovechkin, 383*
    • Phil Esposito, 375
    • Steve Yzerman, 361
    • Joe Sakic, 360
    • Connor McDavid, 355*
    • Brett Hull, 354
    • Guy Lafleur, 351
    • Mike Bossy, 348
    • Teemu Selanne, 346
    • Evgeni Malkin, 343*

Defencemen (13)

  • PRE-Expansion (5):
    • Eddie Shore, 350
    • Red Kelly, 342
    • Doug Harvey, 320
    • King Clancy, 310
    • Georges Boucher, 277
  • POST-Expansion (8):
    • Bobby Orr, 525
    • Ray Bourque, 477
    • Nicklas Lidstrom, 437
    • Paul Coffey, 420
    • Denis Potvin, 403
    • Al MacInnis, 400
    • Larry Robinson, 379
    • Chris Chelios, 352

Goaltenders (7)

  • PRE-Expansion (3):
    • Clint Benedict, 395
    • Bill Durnan, 380
    • Jacques Plante, 380
  • POST-Expansion (4):
    • Patrick Roy, 425
    • Dominik Hasek, 423
    • Roberto Luongo, 394
    • Tony Esposito, 391
  • Honourable Mentions
    (PPS score <7 below the Inner Circle cutoff)
    • Forwards: PRE: Bill Cook, 285; Bernie Geoffrion, 285
    • Defencemen: POST: Brian Leetch, 347
    • Goaltenders: PRE: Terry Sawchuk, 378; POST: Martin Brodeur, 385
  • Closest Active Player by Position
    (above minimum games played threshold)
    • Forwards: Patrick Kane, 321 (cutoff: 341)
    • Defencemen: Victor Hedman, 297 (cutoff: 352)
    • Goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury, 321 (cutoff: 391)

* Active NHL player in the 2023-24 season;
PPS scores through 2022-23 season; data created using information from the Hockey Databank project

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