World Cup-winning coach Graham Henry believes Wales will be "one of the teams to beat" in the 2019 tournament in Japan in the autumn.

Former Wales coach Henry led New Zealand to 2011 success and they won it again under Steve Hansen in 2015.

"I think Wales have a good chance," said Henry.

"It's going to be a lot closer than it was in 2015 when New Zealand had a distinct edge. It will be a highly competitive World Cup."

Henry coached Wales from 1998-2002 and departed with a record of 20 wins, a draw and 13 defeats.

His Welsh side were beaten by Australia in the 1999 World Cup quarter-finals.

Fellow New Zealander Warren Gatland guided Wales to fourth at the 2011 tournament - their second best World Cup finish - and the quarter-finals four years later.

Having seen Gatland's charges win the 2019 Grand Slam, Henry says Wales "have proved they are the best side in Europe".

Henry added: "Whether they can maintain that, I think they can.

"Ireland and England should be competitive and South Africa are improving.

"Hopefully the World Cup will galvanise the All Blacks into some improvements because they have not played that well in recent times or as they have done previously around the 2015 World Cup.

"It will be a very interesting tournament."

Henry says Wales' recent success - the Grand Slam was part of a 14-game winning run for the nation - "has been fabulous".

Under Henry, Wales enjoyed a 10-match winning streak which was their previous record run.

"Warren has done a superb job," added Henry.

"I actually texted him after they broke the record and said 'could you please pass on the congratulations from the 1999 side to the 2019 one for beating our record'.

"He texted me back because we know each other pretty well and he was appreciative of the text.

"He was very complimentary about the character of the side and the personalities that make up the squad.

"He was very positive and I texted him again after the Six Nations following the Grand Slam, which was outstanding."

Henry says Gatland's record with Wales and the British and Irish Lions makes him a strong contender to eventually succeed him has New Zealand coach.

Henry was asked if he thinks Gatland will ever get the All Blacks job.

"It is highly probable," he replied.

"He has proved to be one of the best coaches in the world. There are guys like Joe Schmidt (Ireland) and Dave Rennie (Glasgow Warriors) who are over there coaching who have done exceptional jobs who could also do a great job with the All Blacks.

"So there is a pretty competitive field right now, but Warren would be one of the front runners if he made himself available."

Gatland steps down as Wales coach after the World Cup and will turn his attention to coaching the Lions for a third successive time when they tour South Africa in 2021.

Henry led the Lions to a 2-1 series defeat against Australia in 2001 while still Wales coach.

The Welsh Rugby Union gave Gatland lengthy sabbaticals for the 2013 win against the Wallabies and the 2017 drawn series in New Zealand.

Henry said: "I think they learned from my experience.

"I did both jobs at the same time and that was wrong and you learn from those things.

"He has done fabulously well and I was delighted for him when he toured New Zealand that his side was so competitive."

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – As the American Flat Track paddock makes its annual pilgrimage to the Allen County Fairgrounds in Lima, Ohio, for the Indian Motorcycle Lima Half-Mile on Saturday, the spotlight shifts its glare back Jared Mees.

Mees’ younger Indian Wrecking Crew teammates have stolen away some of the attention he so thoroughly demanded during back-to-back AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines title runs in 2017 and 2018. Briar Bauman currently holds a 34-point championship lead on the strength of a perfect seven-for-seven podium record in 2019, while Bronson Bauman rides into the Lima Half-Mile still savoring his maiden premier-class victory.

For Mees, the Lima Half-Mile represents equal parts pressure, opportunity, and responsibility. It’s not only his home race, he’s also the event promoter. It also just happens to be exactly the sort of demanding, physical track that Mees loves to conquer as a showcase of his ability and focus.

That increased focus can play out in more than one way. In 2017, the Lima Half-Mile was the only Main Event Mees failed to qualify for – or podium for that matter – due to penalties he incurred for jumping the start in his semi. A year later, he got his redemption in the form of a runaway victory that was arguably the centerpiece performance of his successful 2018 title defense.

