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Mike Vernon Elected to HHOF Class of 2023 - Sam Stockton 

Former Detroit Red Wings goaltender Mike Vernon was one of seven players and builders named to the Hockey Hall of Fame's Class of 2023.

Vernon won 385 games over nineteen NHL seasons, including stops in Calgary, Detroit, San Jose, and Florida.  In 1989, Vernon backstopped the Flames to their first (and to date only) Stanley Cup championship.  The netminder moved to Detroit in June 1994 in a deal that sent defenseman Steve Chiasson back to Calgary.

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With help from a young Chris Osgood as his understudy, Vernon led the Wings to the 1995 Presidents' Trophy in Detroit, though that season would conclude with an unceremonious four-game sweep at the hands of New Jersey in the Stanley Cup Final.  

Vernon and Osgood combined to win the 1996 Jennings Trophy for yielding the fewest goals in the league over the course of the regular season.  Then, in 1997, Vernon tended goal for the first Red Wing Stanley Cup champion since 1955, earning the Conn Smythe Trophy as post-season MVP for his troubles.  He was traded to San Jose the following off-season, with the Red Wings electing to hand the primary goaltending reins to Osgood.

Amidst all that success, Vernon is remembered most fondly amongst Red Wing fans for his tilt with Avalanche goaltender Patrick Roy at the infamous "Fight Night at the Joe" on March 26th, 1997.  (For whatever it's worth, Roy landed more punches, but Vernon out-wrestled Roy to conclude the bout.)

In the HHOF Class of 2023, Vernon stands beside fellow-players Caroline Ouellette, Henrik Lundqvist, Tom Parrasso, and Pierre Turgeon, along with builders Ken Hitchcock and Pierre LaCroix (general manager of the Avalanche team against whom Detroit defined itself in the late 90s and early 00s).

The Hall's 18-member committee votes on nominees, with a four-man and two-woman limit per class.  To be elected, candidates must get more than 75% of the vote in their favor, but there is also a four-man, two-woman, two-builder limit for each class.  Ballots are not made public.

Neither Henrik Zetterberg nor Red Berenson (both former Red Wing captains and more-than-worthy candidates) received the requisite votes to secure their respective inductions.

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