The Hockey Hall of Fame announced its Class of 2026 on Monday, with Patrice Bergeron, Carey Price, and Keith Tkachuk leading a group of six honorees.
Bergeron, Price, Tkachuk, Pekka Rinne, and Cindy Curley were chosen as player inductees, while longtime NHL executive Brian Burke will enter the Hall as a builder.
Bergeron earned the honor in his very first year of eligibility. The forward spent 19 seasons skating for the Boston Bruins, capturing the Stanley Cup in 2011 and setting a record with six Selke Trophies — awarded annually to the league’s top defensive forward. Over his career, Bergeron tallied 417 goals and 613 assists across 1,294 regular-season games, adding 128 points in 170 playoff contests.
His accomplishments stretch beyond the NHL as well. Bergeron won Olympic gold twice representing Canada, at the 2010 Vancouver Games and again at the 2014 Sochi Games. He also claimed gold at the 2004 IIHF World Championship, the 2005 World Junior Hockey Championship, the 2012 Spengler Cup, and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Goaltender Carey Price, a longtime rival of Bergeron on the ice, spent 15 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens and retired as the franchise’s all-time wins leader with 361 victories. He posted a career 2.51 goals-against average, a .917 save percentage, and 49 shutouts over 712 games. Price is entering the Hall in his second year of eligibility.
In 2015, Price took home both the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player and the Vezina Trophy as its best goaltender. He also stood alongside Bergeron on Canada’s gold medal-winning team at the 2014 Olympics.
Tkachuk had to wait considerably longer for the call — this was his 14th year of eligibility. During his NHL career with the Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, St. Louis Blues, and Atlanta Thrashers, he scored 538 goals and added 527 assists in 1,201 games. Those numbers place him third all-time in goals among American-born players.
The timing of Tkachuk’s induction carried a personal touch. Just one day before the announcement, his two sons became teammates again when the Florida Panthers acquired Brady Tkachuk from the Ottawa Senators to join his brother Matthew on the roster.
Rinne will become only the fourth Finnish player ever inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He spent 15 seasons with the Nashville Predators, finishing with 369 wins, a 2.43 goals-against average, and a .917 save percentage. He earned the 2018 Vezina Trophy as the league’s premier goaltender.
Curley, 62, made history as a member of the United States’ first-ever IIHF Women’s World Championship team back in 1990. She still holds the single-tournament points record from that year with 23 points, and was previously honored with induction into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013.
Burke, 70, built a lengthy career as an NHL general manager, holding that role with the Hartford Whalers, Vancouver Canucks, Anaheim Ducks, and Toronto Maple Leafs. He also served in front-office capacities with the Calgary Flames and Pittsburgh Penguins. His crowning achievement came when he helped guide the Ducks to the Stanley Cup championship in 2007.
The induction ceremony for the Class of 2026 is scheduled to take place in Toronto on November 9.
