Shea Weber, Pavel Datsyuk enshrined as part of Hockey Hall of Fame’s 2024 class

TORONTO (AP) — Shea Weber and David Poile’s stories have been intertwined for more than two decades.

Poile drafted Weber when he was general manager of the Nashville Predators and eventually handed him the captaincy.

He also shipped the star defenseman out of town in a blockbuster trade.

Now both are members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Weber joined Pavel Datsyuk, Jeremy Roenick, Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell as the 2024 inductees in the player category on Monday night. Poile and Colin Campbell entered as builders.

“There’s so much to be grateful for when playing this game,” Weber said during his speech. “And it’s not just the big moments, grinding out a playoff win or taking home Olympic gold. It’s in the small — seemingly routine — moments that matter the most.”

The 39-year-old from Sicamous, British Columbia, whose career ended prematurely because of a long list of injuries, has been unable to play since helping drag Montreal to the 2021 Stanley Cup final.

Weber registered 589 points in 1,038 games with the Canadiens and Nashville Predators. He added 42 points in 97 playoff contests.

“My love for the game remains strong,” he said. “Even if my body didn’t hold up as long as I had hoped.”

Weber’s career trajectory changed in June 2016 when Poile traded him to the Canadiens for fellow blueliner P.K. Subban in a stunning one-for-one swap.

Weber thanked Montreal’s ownership, management and fans for giving him “a chance to play in the most passionate hockey city” he’s come across.

“I think I should be thanking David Poile for that, too,” Weber added with a wry smile as former teammates, including Carey Price, looked on from the audience.

Poile touched on his career wheeling and dealing across 41 years in the NHL as a GM, including the advice he received while working under Cliff Fletcher before moving into the big chair.

“He sat me down and bluntly told me, ‘David, if you are ever so lucky to become a general manager, you will know what it feels like to trade a player, uproot his family,’” Poile recalled. “Little could we have known at that time that I would go on to make the most trades ever in the history of the National Hockey League.

“But I always remembered Cliff’s message.”

The Toronto native started as an NHL executive with the Atlanta and Calgary Flames before becoming general manager of the Washington Capitals in 1982. Poile then joined the expansion Predators in 1997 to become GM, a position he held until retiring in 2023.

“I have poured my heart and soul into the game,” Poile said. “But hockey has given me and my family so much more.”

Datsyuk, 46, put up 918 points in 953 games with the Detroit Red Wings. He chipped in 113 points across 157 playoff contests that included Stanley Cup victories in 2002 and 2008.

The Russian center with majestic skill was also a four-time Lady Byng Trophy winner as the NHL’s most gentlemanly player and captured the Selke Trophy as the league’s top defensive forward on three occasions.

Datsyuk, who along with Weber was enshrined in his first year of eligibility, played five seasons in the KHL after leaving Detroit in 2016. He represented his country at five straight Olympics, capturing gold in 2018 and bronze in 2002.

“Being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame is a tremendous honor,” Datsyuk said. "(An) honor I couldn’t even dream of.”

Roenick, 54, banked 1,216 points in 1,363 games with the Chicago Blackhawks, Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks. The colorful, Boston-born winger added 122 points (53 goals, 69 assists) in 154 playoff contests.

Roenick, who won silver at the 2002 Olympics, had to wait 12 years to get his hall call.

“I love this game,” he said. “It’s been such a huge part of my life for most of my life.”

Wendell, 43, twice represented the United States at the Olympics, winning silver in 2002 and bronze in 2006. The forward from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, grabbed six medals at the world championships and was the first American captain to capture tournament gold.

“The greatest thing about hockey was not winning championships or medals,” Wendell said. “But the people that I got to meet along the way.”

Darwitz, 41, suited up for the U.S. at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Winter Games, winning two silver medals and a bronze. The forward out of St. Paul, Minnesota, also competed at the worlds eight times, securing three gold medals.

“I wasn’t your everyday little girl and somehow my mom was on to me,” Darwitz said. “On my fifth birthday, my blonde French braids strolled into the hockey rink.”

Campbell’s hockey life has included time as a player, coach and, for the last 25 years, a senior executive vice president with the NHL. He helped spearhead the league’s centralized video review hub that’s now the standard across much of the North American sporting world.

The 71-year-old also won the Stanley Cup in 1994 as an associate coach with the New York Rangers.

“I’ve spoken to general managers over the years, board of governors,” Campbell said. “This is a first, and as I look out and see this group, it’s certainly inspiring and scary.”

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2024 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Shea Weber, left, shakes hands with Lanny McDonald, right, as Mike Gartner, center, looks on during a ceremony prior to NHL hockey game action between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

2024 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Pavel Datsyuk, left, shakes hands with Lanny McDonald, right, during a ceremony prior to NHL hockey game action between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

2024 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Jeremy Roenick, left, is greeted by Ed Belfour, right, during a ceremony prior to NHL hockey game action between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

2024 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Krissy Wendell-Pohl, left, shakes hands with Lanny McDonald, right, during a ceremony prior to NHL hockey game action between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

2024 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Natalie Darwitz, left, shakes hands with Lanny McDonald, right, during a ceremony prior to NHL hockey game action between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

2024 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Krissy Wendell-Pohl, back left to right, Natalie Darwitz, Pavel Datsyuk, Shea Weber, Jeremy Roenick and David Poile pose for a ceremonial face-off photo with Detroit Red Wings' Dylan Larkin (71) and Toronto Maple Leafs' Mitch Marner (16) during a pre-game ceremony prior to NHL hockey action in Toronto on Friday, November 8, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