Which way things go this year could very well play an important role in determining if Mees will be able to secure three consecutive Grand National Championships. Winning this weekend could be far from easy; Briar Bauman took the Main in 2017 in dominant fashion and second-ranked Brandon Robinson took top honors at the venue in 2016.

Fans should also keep their eyes on last year’s race runner-up Jeffrey Carver Jr., the returning J.D. Beach, Harley teammates Sammy Halbert and Jarod Vanderkooi and so many others with the potential to steal the spotlight for themselves.

The showdown in the Roof Systems AFT Singles presented by Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys class should be equally intriguing. Shayna Texter comes in as the defending Lima Half-Mile winner, while AFT Singles points leader Mikey Rush is riding a two-race win streak.

There’s also the likes of Dalton Gauthier, Dan Bromley and Ryan Wells to take into consideration.

Fans should also keep an eye on Dallas Daniels, as this challenging track marks the debut event for the fresh-blooded wunderkind of the already-formidable Estenson Racing front.

As an added bonus, the AFT Production Twins championship fight resumes this weekend after sitting the Laconia Short Track out. After three races, it’s Cory Texter against the field. Unless someone can stop him, Texter is in position to up his perfect season’s win streak to four this weekend.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Trident Seafoods, and its Louis Kemp brand will partner with Front Row Motorsports and the No. 36 Ford Mustang team for four races this season.

The company’s Louis Kemp Crab Delights brand will serve as the primary sponsor of driver Matt Tifft at Chicagoland Speedway in June, New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July, the Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway in September, and Kansas Speedway in October.

The company began its partnership with FRM in 2018 for two races, which led to an increased commitment this season. Trident will kick off its racing season with an exciting contest, sending two lucky fans and guest on an all-expense paid trip to the track for the Sept. 29 race in Charlotte. Keep an eye out on the Louis Kemp and Front Row Motorsports social channels for info on how to enter on June 30.

“We’re excited to return to Front Row Motorsports,” said Mike Campanile, Trident’s senior marketing manager. “Like Louis Kemp, NASCAR has an extremely loyal fanbase and after we experienced that firsthand last year, it only made sense to align ourselves with the team again and Matt Tifft. His story of perseverance and finding success is something our brand can certainly relate to, and we’re looking forward to carrying that message to both new and existing customers.”

“I’m looking forward to having the Louis Kemp brand on our car this season,” said Matt Tifft. “It’s always a win for all parties when we see our partners expanding their involvement year after year. It’s a testament to the platform that our team provides for partners, and I’m glad to be involved.”

ZIMMERMAN, Minn. – Craig Dollansky is continuing to sit on the sidelines as he recovers from a dislocated left elbow he suffered in a non-racing accident on April 29.

“The injury April 29 was a setback I really didn’t need personally,” Dollansky said. “I felt really bad for my Selvage Motorsports race team and others that it affected. I was just beginning to increase my fitness training, riding a bike and other things fitness-wise as I ramp back up from my back surgery and it was going very good. Initially when I knew it was a dislocated elbow and nothing broken, I was pretty encouraged thinking I could recover quickly without much down time from the cockpit of the race car.”

Unfortunately for the Minnesota driver, the road to recovery would take longer than he initially expected.

“My doctor told me no lifting, pulling or using my arm for eight weeks,” Dollansky said.

Dollansky has copeted at Knoxville Raceway during the season opener on April 20 prior to suffering the elbow injury.

“That night I felt very good in the car,” Dollansky said. “We had no brakes that night and once slide jobs started happening in my heat race I had to pull back. We were unable to get any brakes in the car that night so I made a few laps in the feature that night and pulled in.

