Michael Russo's short takes: Nov. 8

By MICHAEL RUSSO, Star Tribune

Last update: November 8, 2009 - 12:30 AM

The best Hall of Fame class of my generation, and arguably of all time, will be inducted Monday in Toronto -- Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille and Brian Leetch.

Yzerman is eighth all time with 692 goals and sixth with 1,755 points and won three Stanley Cups and the Conn Smythe, Selke and Masterton trophies. Hull is third all time with 741 goals and won two Cups and a Hart Trophy. Robitaille won a Cup and a Calder Trophy, and his 668 goals are first all time among left wingers. Leetch ranks 65th all time with 1,028 points and won a Cup, two Norris Trophies and a Conn Smythe.

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Edmonton coach Pat Quinn continues to come up with great lines. On how many times he was concussed while playing in the 1960s and '70s, Quinn said, "Me? I was usually the one doing the bell-ringing." After a loss on Long Island, he said, "On the first goal, we had two defensemen looking like Tweedledee and Tweedledum behind the net."

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Hall of Famer Glenn Hall on what he thought of Jacques Plante when he first wore a goalie mask: "We thought he was a wimp. I guess we were brave, or how do you spell stupid."

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