from Chris Johnston of Sportnet,

Vladislav Tretiak boarded a plane in Moscow over the weekend and flew halfway across the world for a 48-hour business trip.

He does it every November. He wouldn’t miss it.

“It’s very important to be here because I have many friends,” Tretiak said Monday before the Hockey Hall of Fame’s induction ceremony. “(Those) who played against me, who played with me. It’s a special life, a special hockey life. Special family here.”

And then, for added emphasis, Tretiak repeated: “Family.”

That's a fitting word on a night unlike any other you'll find on the hockey calendar. More than anything, the induction ceremony amounts to an annual reunion for those bound together by a game played with a puck on ice.

Nothing really changes here from one November to the next.

The show, the red carpet, the food, the faces -- you can set your watch to it all. There's a certain comfort to the routine.

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NHL.com has coverage of every HHOF speech.