“After attempting to race that first weekend I told my team I’d have to take quite a few weeks off. I’ve attempted to race on and off a few times since then, but not very effectively,” Dollansky said. “I had to have help buckling my belts, strapping my helmet among other things. I began physical therapy the week of the Knoxville World of Outlaws show and my physical therapist advised me not to race during this process or I could be right back where I started.”

The good news is the majority of the rehabilitation process is behind Dollansky.

“I’m at eight weeks, my range of motion is increasing quickly and I can get back to racing and get after it like we need to be,” Dollansky said.

In the interim, team owner Dustin Selvage attempted to run the car on the Friday of the World of Outlaws and broke the driveline and had to send the motor out to get checked out for damage.

Dollansky had originally planned to be back in the race car for the Jackson Nationals at the Jackson Motorplex, but now he expects to be back and ready to go on July 6 at Knoxville Raceway.

“We were planning on my return to the cockpit at the Jackson Nationals this coming weekend but unfortunately that’s not going to happen,” said Dollansky. “We should have our motor and car ready to get back at it at Knoxville on July 6.”

Dollansky returned to sprint car competition this year after a back injury forced him into retirement in 2017.

PLACERVILLE, Calif. – When it comes to single-night events that Northern California fans have marked on their calendars, they don’t come much bigger than the one scheduled for Saturday at Placerville Speedway.

The King of the West-NARC Fujitsu 410 Sprint Car Series and the Sprint Car Challenge Tour presented by Elk Grove Ford and Abreu Vineyards will both converge on Placerville Speedway this Saturday for the Marcel Cassulo Classic.

“We are excited about this Saturday’s Marcel Cassulo Classic at Placerville Speedway,” said track promoter Scott Russell. “If you’re a Winged Sprint Car enthusiast in California this is the place to be at and if you’ve never been to Placerville, we encourage everyone to come check it out. It has been a long time but Winged 410’s and 360’s used to run here weekly so it’s almost like a blast from the past. Last year’s King of the West and Sprint Car Challenge Tour event was a barn-burner and we expect it to be the same on Saturday.”

D.J. Netto brings the King of the West-NARC point lead into Placerville on Saturday and will be searching for his first win on the red clay. Dominic Scelzi and Ryan Bernal are currently tied for second in the King of the West standings, with Willie Croft and Bud Kaeding completing the top-five going into the seventh race of the season for the tour. It will be the first of two appearances on the year at Placerville Speedway, with the next coming on Aug. 21.

On the Sprint Car Challenge Tour side of things, two-time and defending champion Kyle Hirst has moved atop the standings heading into Placerville Speedway. The Paradise, Calif., racer is always a favorite on the tight bullring.

Tim Kaeding, Tony Gualda, Sean Becker and Willie Croft round out the top-five in the SCCT standings. The event on Saturday is part of a doubleheader weekend for SCCT, which finds the series in action the following night at Petaluma Speedway.

A full program for each series will be held this Saturday including qualifying for the King of the West-NARC Sprint Cars and Quick Time Mortgage/ADCO Driveline qualifying for the Sprint Car Challenge Tour, along with heat races, dashes, B-mains and a pair of A-mains to conclude the night.

Adult tickets (ages 18-61) cost $40; seniors 62 and over, juniors 12-17 and military cost $35 and kids 6-11 will be $10. Children five and under are free. Seating is general admission except for the reserved seats marked for season ticket holders.

The pit gate at Placerville Speedway will open at 2 p.m., with the front grandstand gate opening at 3 p.m. A happy hour is offered from 4 to 6 p.m. in the grandstands featuring discounted Coors Light and Coors Original at the beer stand. Drivers meeting will be held at 4:30 p.m., with cars on track for wheel packing at 5 p.m. Hot laps, qualifying and racing will follow. Live music will be performed from 4 to 6 p.m. in the grandstand midway.

