Bettman, Brodeur, O’Ree among Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2018

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, goaltending great Martin Brodeur and pioneering black player Willie O’Ree highlight the Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2018 announced Tuesday.

Since becoming the league’s commissioner in 1993, Bettman has overseen the NHL’s growth from 24 to 31 teams.

Brodeur, a Montreal native who won three Stanley Cup titles over 21 seasons for the New Jersey Devils, is the NHL’s all-time leader among goaltenders in regular season wins, losses, shutouts and games played. He also won Olympic gold medals with Team Canada in 2002 and 2010.

O’Ree broke the NHL’s color barrier with his Jan. 18, 1958, debut for the Boston Bruins.

The Hall’s new class is rounded out by longtime Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis, four-time Olympic gold medalist and Canadian women’s national team star Jayna Hefford and Russian Alexander Yakushev, a two-time Olympic gold medalist.

The class will be inducted during a Nov. 12 ceremony in Toronto.