As David Poile said, it takes a village.
An induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame is thought of as an individual honor, but no one reaches the top of this mountain without constant support from those around them, no matter the role.
A slew of former players, as well as current coaches, management, executives and a number of the Hall’s honored members were in attendance on Monday night as Poile, the winningest general manager in NHL history, and Shea Weber, the former Predators captain and one of the greatest defensemen of his generation, were welcomed into hockey’s most exclusive club.
In their respective acceptance speeches - and, in Poile’s case, an additional welcome dinner inside the Grand Hall on Sunday - both men paid tribute to those who helped deliver them to the pinnacle of the sport.
Here now, enjoy some thoughts on what made Poile and Weber the best at what they did from those who know them better than anyone else.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on Poile:
“David Poile has been, in many respects, the consciousness of our game, working with the general managers group, working with [fellow 2024 inductee] Colin Campbell [with the NHL]; they've been the stewards of the game, monitoring it, tweaking it, making sure that the game is the best it's ever been, and he's done a great job. That's from a League perspective. I mean, a 41-year career as general manager, and the winningest general manager in League history, he deserves this recognition, and we're thrilled for him.”
Bettman on Weber:
“Shea has represented everything that's good about the game - highly skilled, somebody who really has been a great ambassador for the game, on and off the ice, wherever he's played. He’s done a great job and represented the game well.”
Former Preds goaltender Pekka Rinne on Poile:
“I think the biggest thing with David is the way he treats you. He treats you like family, and what kind of person he is, he comes from a hockey family. Throughout the years, you get to know his family and everybody. So, he’s just an unbelievable man, and a well-deserved honor. And the one thing that's unbelievable is he gets to join his father in the Hall of Fame, too. That’s pretty special.”
Rinne on Weber:
“I'm so happy. I wouldn't miss [being here]. It was such an honor that I was able to come here and support him and see this happening in life. But yeah, so, so happy for him. Well deserved as well. Everybody knows what kind of player he was, but even as a teammate, as a leader, just a quality, quality person. He comes from a great family, and just overall an unbelievable guy.”
Former Preds Head Coach - and current New York Rangers Head Coach - Peter Laviolette on Poile:
“It’s so well deserved. The length of his career, to be able to be as effective as he was as a general manager for such a long period of time, it speaks volumes to him, and certainly well deserved to be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. But what I really appreciated about David with my time in Nashville was that it was the human side and the person side. Brilliant hockey mind, totally dedicated to hockey, made it his life, tireless worker, but also had like a real human side to him, where he established relationships with everybody in the organization and made sure that he spent time and remembered everybody's moments that they had. He made you feel special when you were there. So, when I got invited to come up here [to Toronto], I definitely didn't want to pass that up and just show my appreciation for everything that David did for me.”
Laviolette on Weber:
“Well, he was an unbelievable player. For me, Shea was probably one of the strongest defensemen, both defensively and offensively. He was a great leader on our team, and we found a lot of success under his leadership inside the room. He was always in shape, always ready to play big minutes, the best minutes, the heaviest minutes, and just had an unbelievable career. My time with him was short, but the time that I did get with him and the chance to work with him, you get to really appreciate a player when you spend time day in and day out and practices, games, and you see their value and their character, their leadership and what they bring to the organization, what they bring to the community, what they bring to the locker room. It speaks volumes to him, and certainly well deserved for him to be here as well.”
Former Preds Assistant General Manager - and current Florida Panthers Senior Advisor - Paul Fenton on Poile:
“Well, with all the things that he did for hockey, not only for Nashville, but for hockey since the beginning; he’s been in the game for over 50 years. It's incredible the contributions that he's been able to make, the people he's had, the great people that he's had here. I mean, through the coaches and the assistants and the scouts and things, he knew how to pick the right people, and that was really evident here. When you stay in touch with all these people all these years, it just goes to show that you made the right call.”
Fenton on Weber:
“Well, it was nice. I mean, that was the first time I ever ran an amateur draft [with the Preds in 2003], and to take Shea and now have him going into the Hall of Fame, it really touches me. It’s a credit to the guys that were helping us run that draft, and now going in just like David, for Nashville, this is going to help grow the game more and more in the city, the team even more, which, you thought it was at a pinnacle, but now it's even taken another step.”
Former Preds Assistant General Manager - and Minnesota Wild Senior Advisor - Ray Shero on a lesson from Poile when Shero was leaving Nashville to become general manager in Pittsburgh:
“I was an assistant general manager for eight years, and David was great because he wanted ideas. And so, me and Paul Fenton, we would give him some crazy ideas. But when you had to make that final decision, he would say, ‘If you guys ever become the general manager, you have to make the final decision.’ Then, after eight years, I had a job opportunity, actually in two places, to be a GM, and I called David, because that's my lifeline. So, I told him I got an offer from Pittsburgh now and he's like, ‘Wow, that's fantastic. You're going to be a GM, congratulations!’ I'm like, ‘Yeah, that's great. But what should I do?’ He's like, ‘What?’ I was looking for him to make the decision for me, and he just said it, I’ll never forget it, on the phone. He said, ‘Ray, listen, remember, I've told you many times that when you are a GM, you have to make that final decision. You're going to be a GM, so you have to make your own decision, that’s going to be final. So, good luck.’ And he hung up the phone on me! I was in Starbucks. I was totally flabbergasted, in shock, and I was like, this is what he really meant after eight years. That was the thing for me, and hopefully I made the right decision. But I always got a kick out of that, because really, after eight years working with him, that's what he was about, and he had taught me well. I wouldn't have had that opportunity without him, obviously. So I'm very grateful.”
Preds CEO Sean Henry on Poile and Weber being inducted into the Hall:
“It’s amazing. It really is, and you look at our franchise history, to have our first GM go in with the first player who’s going in that we drafted, it’s really incredible. It allows all of us to remember all those great memories, but even more importantly, when you see David going in, to get to build off that legacy of who's next, and that's the best conversation - who’s going to be next, how often are we going to be up here? And I think we'll be here every few years. It's going to be really nice.”
Former Anaheim Ducks Captain - and Team Canada teammate - Ryan Getzlaf on Weber:
“I'm so happy to be here, and Shea was a guy that I both competed against and competed with in many different levels. To see guys from our era, our age group, going into the Hall, that’s a tremendous honor for me.”
NHL Broadcaster Christine Simpson on Poile and Weber:
“When you think of everything that [Poile] has done, especially back in the early days of the Predators, right? He knew how to build a team. He knew how to put the right pieces together. He's so well respected throughout the entire League, so he is getting his due. He is worthy of this accolade tonight, and I hope he enjoys, and all of the Predators fans enjoy it as well. [And Shea], top defenseman, what a shot. And for me, as someone covering guys like that, just always a lovely guy to deal with, great interview to have, which I always appreciated. It made my job a lot easier and absolutely deserving of this.”