Craig Berube made the strongest argument you can to lose an interim coach tag -- winning the Stanley Cup. The St. Louis Blues agreed, signing him to a three-year contract Tuesday.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"Craig made an enormous impact on our team when he took over last November," general manager Doug Armstrong said in a statement. "He restored our identity and provided our players with a clear sense of direction and purpose. The chemistry and trust that he developed with our players was integral in bringing our franchise the 2019 Stanley Cup."

Berube, 53, was made interim coach after Mike Yeo was fired 19 games into last season with the Blues sitting at 7-9-3. A turnaround didn't happen immediately. At the beginning of January, the Blues had the worst record in the league.

From New Year's Day to the end of the regular season, however, St. Louis went 30-10-5 for the best record in the NHL. The Blues beat the Jets, Stars and Sharks on the way to the Stanley Cup Final and then outlasted the Bruins in seven games for the franchise's first title.

Berube was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as the coach of the year. The honor went to the Islanders' Barry Trotz.

"This is a proud day for me and my family," Berube said Tuesday in the statement. "I have a tremendous amount of respect for this team and this organization and the city of St. Louis has embraced me as one of their own. This past season was the experience of a lifetime and I'm anxious to get started on our title defense."

Berube, who will discuss his new contract during a news conference Wednesday, spent 17 seasons with five organizations as an enforcer in the NHL. He turned to coaching upon retirement, joining the Flyers' affiliate in the American Hockey League for the 2006-07 season. His stay in the minors didn't last long. Berube was promoted to assistant coach of the NHL team.

Berube returned to the farm team the following season, then got his break as a head coach in the NHL early in the 2013 season. And while he guided the Flyers to a playoff spot that season, his tenure ended ignominiously when general manager Ron Hextall fired him in April 2015.

Once again working his way through the AHL, Berube joined the Blues' affiliate in Chicago before becoming an assistant coach in St. Louis. He was elevated to head coach in November, then joined Blues adviser Larry Robinson (New Jersey) as the only interim coaches to win the Cup.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Jack Hughes is already making history for the New Jersey Devils.

The 18-year-old phenom, taken first overall at this past weekend's NHL draft, will become the first Devils player and only the 14th in NHL history to wear No. 86 on his sweater, as was revealed at his introductory news conference in Newark on Tuesday.

"It's a pretty cool number. It's a high number, so it's a little flashy," said Hughes, a dynamic center from Orlando, Florida.

Nothing like seeing your @NHL jersey for the first time.

Jack Hughes will wear #86 for the #NJDevils. pic.twitter.com/LLyjl87UTH

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) June 25, 2019

Devils general manager Ray Shero even noted the rarity of his jersey choice.

"This is only his training camp number," he said, handing Hughes his jersey at the news conference. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. It's his real number. You can start selling them."

Hughes wore two numbers for most of his career with the U.S. national development program and in international play, and both of them had connections to his family.

"No. 6 is the family number. Everyone has worn it: uncles, aunts, cousins, brothers," Hughes said on the Devils All-Access podcast.

He also wore No. 43. It was a number his older brother, Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes, wore during his USA Hockey development program days and passed on to Jack, who said he had passed it on to younger brother Luke Hughes. In fact, Jack said he saw a No. 43 Devils jersey with his name on it at their draft party the night he was selected.

Instead, he chose to wear No. 86 in the NHL. Hughes said he previously wore the number in "minor-midget" hockey for two years and decided to bring it back for his pro career -- mostly because he knew his preferred No. 6 was already on the back of 36-year-old Devils captain Andy Greene.

"Well, Greener is No. 6, obviously. Probably not the best start if I ask the captain to change his number," Hughes said.

The most prominent No. 86 in the league right now -- and likely ever -- is Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov. Hurricanes forward Teuvo Teravainen also sports the number.

The Devils have given notice they might be re-emerging as a contender with an encouraging draft and the stunning acquisition of six-time All-Star defenseman P.K. Subban. It has all gone a long way in turning pessimism into optimism for a team that finished with the league's third-worst record and out of the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years.

