The 2011 Class of the National Hockey League Hall of Fame has been announced. They include Ed Belfour, Joe Nieuwendyk, Doug Gilmour and Mark Howe.

Huh? Mark Who?

Mark Howe. Mark Howe?

Howe did this happen???

Oh, wait. I think I know Howe this happened. Oh, that’s so sad. I’m not saying Daddy Gordie had anything to do with it. Just the name and sentiments towards it on the voters’ part.

Really. You want to know why this guy’s waited 13 years to get in? Well, I can’t really tell you. There’s nothing really spectacular about the guy. I had to go dig it up.

He’s been a Norris Trophy finalist 3 times… but never won.

He’s been to the Stanley Cup finals 3 times… but never won.

Oh, he’s won the league plus/minus award once. They have such an award? Apparently so. It just doesn’t have a name. Guess nobody wanted it or they felt someone would be insulted to have such a trophy named after them.

But Mark only won it once.

While all that might make for a decent NHL career, it’s neither Hall of Fame numbers nor accolades. What has this voting process come to???

It’s so bad I don’t even need to name all the potential worthy people who never made it but would be more deserving than Mark. All I need are list those who didn’t make it this year and the discrepancy shows.

• Legendary coach Pat Burns wasn’t even included as a builder (the first time since 1981 no builder was inducted).
• Pavel Bure
• Tim Kerr
• Dino Cicarelli
• Adam Oates
• Eric Lindros
• Cammi Granato and Angela James if you want to go outside NHL players and coaches

Just looking at that list alone, could someone really tell me how Mark Howe got in and one of these people didn’t??? They were sympathetic towards the likes of Mark Howe who didn’t win diddly compared to someone like Pat Burns who was a multiple Stanley Cup champion and three times Coach of the Year??? How can you even mention the two in the same breath?

Remember, you only have to pick one person on that list more deserving than Mark and he wouldn’t be there, because up to four can be inducted each year. And we are led to believe selection is solely on merit, not timing otherwise like the campaign to get Pat Burns into the Hall last year before he passed away from cancer.

Yet, the Hockey Hall of Fame and its 18 member Committee won’t tell anything on the selections picked and those by-passed, citing a confidentiality clause:

“Fielding the questions is all right, that’s the media’s responsibility, but we as a board have put the (confidentiality) bylaws in place and they work very good. The discussion in the (selection) meeting is very strong and the debates are very strong mainly due to the confidentiality. What’s said in the meeting room stays in the meeting room.”

– Bill Hay, CEO of the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame

Yeah. Whatever. Can we vote these guys into the Hall of Shame somewhere? Utterly disgraceful.