The Hockey Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to the history of ice hockey. It was established in 1943 and is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally, there were two categories for induction, players and builders, and in 1961, a third category for on-ice officials was introduced. In 2010, a subcategory was established for female players. In 1988, a "veteran player category" was established in order to "provide a vehicle for players who may have been overlooked and whose chances for election would be limited when placed on the same ballot with contemporary players". Eleven players were inducted into the category, but in 2000 the board of directors eliminated it and those inductees are now considered to be in the player category.

Inductees must be nominated by an elected 18-person selection committee which includes Hockey Hall of Fame members and media personalities. Each committee member is allowed to nominate one person in each category per year, and candidates must receive the support of 75% of the members of the committee that are present, or a minimum of ten votes. In any given year, there can be a maximum of four male players, two female players, and a combined two in the builders and on-ice officials categories. For a player, referee, or linesman to be nominated, the person must have been retired for a minimum three years. Builders may be "active or inactive". The induction ceremony is held at the current Hall of Fame building and was first broadcast by The Sports Network in 1994.

The Hockey Hall of Fame also displays "Media honourees", who have been awarded the "Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award", which is awarded by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association to "distinguished members of the newspaper profession whose words have brought honour to journalism and to hockey", or the "Foster Hewitt Memorial Award", which is awarded by the NHL Broadcasters' Association to "members of the radio and television industry who made outstanding contributions to their profession and the game during their career in hockey broadcasting". However, the media honourees are not considered full inductees, and are not included in this list. The winners are announced and honoured at different times than the other honourees. Foster Hewitt is the only media honouree inducted in his own right into the Hall, as a builder.

As of 2026, there are 319 players (including fifteen women), 120 builders and 16 on-ice officials in the Hockey Hall of Fame. 17 honourees have been inducted posthumously.

Members Players The player category has been in existence since the beginning of the Hall of Fame and the first nine players were inducted in 1945. For a person to be inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a player, they must have been retired for a minimum of three years and must be nominated by an elected 18-person selection committee. The waiting period was waived for ten players deemed exceptionally notable: Dit Clapper (1947), Maurice Richard (1961), Ted Lindsay (1966), Red Kelly (1969), Terry Sawchuk (1971), Jean Beliveau (1972), Gordie Howe (1972), Bobby Orr (1979), Mario Lemieux (1997), and Wayne Gretzky (1999). Following Wayne Gretzky's retirement, it was announced that the waiting period would no longer be waived for any player except under "certain humanitarian circumstances".

As of 2012, a maximum of four players can be inducted in one year but the greatest number of players inducted in a year was 23, in 1963. They were inducted because the Hall of Fame was trying to induct many pre-NHL era players. Sometimes noted as 1962 inductees, the pre-NHL era players were named at the 1962 Hall of Fame luncheon at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), but were inducted one year later, in 1963 at the CNE. 232 of the player inductees are Canadian-born, while 16 European-born players have been inducted. The NHL team with the most player inductees is the Toronto Maple Leafs (previously the Toronto St. Patricks and Toronto Arenas), with 60. Seventy-seven defencemen are in the Hall of Fame, more than any other current position, while only 36 goaltenders have been inducted.

In 1988, a "veteran player category" was established in order to "provide a vehicle for players who may have been overlooked and whose chances for election would be limited when placed on the same ballot with contemporary players". Eleven players were inducted into the category, but in 2000, the board of directors eliminated it, and now those inductees are considered to be in the player category.

+Positions key C Centre LW Left wing D Defence RW Right wing G Goaltender R Rover F Forward