"Adding a talent like Jack Hughes on Friday night and Saturday, P.K. Subban, obviously I think the Devils are back in business," Shero said.

It started with winning the draft lottery in early April and continued with the selection of Hughes, a center, with the top pick Friday, as well as the trade for Subban, who immediately steps into the role as New Jersey's top defenseman.

With 2017-18 MVP Taylor Hall expected to return to form after an injury-marred campaign, 2017 No. 1 pick Nico Hischier continuing his development and leading scorer Kyle Palmieri playing his best hockey, the Devils have a shot to do something in a league where the St. Louis Blues came out of nowhere to win the Stanley Cup.

Devils majority owner Josh Harris said he can't wait for the season to start and added that Devils fans are used to having won Stanley Cups -- the last was in 2003 -- and now is the time to start doing it again.

"Jack joining the franchise represents another turn in our goal to be elite," Harris said at a news conference for Hughes at the Prudential Center. "We said that we're here not to do anything other than consistently compete and ultimately win the Stanley Cup."

With parents Jim and Ellen sitting in the front row, the 18-year-old Hughes was soft-spoken, confident and composed speaking on a stage that included Harris and Shero. Hughes said he had no doubt he would be playing next season in the NHL for the Devils and he hopes to play a creative game.

Hughes hasn't stopped going since the draft. He returned to New Jersey with Shero, Harris and his parents on a private jet and spent the next few days making media appearances. He attended the New York Yankees' game against Toronto on Monday night, sitting for 30 minutes with Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson and actor Adam Sandler.

He is eager now to return to suburban Toronto, where he grew up, and begin preparations for an 82-game season and be a part of an NHL team.

"I want to be Jack Hughes, not Patrick Kane or Matt Barzal," Hughes said. "I want to have my own flavor, my own excitement to my game."

The 170-pound playmaking center mixed poise, drive and sheer skating ability to score 74 goals and 154 assists in 110 games with the national team development program.

It will be interesting to see what he does with the Devils. Hischier had 20 goals and 32 assists as a rookie.

Hughes doesn't see himself as competing with Hischier for the job as the top-line center.

"I think to win, you have to have 1A and 1B," Hughes said. "No team wins with just one really good center. Travis Zajac has been a really good center for a long time, and I think the Devils are in a really good spot. In the NHL, I feel whoever I play with will be a really good player."

Coach John Hynes is looking forward to using all his new talent.

"It's exciting," Hynes said. "It's what you want. You want guys to come in and give you a chance to win and coach some excellent players."

And who is to say the Devils are done? Subban has a $9 million salary-cap hit for each of the next three seasons, but the Devils still have $25 million available in cap space.

"I feel with the pieces we have at this moment, we are a much better team than we were on Thursday," goaltender Cory Schneider said. "That's encouraging."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Canadian women's star Hayley Wickenheiser was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility.

Wickenheiser headlines the 2019 class announced Tuesday that includes former NHL players Sergei Zubov and Guy Carbonneau, Czech hockey star Vaclav Nedomansky and builders Jim Rutherford and Jerry York.

Wickenheiser on Nov. 18 will be the seventh woman to go into the hall, joining Canadians Angela James, Geraldine Heaney, Danielle Goyette and Jayna Hefford and Americans Cammi Granato and Angela Ruggiero.

"It is richly deserved that she is one of the newest members of the Hockey Hall of Fame,'' chairman Lanny McDonald said. ``When you win seven world championships as one of the key players and captain and when you win four Olympic gold medals, have a storied career both on the women's side and play on the men's side in Finland, that should tell you in itself where she was looked upon and revered by the rest of the hockey world.''

In 79 international games over 21 seasons, Wickenheiser recorded 58 goals and 88 assists for 146 points. She won four Olympic gold medals, seven world championship golds, one Olympic silver and six world championship silvers.