2024 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Krissy Wendell-Pohl, from back left to right, Natalie Darwitz, Pavel Datsyuk, Shea Weber, Jeremy Roenick and David Poile pose for a ceremonial face off photo with Detroit Red Wings' Dylan Larkin (71) and Toronto Maple Leafs' Mitch Marner (16) during a ceremony prior to NHL hockey game action in Toronto, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

2024 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Colin Campbell, left to right, Krissy Wendell-Pohl, Natalie Darwitz, Pavel Datsyuk, Shea Weber, Jeremy Roenick and David Poile stand for the national anthems following a pre-game ceremony prior to NHL hockey action between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto on Friday, November 8, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

2024 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Colin Campbell, left to right, Krissy Wendell-Pohl, Pavel Datsyuk, Natalie Darwitz, Shea Weber, Jeremy Roenick and David Poile stand for the national anthems following a pre-game ceremony prior to NHL hockey action between the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto on Friday, November 8, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Basketball Hall of Famer Gregg Popovich is recovering from what the San Antonio Spurs described as a mild stroke, though there is no timetable for the NBA's longest-tenured coach to return to the sideline.

Popovich had the stroke on Nov. 2 at the arena where the Spurs play, the team said Wednesday, and has already started a rehabilitation program with belief that he will make a full recovery. The team released no other details, including what aftereffects of the stroke — if any — that he is dealing with.

“It's a difficult time for everyone,” Spurs general manager Brian Wright said. “Coach Pop has been the leader of this organization for the last three decades. We all have come across or know people that just have a different aura, a difference presence about them. Clearly, he's one of those people. When we walk into the building each and every day, we feel that leadership, we feel that presence and so not having him there's clearly a void. And we miss him.”

The 75-year-old Popovich is the NBA's all-time win leader who has led the Spurs to five championships, plus guided USA Basketball to a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. He is in his 29th season as coach of the Spurs.

“He's doing well. He's doing well. ... He's tough, he's a fighter and he's going to work,” Wright said. “We're all here for him, but he's doing OK.”

Assistant coach Mitch Johnson has been the acting head coach in Popovich’s absence. The Spurs beat Washington 139-130 on Wednesday night, the the seventh straight game in which Johnson has filled in for Popovich.

“Mitch has been great,” Spurs rookie Stephon Castle said Wednesday, before the team announced the details about Popovich’s health. “Even when Pop was here, he’s always had a voice in our huddles and in our locker room. Our philosophies haven’t been changed.”

Victor Wembanyama, who scored a career-high 50 points in the win over the Wizards, said the team first learned about Popovich’s stroke before the team’s announcement.

“Of course I’m a bit worried about Pop,” Wembanyama said. “At the same time, I haven’t talked to him, but I know what mindset he’s on right on. I know he’s working like crazy, probably to come back with us as soon as possible. I trust him. I trust the people taking care of him right now. I hope he’s not going to be away from us for too long.”

A stroke happens when blood flow to part of the brain is blocked or if a blood vessel in the brain bursts. That deprives the brain of oxygen which can cause brain damage that can lead to difficulty thinking, talking and walking, or even death. Strokes may lead to difficulty speaking, paralysis or loss of movement in certain muscles, memory loss and more.

It is unknown if Popovich is dealing with any aftereffects of the stroke.

Stroke was the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and more than half a million Americans have a stroke every year.

The Spurs were playing the Minnesota Timberwolves at home on Nov. 2, and Popovich's medical episode occurred there in the hours before that game. Johnson took over for that night's contest, which the Spurs won, after the team said Popovich was not feeling well.

Johnson and Popovich spoke on Nov. 3, and on Nov. 4 Johnson said Popovich is “in good spirits ... he'll be OK. He is OK.” The Spurs had not released much in the way of details since, prior to Wednesday's announcement about the stroke.

Wright raved about the way Johnson and the Spurs have bonded and dealt with the absence of the team's leader.

“It's exactly what Coach Pop would want us to do,” Wright said. “And so, it's on all of us to play our part, to play our role, to continue to lean on each other, support one another and be there for one another.”

Popovich is one of only three coaches to win the NBA coach of the year award three times, Don Nelson and Pat Riley being the others. He’s one of five coaches with at least five NBA titles; Phil Jackson (11), Red Auerbach (9), John Kundla (5) and Riley (5) are the others.

Popovich has been part of the Spurs for nearly 35 years. He was an assistant coach from 1988 through 1992, then returned to the club on May 31, 1994, as its executive vice president for basketball operations and general manager. He made the decision to fire coach Bob Hill and appoint himself coach on Dec. 10, 1996.

He's been the Spurs' sideline boss ever since.

“We look forward to the day that we can welcome him back,” Wright said.

Popovich's 29-year run with the Spurs is a span the likes of which has been nearly unmatched in U.S. major pro sports history.

Connie Mack managed the Philadelphia Athletics for 50 years, George Halas coached the Chicago Bears for 40 years and John McGraw managed the New York Giants for 31 years. Those three tenures — all wrapping up well over a half-century ago — are the only ones exceeding Popovich’s run with the Spurs; his 29-year era in San Antonio to this point matches the tenures that Dallas Cowboys’ Tom Landry and the Green Bay Packers’ Curly Lambeau had in those jobs.

Reynolds reported from Miami.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich gives instructions to his players during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul has a word with Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich reacts after a call by the official, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich gives instructions to his players during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul has a word with Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich reacts after a call by the official, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)