Year Name Position Nationality 1945 F United States G Canada/United Kingdom D–LW Canada C–R Canada C Canada LW–RW Canada D Canada D Canada G Canada 1947 C–R Canada D–RW Canada LW Canada C Canada D–G–R Canada D Canada C–D–R Canada C Canada D Canada 1950 RW Canada D Canada D Canada D–R Canada/United States C Canada C Canada D Canada C–R Canada 1952 D Canada RW Canada D–LW United States D Canada C–R Canada C Canada 1958 C Canada D Canada D Canada G Canada D Canada C Canada C Canada D Canada LW Canada C Canada D Canada C Canada G Canada D Canada G Canada 1959 C Canada LW Canada G Canada 1960 D Canada D Canada C–LW–R Canada 1961 C Canada RW Canada D Canada G Canada D–RW Canada/United Kingdom G–RW Canada R Canada RW Canada C Canada C Canada R Canada 1962 RW Canada RW Canada R Canada C–D–LW Canada LW Canada RW Canada 1963 D Canada C–LW Canada RW Canada LW Canada RW Canada C–D Canada F Canada G Canada F Canada G Canada D–LW Canada C Canada D–R–RW Canada C Canada D Canada D Canada D Canada D–RW Canada C Canada C Canada G–R Canada R Canada D Canada 1964 LW Canada G Canada D–LW Canada D Canada 1965 C Canada G Canada F Canada D Canada D–LW Canada C–D Canada RW Canada C–RW Canada C–R Canada F Canada 1966 C Canada LW Canada D Canada G United States C Canada C Canada LW Canada D Canada D Canada 1967 G Canada C–D Canada RW Canada 1968 C Canada 1969 C–LW Canada RW Canada C–D Canada G Canada 1970 RW Canada D Canada D Canada 1971 LW Canada LW Canada G Canada C Canada 1972 C Canada RW Canada G Canada RW Canada C–D–RW Canada 1973 D Canada G Canada C–R–LW Canada 1974 C–D Canada/United States D Canada C Canada/Australia LW Canada 1975 RW Canada LW Canada RW Canada G Canada D Canada 1976 G Canada D Canada 1977 C–LW Canada D Canada 1978 RW Canada G Canada D Canada 1979 D Canada D Canada C Canada 1980 G Canada C–LW Canada G Canada 1981 LW Canada LW Canada D Canada 1982 RW Canada RW Canada C Canada 1983 G Canada LW Canada C Canada/Slovakia 1984 C Canada C Canada G Canada 1985 G Canada LW Canada C Canada 1986 D Canada C Canada D Canada 1987 C Canada G Canada D Canada 1988 G Canada RW Canada C Canada D Canada 1989 LW Canada C Canada GRussia/Soviet Union 1990 LW Canada D Canada C Canada 1991 RW Canada D Canada C–LW Canada C Canada 1992 C Canada LW Canada LW Canada RW Canada 1993 D Canada C Canada LW Canada G Canada 1994 D Canada LW Canada 1995 LW Canada D Canada 1996 RW Canada D Sweden 1997 C Canada C Canada 1998 LW Canada LW Canada C Slovakia/Czechoslovakia 1999 C Canada 2000 RW United States C Canada 2001 D Russia/Soviet Union RW Canada C Canada RW Finland 2002 C Canada LW Canada D United States 2003 G Canada C United States 2004 D Canada D Canada D Canada 2005 LW Soviet Union RW Canada 2006 LW Canada G Canada 2007 C Canada D Canada C Canada D Canada 2008 RW Canada C Russia/Soviet Union 2009RW United States/CanadaD United StatesLW CanadaC Canada 2010RW CanadaC CanadaC United States 2011 G Canada C Canada D United States C Canada 2012 RW Russia/Soviet Union C Canada C Canada C Sweden 2013 D United States D Canada D Canada LW Canada 2014 D Canada C Sweden G Czech Republic/Czechoslovakia C United States 2015 C Russia/Soviet Union D United States D Sweden D Canada D United States2016 C Canada RW Russia/Soviet Union G Canada2017 LW Canada F Canada LW Canada RW Canada RW Finland2018 G Canada RW Canada RW Canada LW Soviet Union2019 C CanadaC Czech Republic/CzechoslovakiaC CanadaD Russia2020RW SlovakiaRW CanadaD CanadaG CanadaD Canada2022RW SwedenG CanadaC FinlandLW SwedenC Sweden2023G United StatesG SwedenF CanadaC CanadaG Canada2024F United StatesC RussiaC United StatesD CanadaF United States2025F CanadaD SlovakiaF United StatesD CanadaRW Russia/Soviet UnionC Canada2026CCanadaFUnited StatesGCanadaGFinlandLWUnited States * Indicates that the three-year waiting period was waived for a player who was deemed to be especially notable. A. Player was inducted into the Veteran Player category. In 2000, it was merged with the Player category.

Source: 1945–2003: Honoured Members: Hockey Hall of Fame and newspapers.

Builders

The builder category has been in existence since the beginning of the Hall of Fame and the first builders were inducted in 1945. A builder is a person who has contributed to the development of the game of hockey, and as the name refers, one who has built the game forward. Since then, 102 builders have been inducted. For a person to be inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder, they may be "active or inactive" and must be nominated by an elected 18-person selection committee. As of 2007, a maximum of two builders can be inducted in one year.

Year Name 1945 1947 1950 1958 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

Former members

On March 30, 1993, it was announced that Gil Stein, who at the time was the president of the National Hockey League, had been inducted into the Hall of Fame. There were immediate allegations that he had engineered his election through manipulation of the hall's board of directors and by telling them to change the rules for selection. Two lawyers, hired by the league to lead an investigation, recommended that Stein's selection be overturned, although it was soon revealed that Stein had previously decided to turn down the induction.

In 1989, Alan Eagleson was inducted as a builder, but he resigned from the Hall in 1998 after pleading guilty of mail fraud and embezzlement of hundreds of thousands of dollars, these crimes having been perpetrated against NHL players and tournaments. His resignation came shortly before a vote was held to expel him.

On-ice officials

The on-ice official category has been in existence since 1961. and sixteen have since been inducted. For an official to be inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame, they must be retired for a minimum of three years and must be nominated by an elected 18-person selection committee. As of 2007, a maximum of one on-ice official can be inducted in one year.

Year Name 1961 1962 1963 1964 1967 1973 1981 1987 1988 1991 1993 1999 2008 2014

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