To make it to the Hockey Hall of Fame, you need to be a leader, an exceptional player and, more often than not, a Stanley Cup championship or two doesn’t hurt. Every year, at most, just a handful of players are inducted in The Hall. The odds are tough to get selected. Here are six players currently still active in the NHL that are almost assured Hall of Fame status after their careers have come to an end.

Martin Brodeur has played between the pipes for just one team since he entered the NHL full-time during the 1993-94 season. Brodeur has led the New Jersey Devils to three Stanley Cup Championships and has played for Team Canada at the Winter Olympic Games on four different occasions. His four Jennings Trophies, three Vezinas and a Calder along with the fact that he has more regular season shutouts over his career that any other goaltender in the history of the NHL pretty much assures his entrance in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks is still waiting to hoist the Stanley Cup and this year could be the year. Joe is in his thirteenth season in an NHL career that has been split between the Boston Bruins and San Jose. He was team captain for three seasons with the Bruins and after wearing the ‘A’ on his jersey for his first five years in San Jose, Thornton has swapped it for the ‘C’ this year. Joe has a Hart Trophy as league MVP and an Art Ross Trophy as the league’s leading point-getter on his mantle. He has also played for Canada at two Winter Olympic Games.

Doug Weight might be a long shot but he’ll definitely be considered. Weight began his NHL career with the New York Rangers back in 1991-92 and along the way has played for the Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues, Carolina Hurricanes, Anaheim Ducks and New York Islanders. He won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 and no matter where he finds himself playing, Doug always seems to have a letter on his jersey. Most recently, he has captained the New York Islanders for the past two seasons. Weight has twice played for the United States at the Winter Olympic Games.

Nicklas Lidstrom, by way of his six Norris Trophies as the NHL’s best defenseman, four Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings and four Winter Olympics appearances for Sweden, is a no-contest entry into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Lidstrom has played over 1450 NHL games in a career that began in 1991-92 with the Detroit Red Wings, the only team he’s ever played for. Nicklas has been team captain for the past five seasons and wore the ‘A’ from 1994-95 to that point. Lidstrom has played in eleven NHL All-Star games.

Mark Recchi just keeps on keepin’ on in the NHL. Recchi will turn 43 in February of 2011 and has been in the NHL since the 1988-89 season. Over his 1600+ game NHL career, Recchi has played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, Montreal Canadiens, Carolina Hurricanes, Atlanta Thrashers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins. Over the past two seasons, Recchi has been the alternate captain of the Bruins. The nine time NHL All-Star has won the Stanley Cup on two different occasions. He was a part of Pittsburgh’s 1990-91 Stanley Cup winning team and then won again in 2005-06 with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Sidney Crosby is only in his sixth season in the NHL but there is no doubt that if he retired today, his credentials would easily qualify him for the Stanley Cup. Crosby has been team captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins since the 2007-08 season. ‘Sid the Kid’ has already won the Art Ross Trophy, the Hart Trophy, the Lester B. Pearson Award, The Stanley Cup, the Maurice Richard Trophy and has been awarded the Lou Marsh Award as Canada’s outstanding athlete. To top off his young career, Crosby scoring the overtime goal to give Canada the Olympic gold medal in 2010. Sidney is in a select group of NHL players throughout history, including Gordie Howe, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, that have taken the game to an untouchable level.