Thornton, Chara, Keith lead class
of 2025 into Hockey Hall of Fame
[November 11, 2025]
TORONTO (AP) — Joe Thornton always did things his way.
Larger than life on the ice and away from the rink, the big forward
with a radiating personality, elite vision, soft hands and a
sparkling smile has been unapologetically unique ever since stepping
into the NHL spotlight at age 18.
Now the man affectionately known as “Jumbo Joe” is a member of the
Hockey Hall of Fame.
Thornton was inducted Monday alongside fellow 2025 class members
Zdeno Chara, Duncan Keith, Alexander Mogilny, Jennifer Botterill and
Brianna Decker in the player category.
Jack Parker and Danièle Sauvageau were enshrined as builders.
Selected first overall at the 1997 draft by the Boston Bruins,
Thornton’s trajectory really took off after a trade to the San Jose
Sharks. He spent 14 seasons in California, winning the scoring title
and Hart Trophy as league MVP in 2005-06, and was just the third
player all-time to lead the NHL in assists three straight seasons.
“As long as I can remember, my year consisted of going from road
hockey right to the backyard rink,” Thornton said of his childhood
in a tear-filled speech. “There was only one season for me — it was
hockey season.”
Thornton topped San Jose in scoring eight times, including five
straight seasons, and helped the Sharks make the 2016 Stanley Cup
final.
The 46-year-old, who played 24 NHL seasons and won Olympic gold with
Canada in 2010, put up 1,539 points in 1,714 regular-season games in
a career that ended with pit stops with the Toronto Maple Leafs and
Florida Panthers. He finished 12th all-time in scoring, seventh in
assists and sixth in games played.
“Winning the gold medal in Vancouver in 2010 was truly electric,”
Thornton said. “I remember leaving the arena and I looked to my
left, and I saw a naked woman on the back of a motorcycle waving a
Canadian flag.
“I looked to my pregnant wife, and I said, ‘I am so proud to be
Canadian.’”
Chara, 48, was drafted by the New York Islanders in 1996 and traded
to the Ottawa Senators in 2001 before signing with the Boston
Bruins.
The six-foot-nine blueliner played 14 seasons in Beantown — all as
captain — from 2006 through 2020. Boston won the Cup in 2011 and
made the final two other times.
The second European captain to hoist hockey’s holy grail, Chara
competed at three Olympics and seven world championships. He
captured the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman in 2009, and
finished his career with the Washington Capitals before returning to
the Islanders.
“Growing up in small town in Slovakia — Trencin — you don’t dream
about nights like this,” Chara said. “You dream about a patch of ice
that doesn’t melt before we finish practice. You dream about finding
a stick that’s not broken or skates that can still fit for a couple
of years.”
Keith played 16 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, winning the Cup
in 2010, 2013 and 2015. The 42-year-old won Olympic gold for Canada
in 2010 before topping the podium again in 2014, twice claimed the
Norris Trophy and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP
in 2015. Keith played one campaign with the Edmonton Oilers before
retiring in 2022.
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Hockey Hall of Fame inductees, from left, Duncan Keith, Joe
Thornton, Brianna Decker, Zdeno Chara, Jennifer Botterill, Danièle
Sauvageau and Jack Parker pose for a photograph in Toronto,
Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. (Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press via AP)
“You can’t chase a dream alone,” he said. “And you
can never lift the Cup or wear a gold medal on your own. You lift it
with everybody that ever lifted you.”
Botterill played for Canada at four Olympics, winning three gold
medals and a silver. She was part of five championship performances
and three second-place finishes at the worlds, including taking MVP
honors in 2001.
“My parents said they always knew that the sport of hockey was
something special,” said the 46-year-old broadcaster. “Every time I
was on the ice playing, they said they could see my smile through
the cage. I carried that very same smile throughout my entire
career.”
Decker won gold at the 2018 Olympics with the U.S. and owns two
silver medals. The 34-year-old forward from Dousman, Wisconsin, also
won the worlds six times along with a couple second-place finishes.
“Hockey has given me so much,” Decker said. “It’s given me lifelong
friendships, unforgettable memories, and now this incredible honor.”
The 63-year-old Sauvageau has taken part in six Olympics either
behind the bench or in management for Canada, including the
country’s 2002 run to gold as head coach. The Montreal-born
trailblazer — the hall’s first female builder — is currently general
manager of the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s Victoire in her
hometown.
“I dreamt of a life that did not exist,” she said. “And I have lived
a life that I could not imagine.”
Parker, 80, led Boston University’s men’s program from 1973 through
2013, winning three national championships. He was also named NCAA
coach of the year three times.
Mogilny, who skipped the week of celebrations, defected from the
Soviet Union to the United States in 1989. He set career-highs with
76 goals and 127 points with the 1992-1993 Buffalo Sabres — the most
ever by a Soviet/Russian player.
The 56-year-old hoisted the Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 2000
in a career that included stints with the Leafs and Vancouver
Canucks, finishing with 1,032 points in 990 regular-season games.
“I’m overwhelmed with gratitude,” Mogilny said in a recorded
message. “Not just for this honor, but for the incredible journey
that brought me here.”
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