Joe Thornton had just beaten Auston Matthews in golf — Matthews had beaten him in tennis — when he made his way to Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix to fly back home.

He was at the security checkpoint when his phone rang.

“I saw a missed call and I was like, I better pick up this one,” said Thornton. “It was Ronnie (Ron Francis) and it was Lanny McDonald. I’m like, ‘Oh, my God.’ ”

Francis, the chair of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s selection committe e, and McDonald, then the chair of the Hall, told Thornton he was part of the 2025 class.

“I’m like … whew,” he said, forcefully breathing out. “This was too much. At that point, you don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re just too excited.”

At the same time, his luggage went to secondary screening.

“There’s always weird

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