Hall of Fame class regales fans with humorous stories of induction calls

TORONTO --Jarome Iginla's phone skills don't measure up to his abilities as a Hockey Hall of Fame player.

Iginla revealed at the Inductee Fan Forum Saturday that he hung up twice on Lanny McDonald when the Hockey Hall of Fame chairman was trying to call him in June 2020 with the news of his selection.
McDonald's call did not come during a window Iginla had been told to expect that day, and when Iginla didn't recognize the number while he was standing in a rental car line in Vernon, British Columbia, he declined the back-to-back calls.
"I had to rent a car that day to go mountain biking with the kids and my dad took me to the rental car office," Iginla said. "And the phone call came, and I was in the rental line, but I said, 'This isn't the right time.' So I hung up. And another Toronto number came up] and I hung up again.
"I thought it was media and I thought I couldn't do that right now. Then Lanny texted me, said, 'Pick up. This is Lanny McDonald.' So it wasn't as planned but it was really, really cool and I felt really bad. I definitely remember where I was."
The fan forum, held at the Hall of Fame's Great Hall, provides fans the opportunity to ask questions to that year's honorees. In addition to Iginla, players Kevin Lowe, Doug Wilson, Marian Hossa and Kim St-Pierre will be inducted Monday, along with Ken Holland in the Builders category in the class of 2020. There was no ceremony last year due to concerns surrounding COVID-19.
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Iginla was chosen for induction in his first year of eligibility, having scored 1,300 points (625 goals, 675 assists) in 1,554 NHL games over 20 seasons (1996-2017) with the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins and Los Angeles Kings.
He wasn't the only one with a funny story about getting their phone call from McDonald.
"I was cutting the lawn in Edmonton at our house and the phone rang and I saw it was Lanny," Lowe said. "I had call display, paid the two extra bucks and got call display, and I thought, 'Wow, I hadn't talked to Lanny in a long time. I wonder what he's phoning about?' Not even thinking, putting two and two together, and when I answered, I could just tell in his tone … and my heart stopped, and then I thought, 'Holy crap, he's phoning about the Hall of Fame.' I'll never forget it."
Lowe, who retired in 1998 after scoring 431 points (84 goals, 347 assists) in 19 seasons and six Stanley Cup wins, five with the Edmonton Oilers and one with the New York Rangers, said the Hockey Hall of Fame call wasn't even on his mind that day in June. He was in his 20th year of eligibility.
"I did know that it was selection week and my name had come up in my years after retiring quite a few times, and then went a whole decade where it didn't show up any more, so in my mind it was never going to happen," Lowe said. "Which I was OK with, though I'm honored to be here."

Among the questions the inductees took Saturday was one about which opponent during their career was their nemesis.
St-Pierre, the goalie from Canada who is the eighth woman to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and the first female goalie, said it was Angela Ruggiero of the rival United States, who was the fourth woman inducted in 2015. "She was a real competitor, and she had a great shot," St-Pierre said.
Hossa said at the beginning of his career with the Ottawa Senators, it was defenseman Bryan McCabe of the Toronto Maple Leafs. "He always put the stick between your legs and twisted it," Hossa said. "I couldn't get around that guy if I wanted to. Thank God they switched the rules in 2004."
Iginla said it was goalie Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks. "I loved to score low blocker a lot, but I saw him do an interview and he said 'I can stop him; he loves to go low blocker.' That got to me."
Lowe said it was Battle of Alberta rival Tim Hunter of the Flames. "He was in my kitchen," Lowe said.
Wilson said it was Mark Messier of the Oilers, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007. "There were just moments in the game when you knew he was going to do it one way or the other," Wilson said.