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Bruins great Zdeno Chara is your newest Hockey Hall of Famer

Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara hoists the Stanley Cup in 2011. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara hoists the Stanley Cup in 2011. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

It didn't take long for Boston Bruins great Zdeno Chara to make the Hockey Hall of Fame. The 6-foot-9-inch "Big Z" was inducted Tuesday in his first year of eligibility.

Chara was joined by fellow former NHL players Joe Thornton (also once a Bruin), Alexander Mogilny and Duncan Keith, as well as women's hockey stars Brianna Decker and Jennifer Botterill.

Thornton, Chara and Keith all got in in their first year of eligibility. Thornton's 1,539 points rank him 14th all time, while Chara captained Boston to the Cup in 2011 and Keith won it three times with Chicago, including in 2015 as playoff MVP.

Mogilny had been eligible for election 16 previous years dating to 2009, passed over time after time until getting in on the 17th chance. Ron Francis, chairman of the 18-person selection committee for the first time, said Mogilny is one of just 30 players in the Triple Gold Club for winning the Stanley Cup, and gold at the Olympics and world championships. Mogilny also led the league in goals in 1992-93 with a total of 76 that is tied for the fifth most in a single season.

Decker and Botterill going in at the same time adds another American and Canadian among women inducted, making it a total of 12.

Longtime Boston University coach Jack Parker and women's coach Daniele Sauvageau were elected in the builders category. Sauvageau, currently the general manager for Montreal in the Professional Women's Hockey League, is the first woman to make it in as a builder.

"When I received the call, I couldn't talk," said Sauvageau, who got the news hours before the PWHL draft after interviewing a player who could be chosen. “The timing could not have been better.”

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