What Minnesota natives will become the next Hall of Famers?

With Twins legend Joe Mauer becoming the latest local athlete inducted into the hall, who are other athletes that Minnesota fans watched recently that could follow him?

Some are waiting for their call while others are shoo-ins.

The Wild’s 39-year-old goaltender now sits second all-time in career wins in the National Hockey League. “Flower” has been a part of three Stanley Cup-winning teams and backstopped the Vegas Golden Knights to a cup appearance in their first season in 2018. He won his sole Vezina Trophy — given to the NHL’s best goalie in a season — at age 36 in 2021. He is just the fourth goaltender in league history to play over 1,000 games. Could this be it? Fleury is not under contract for next season and says he will decide on his playing future later.

The sure-handed NFL wide receiver from Minneapolis played high school football at the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield. Fitzgerald is second in NFL history — only behind Jerry Rice — in career yards with 17,492. He only trails Rice in receptions as well. The former third-overall pick in the 2004 draft went to 11 Pro Bowls and was once a First-Team All-Pro and twice a Second-Team All-Pro. Fitzgerald grew up as a ball-boy for the Minnesota Vikings when they were coached by the late Dennis Green.

The Vikings drafted “All Day” with the seventh pick in the 2007 draft. Peterson did not disappoint, amassing the fifth-most rushing yards in NFL history with 14,918. His best season was in 2012, when he carried the Vikings to the playoffs and ran for 2,097 yards, only coming eight yards shy of Eric Dickerson’s record. That season, he became the only non-quarterback in the last 16 years to win the league’s MVP award.

Suggs was the tenth pick in the 2003 draft and won the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year award. He is the all-time Baltimore Ravens leader in sacks and eighth in league history with 139. Suggs was raised in St. Paul and played youth football with Mauer. He moved to Arizona in middle school. The NFL has tracked tackles for loss since 1999, and Suggs sits at the top of the list. He’s also a two-time Super Bowl champion. Quite the career.

The longtime Arizona Cardinal was selected with the fifth-overall pick in the 2011 draft and was a teammate of Fitzgerald’s. A three-time First Team All-Pro and eight-time Pro Bowler, Patrick Peterson only played two seasons with the Vikings, the latter being the magical 2022 13-4 season where the Vikings became the first team in league history to go 11-0 in one-score games. He was named to the 2010s All-Decade Team, and the 33-year-old just finished his first season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The ball hawk is first among all active players with 36 interceptions.

One of the Vikings’ premier pass rushers in franchise history, Allen was recently named one of 15 finalists for the 2024 Hall of Fame class. This is his fourth year in a row as a finalist. It feels like it’s only a matter of time until he goes to Canton. The class of 2024 will be announced at the NFL Honors show on Feb. 8 in Las Vegas. A five-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro, Allen had 85 sacks in purple and 136 for his career, a marking that’s good for 12th in NFL history. Vikings fans remember his best season in 2011 when he had an absurd 22 sacks, only a half-sack away from Michael Strahan’s record at the time. Strahan now shares the title with Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt, who tied the number in 2021.

The Vikings’ safety nicknamed ‘Harry the Hitman’ for his physical play has had a remarkable career in Minnesota. Is it over yet? No one is quite sure if Smith will return in 2024. He was drafted 29th overall in 2012. Smith is a six-time Pro Bowler and was an All-Pro in 2017. He’s second among active players — behind Peterson — with 34 career interceptions. He’s played 12 seasons and has the 10th most sacks for a safety in NFL history.  Bill Belichick compared Smith to the likes of Hall of Famers Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu when the Vikings played the Patriots in 2018. “Harrison Smith does a great job with pre-snap disguise. He’s one of the best. Ed Reed, Smith, Polomalu, those guys are among the best. He’s certainly right there,” Belichick said. Smith would become just the second safety to play the majority of their career in Minnesota to go to Canton, joining Vikings’ legend Paul Krause.