Patrice Bergeron, Carey Price and Keith Tkachuk headlined the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026 unveiled on Monday.
Bergeron, Price, Tkachuk, Pekka Rinne and Cindy Curley were elected as players while longtime executive Brian Burke will be inducted as a builder.
Elected in his first year of eligibility, Bergeron played 19 seasons with the Boston Bruins, winning the Stanley Cup in 2011 and a record six Selke Trophies as the league’s best defensive forward. Bergeron finished his career with 417 goals and 613 assists in 1,294 games and 128 points in 170 playoff games.
Bergeron’s resume extends well past his NHL career as a two-time Olympic gold medalist for Canada (Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014). He also won gold for Canada at the 2004 IIHF World Championship, the 2005 World Junior Hockey Championship, the 2012 Spengler Cup and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
A longtime rival of Bergeron, goaltender Carey Price played 15 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens. Price retired as the Canadiens’ all-time leader in wins with 361. He had a career 2.51 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage with 49 shutouts in 712 career games.
Price won the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player in 2015 along with the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goalie that same year. He also won Olympic gold as Bergeron’s teammate in 2014. This was Price’s second year of eligibility.
Tkachuk was in his 14th year of eligibility. He had 538 goals and 527 assists in 1,201 games with the Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, St. Louis Blues and Atlanta Thrashers. He is third all-time in goals by an American player.
The Hall of Fame call came one day after Tkachuk’s sons became teammates once again, as the Florida Panthers acquired Brady Tkachuk from the Ottawa Senators to pair with brother Matthew.
Rinne will become just the fourth Finnish player inducted into the Hall. He spent 15 seasons with the Nashville Predators, finishing with 369 wins, a 2.43 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage. He won the 2018 Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender.
Curley, 62, was a part of the United States’ first IIHF Women’s World Championship team in 1990. She still holds the single-tournament record for points from that year (23) and was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013.
Burke, 70, worked in the NHL as a general manager for the Hartford Whalers, Vancouver Canucks, Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs. He also held front-office roles with the Calgary Flames and Pittsburgh Penguins. Burke won the Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007.
The Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held in Toronto on Nov. 9.
–Field Level Media
