In the history of the NEFHL Hall of Fame, no goalie or blueliner has managed to garner enough votes for enshrinement. This year's class offers some of the best opportunities since nominations began, with Roberto Luongo, Dustin Byfuglien, Niklas Kronwall, and Dion Phaneuf on the ballot for the first time. Luongo is the first goalie nominated to top 900 games played, a two-time Jennings award winner, and hoisted the Stanley Cup with Florida in 2008.

This season's forward class lacks the luster of some of the recent classes, with standouts including Martin Gaborik, Thomas Vanek, Alexander Steen, and Chris Kunitz. While Kunitz put up exactly 800 points in nearly 1,100 games, his 2,417 shots paired with 2,431 hits is perhaps the most impressive metric among this year's forward class.

Other candidates returning from last year’s ballot include Rick Nash (15 votes), Brad Richards (13), Daniel Sedin (13), Chris Pronger (13), Martin Brodeur (13), and Marian Hossa (12). Fifteen additional nominees garnered enough votes to stick around another year, including fan favorite Dan Boyle.

Drew Philips, former general manager of the Kings, will return as the sole Builder on the ballot. This will be the sixth round of voting for the two-time Stanley Cup winning manager. Phillips received 11 votes in 2018, 12 votes in 2019, but his vote total plummeted to 6 in 2020 and 2021, and 3 in 2022. Will he time out after his seventh try next season, or will this be his last time on the ballot?

General managers may vote for as many selections as they choose, but are requested to submit a blank ballot to the Committee to demonstrate their opinion that none of the nominees are deserving of election to the Hall of Fame. All ballots must be submitted to the Hall of Fame Committee Office, in the form of a PM addressed to Oilers-Jason, no later than 11:59PM ET on Sunday, September 17, 2023.

The full ballot can be found by following this link.

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony is currently scheduled to take place prior to the opening of the regular season.

Eligible players are those who retired following the 2019-2020 season, with a minimum of 600 games required for skaters, and a minimum of 500 games required for goalies, as well as those players who received two or more votes on last year’s ballot.

Players or Builders who receive 70% of votes from voting general managers will be inducted into the NEFHL Hall of Fame. Players or builders receiving two or more votes during any selection period will remain on the ballot for the following selection period, for up to seven seasons.

All are invited to visit the NEFHL Hall of Fame here.