Wickenheiser won three Women's World Hockey League titles and a Canadian Women's Hockey League title. She was invited by the Philadelphia Flyers to training camp in 1998 after the Nagano Olympics, and is currently assistant director of player development for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Zubov put up 888 points in 1,232 NHL regular-season and playoff games for the Dallas Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers and won the Stanley Cup twice. The Russian defenseman also won the 1992 Olympic gold medal and 1989 world junior gold medal.

"Deep down in my heart I am so glad to receive this honor,'' said Zubov. "It has been my pleasure to have been involved in hockey all of my life.''

Carbonneau was a teammate of Zubov's on the 1999 NHL champion Stars and also won the Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1986 and 1993. He's a three-time Selke Trophy winner as the league's best defensive forward.

Nedomansky helped Czechoslovakia earn the 1968 Olympic silver medal and win the 1972 world championships. He was the first player to defect from the other side of the Iron Curtain, started in the World Hockey Association and went on to record 278 points in 421 NHL games with the Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues and Rangers.

Rutherford, a longtime general manager of Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins, built teams that won the Cup in 2006, 2016 and 2017.

"I started my career in Beeton, 50 miles north of the Hall of Fame, never dreaming that I would once be in it,'' said Rutherford. "I've traveled lots of miles in hockey and met so many great people along the way.''

York coached Bowling Green and Boston College to five national titles and has the most wins of any active NCAA Division I men's hockey coach. He said he was flabbergasted by his election to the Hall.

The Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2019 was as weird as was expected in a year without a slam-dunk candidate outside of Hayley Wickenheiser. Defenseman Sergei Zubov got in after a seven-year wait. Center Guy Carbonneau got in after 16 years. Czech hockey legend Vaclav Nedomansky was elected after a 33-year wait. What changed after 33 years? Who knows!

But enough about 2019. What will the Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2020 look like? Here's our current ranking of eligible candidates.

1. Jarome Iginla, left wing (first year)

A stone-cold lock for the first ballot. He has the numbers, with 625 goals (16th all time) and 1,300 points (34th). He has the accolades, with two goal-scoring titles and the 2002 Ted Lindsay Award. He was a winner ... well, at least internationally, with gold medals at the Olympics (twice), worlds, world juniors and the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. One of the great ambassadors of the game, this is the kind of player for whom the Hall of Fame was built.

2. Daniel Alfredsson, right wing (fourth year)

After missing out again, is Alfie officially being placed in the Hall of Very Good? The former Senators captain had 444 goals (No. 63 all time) and 1,157 points (No. 54 all time) during his 17-season run with Ottawa (and that other season in Detroit). He won the Calder Trophy, although no other individual hardware, and won Olympic gold and silver for Sweden. Like Iginla, his case is bolstered by the person he was away from the rink. Is that enough?

3. Marian Hossa, right wing (first year)

When we last did our Hockey Hall of Fame test cases, Hossa had three of the four essential quadrants for induction. His 525 career goals and 1,134 career points are strong; those goals put him in the neighborhood with Frank Mahovlich and Dale Hawerchuk, even though Hossa spent several years playing in the trap era. His 89 points in 110 playoff games are impressive, as are his five trips to the Stanley Cup Final (winning thrice). But he was under the radar: Respected for his 200-foot game, but only finishing once in the top three for an award (the Calder). Does he meet the "fame" criteria?

4. Alexander Mogilny, right wing (11th year)

Mogilny's 473 goals rank him 53rd all time, tied with Hall of Famer Denis Savard. Granted, he scored 27 percent of them in two seasons, with 76 goals in 1992-93 and 55 goals in 1995-96. But he was actually a model of consistency beyond that, with a 1.04 points-per-game average (38th all time, in a career that included playing in the trap era) in 990 career games over 16 seasons. A Triple Gold Club member, and an important part of hockey history as the first Soviet defection to the NHL. Clearly, the Selection Committee has opened up to Russian and Eastern European players making the Hall. That has to help his chances, right?

