The Best Moments from the Hockey Hall of Fame's Class of 2014

Four players, one coach and one official were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto on Monday night—Peter Forsberg, Dominik Hasek, Mike Modano, Rob Blake, Pat Burns and Bill McCreary were all honored.

Burns, at long last, was inducted posthumously after he passed away in November 2010. He was represented at the ceremony by his wife, Line.

Each person receiving enshrinement had a slew of memorable moments during his career—yes, even the referee—so it's hard to pick just one.

Yet that's what we will do in this slideshow.

Some of the moments are funny, and some are obvious and synonymous with the person. So feel free to leave your own favorite memories of this Hall of Fame class in the comments.

Bill McCreary: The Time Mike Richter Attacked Him in 1994

It was May 27, 1994. A simpler time. A time when a goaltender could push a referee into the boards and remain in the game. Those were the days.

The New York Rangers were seconds away from defeating the New Jersey Devils in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final and advancing to the Stanley Cup Final. The Rangers were ahead 1-0, but with Martin Brodeur on the bench for an extra attacker, Valeri Zelepukin scored with 7.7 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game to overtime.

Goaltender Mike Richter, who was robbed of the Conn Smythe Trophy this postseason, briefly lost his mind and got right into the face of referee Bill McCreary. Richter was mad that McCreary didn't blow the whistle because…I don't know. The puck wasn't covered. Richter seems to have been projecting here.

McCreary calmly skated away, Richter returned to his net and about an hour later, Stephane Matteau scored in double overtime to propel the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup since 1940.

Pat Burns: The Time He Wanted to Fight Barry Melrose

During the Campbell Conference Final in 1993, Pat Burns was coaching the Toronto Maple Leafs, Barry Melrose the Los Angeles Kings. Kings defenseman Marty McSorley elbowed the Leafs' Doug Gilmour, and that did not sit well with Burns.

I wish there were more video or better video from the incident, but Burns lost his mind. He was a fiery individual and made a run toward the Kings bench to get at Melrose. As the video above shows (fast forward to No. 2), Melrose did not engage Burns, which was probably smart. Burns is a former cop and probably would have taken apart Melrose in under 10 seconds.

It's fun to speculate what Burns was yelling at the time, though: "Hey, Barry! You may win this series, but you're going to lose in the final to Montreal! Also, in 15 years or so, you will appear overly tan on television a lot! Also, bite me!"

I doubt Burns ever said "Bite me" to anyone, but he certainly wasn't afraid to give other coaches a piece of his mind.

Rob Blake: His Coast-to-Coast Goal in the 1992 Playoffs

The prevailing perception of Rob Blake is one of a rugged, tough leader, the type of defenseman who could deliver mean, punishing hits. 

But he also was a heck of an offensive player early in his career.

Blake's best point totals came during the third and fourth seasons of his career, when he had 59 points in 1992-93 and 68 points in 1993-94. He scored 20 goals in '93-94, a number he would only eclipse one other time, in 1997-98. During the 1991-92 season, as a 22-year-old, he had just seven goals and 20 points in 57 games.

However, Blake announced his offensive presence during the 1992 playoffs with an end-to-end rush that concluded with a goal. Perhaps just as importantly, he was able to celebrate with his teammate, Peter Ahola, who may have the most unintentionally funny name in NHL history.

Any time you score on an individual effort like the one Blake had, that's great. But if you can get someone with "AHOLA" in the picture after the goal, you are definitely a Hall of Fame player.

Mike Modano: His Triple-Overtime Goal in Game 5 of the 2000 Stanley Cup Final

For whatever reason, when I hear Mike Modano's name, I always think of the time medical personnel in Dallas dropped him on his way into an ambulance. The Rangers' Mark Messier threw one of the dirtiest hits you'll ever see—even for the 1990s—and the EMTs dropped a potentially seriously injured human being while he was in their care.

But this is about the "best" moments for the individual, so let's focus on a great one.

With the Stars trailing the Devils 3-1 in the best-of-seven Stanley Cup final, Modano broke a scoreless tie in triple overtime (hockey was borderline unwatchable in these years) with a fantastic deflection that beat Martin Brodeur. Brett Hull had an initial shot fortunately blocked by Scott Stevens, as it allowed time for Modano to get to the net for Hull's second attempt.

That's four of Hall of Famers as the biggest players in a game-winning, triple-overtime play.

The Stars would lose Game 6, but Modano's goal was still an amazing moment considering the situations and the players involved.

Peter Forsberg: The One-Handed, Olympic-Winning Shootout Goal in 1994

Of course.

I mean, they turned it into a stamp. 

"It was and will always be a big part of my career and something that catapulted me into celebrity status in the hockey world," Forsberg said, per Risto Pakarinen of NHL.com.

The move was so iconic that it's commonly referred to now as "The Forsberg," although Forsberg himself was inspired to use the move by fellow Swede Kent Nilsson. It's easy to forget how gutsy and innovative that move was at the time and take for granted today when players like Vladimir Tarasenko pull off something similar.

Dominik Hasek: His Perfect Shootout vs. Canada at the 1998 Olympics

Maybe this one is a little obvious, but it was quite the moment in international hockey history.

Canada absolutely dominated the Czechs during this semifinal contest, but Dominik Hasek was operating on a different level than anyone, including the best hockey players in the world on the Canadian side. Hasek made 24 saves in regulation and overtime, and with the score tied at 1, the game went to a shootout.

Hasek would stop Theo Fleury, Ray Bourque and Joe Nieuwendyk, then received the benefit of a post on the attempt by Eric Lindros and denied Brendan Shanahan to win it. 

A player Hasek didn't stop was Wayne Gretzky, whom coach Marc Crawford left on the bench.

One of the officials for this game—referee Bill McCreary.

The Czechs and Hasek would go on to defeat Russia 1-0 in the gold-medal game, but it was Hasek's performance in the semifinal shootout that will be the stuff of hockey lore for eternity.