Oates was the premier passer of his time. He formed legendary one-two punch combinations with finishers like Brett Hull in St. Louis and Cam Neely in Boston.

Bure, a right winger known as the Russian Rocket, could pull fans from their seats with his spectacular high-speed rushes up the ice for the Canucks, Rangers and Panthers. He led Vancouver to the 1994 Stanley Cup finals.

Sundin is the second Swede in the Hall after another Toronto great, defenseman Borje Salming. Bure joins fellows Russians Viacheslav Fetisov, Vladislav Tretiak, Igor Larionov and Valeri Kharlamov.

Sundin said his eyes were opened to the skill level in the NHL by Sakic when he joined the Nordiques after being picked first overall in 1989.

''When you're in Sweden, you're not used to seeing a player like that who can play at both ends of the ice,'' the 41-year-old said. ''It was not only scoring points that impressed me, it was his overall game. He had no weaknesses.''

Sakic was captain of his team for 16 years, the second-longest tenure in NHL history. He scored 50 goals twice and had six 100-point seasons. He won Stanley Cups in 1996, when he was playoff MVP, and in 2001.

The Vancouver native won the Hart Trophy and Lester Pearson (now Lindsay) awards in 2001 and was MVP of Canada's gold medal team at the 2002 Winter Olympics. He also won world championship gold in 1994 and is a member of the Triple Gold Club of players who have won the worlds, the Olympics and a Stanley Cup.

Sakic had 625 goals and 1,016 assists in 1,378 NHL games.

Sundin never won a Stanley Cup, but was captain of Sweden's 2006 Olympic gold medal squad. He was also the first Swedish player to earn 1,000 NHL points.

The native of Bromma, Sweden, was traded to Toronto in 1997 and went on to play 13 seasons in the Maple Leafs' pressure cooker, the last 11 as captain. He holds Leafs records for most 20-goal seasons (13), most 30-goal campaigns (10), most game-winning goals (79) and most regular-season overtime goals (14).

''When you're retired, you reflect on your career and you see how fortunate you were to have your passion as your profession,'' said Sundin, who had 564 goals and 785 assists in 1,346 career games.