5. Rod Brind'Amour, center (seventh year)

There's been a new appreciation for Brind'Amour and his unique career. The former Hurricanes, Flyers and Blues center as one of the best 200-foot forwards of his era. He had 1,184 points (50th) in 1,482 career games, including 452 goals (58th) and played through the trap era. He won the Selke Trophy in consecutive years from 2005 to 2007 in his mid-30s, and he had 18 points during the Hurricanes' 2006 Stanley Cup run. Too bad physique isn't a criteria for the Hall; "Rod the Bod" would be first-ballot.

6. Jeremy Roenick, center (eighth year)

Roenick's case is about the "fame" in Hall of Fame. At the height of his powers in his era, he might have rivaled only Wayne Gretzky for crossover appeal and cult of personality. (And, of course, his digital avatar made Gretzky's head bleed in the movie "Swingers.") He has 513 career goals, but that's not a ticket-puncher. His 0.892 points-per-game average puts him right with Hall of Famer Joe Nieuwendyk. The problem with Roenick is that he never won an individual award nor a single championship or gold medal in his pro career.

7. Sergei Gonchar, defenseman (third year)

With Zubov in, what does that mean for Gonchar? He played 1,301 games and amassed 811 points, which is 17th all time for defensemen. He won the Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 2009. A great defenseman who finished in the top five for the Norris Trophy four times, but one of the greatest defensemen? That's debatable.

8. Kevin Lowe, defenseman (19th year)

Despite an endorsement from Wayne Gretzky at the 2018 Hall of Fame induction, Lowe continues to linger outside. He was the backbone of six Stanley Cup championship teams, including five with the dynastic Oilers who have already produced six Hall of Famers. But maybe he's to the Oilers what Dave Concepción was to the 1970s Cincinnati Reds; a vital cog, but not part of the parade of Hall of Famers.

9. Curtis Joseph, goalie (8th year)

CuJo has the stats case for the Hall of Fame: fifth in career wins (454), sixth in games played (943). What he lacks is the impact. Joseph never won a Vezina Trophy (despite being in the top four five times) nor a Stanley Cup. To date, Ed Giacomin is the only Hall of Fame goalie not to have won a Cup. Goalies rarely get into the Hall of Fame -- Martin Brodeur last season was just the seventh since 1990 -- which also isn't working in his favor.

10 (tie). Theo Fleury, right wing (14th year) and Patrik Elias, left wing (second year)

There are some loud voices in the hockey community shouting for Theo Fleury to be in the Hall. With 1,088 points in 1,084 games -- including 455 goals -- there's an offensive case to be made. Keep in mind that while he popped for 51 goals during the firewagon hockey era, he also potted 46 and 40 during the trap years. The case against Fleury is that while he was an enormously popular player, he was top five for the Hart twice, for the Selke once ... and that's it as far as individual accolades.

Elias is a curious case. He had 1,025 points in 1,240 games from 1995 to 2016 with the New Jersey Devils. That puts him 13th in points in the NHL during that span and 14th in points per game. Internationally, Elias had 33 points in 40 games. He won the Stanley Cup twice. The case for Elias, if there is one, is that he was consistent, he was underrated and his numbers would have looked even better had he not played in the Devils' system.

The other first-year candidates

After Iginla and Hossa, the most prominent name among first-year eligible players is probably winger Shane Doan, the career Coyote (after a rookie year in Winnipeg) he amassed 972 points in 1,540 games, a durability that ranks him 16th all-time in games played. Among the other names eligible are defenseman Brian Campbell, a smooth skater with 504 points who helped the Chicago Blackhawks win the 2010 Stanley Cup; and center Mike Ribeiro, whose 793 points were overshadowed by off-ice issues.

In 2021, things get really fun: Daniel and Henrik Sedin are first-year eligible. We'll say it again: Double-entry, both on the same plaque. Other interesting 2021 names include former Red Wings star Henrik Zetterberg and Rick Nash, with 437 career goals.