PITTSBURGH — The Baseball Hall of Fame remains the biggest joke among America's sports museums. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are out, Bud Selig is in. That's all you need to know, though I could go on.

Hockey isn't nearly as bad, but it had another hold-my-beer moment Tuesday — the result of which is this: Alexander Mogilny remains out; Colin Campbell is in. That was the big news in the Class of '24 reveal.

Think about that.

One of the most breathtakingly spectacular players in league history, not to mention a man who changed the game forever as the first Soviet defector, has now been rejected 15 times by the shrouded-in-secrecy Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee, while a long-time, unremarkable league executive who easily could have been kicked out of office after an email scandal will be enshrined as a "hockey legend."

Campbell had a decent career as a player and coach before he became one of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman's trusted servants. He was the league's czar of discipline for several years, notably excusing then-Penguins winger Matt Cooke for his vicious and career-altering head shot on Bruins center Marc Savard.

It became especially notable when it was revealed via emails — sent long before the Cooke ruling — that Campbell did not care for Savard, a player he once coached, calling him a "little fake artist" and the "biggest faker going" after he drew a high-sticking call on Campbell's son, Gregory. There were many eye-opening lines in the emails Campbell sent to fellow league execs around 2006-07.

Yahoo's Greg Wyshinski wrote the following in 2010, when the emails were uncovered: "The Colin Campbell Emails aren't as much a revelation as much as a confirmation for his critics. They reveal criticism of officials who dared call disputed penalties on his son, Gregory Campbell, now a forward with the Bruins. They reveal the candid, petty assessments by an NHL executive on the league's on-ice officials' performances. And, most scandalously, they reveal a long-standing grudge Campbell holds against Bruins center Marc Savard ... and fans across the NHL are now wondering if that grudge may have come into play when Campbell let Matt Cooke off without a suspension for concussing Savard last season."

Campbell said he was shocked by the HOF announcement. So were plenty of others, who had no idea what his credentials would be. Bettman delivered a statement in which he helpfully pointed out that as senior executive vice president of hockey operations, Campbell has "watched more than 30,000 NHL games and personally made thousands of critical video review calls."

In that case, I'd like to nominate former Penguins video review coach Andy Saucier for the Hall of Fame. His calls actually helped a team win the Cup.

One ex-selection committee member told me, "I was surprised by Campbell. In his case, it seems like a reward for faithful service."

...continued

(c)2024 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.