When Pekka Rinne was playing for the Nashville Predators, he said the best way for him to get better was watching other goalies play.
Of course, one of those he watched a lot was Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens.
“I always thought he was one of the top goalies in the League,” Rinne said Monday.
He was. They both were, and now they will be forever linked through hockey immortality.
The two goalies were announced as members of the Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2026 on Monday, joining forwards Patrice Bergeron, Cindy Curley and Keith Tkachuk in the Players category. Longtime NHL executive Brian Burke was the lone selection in the Builder category.
The induction ceremony will take place in Toronto on Nov. 9.
All six were on a conference call to talk about their careers and the news of their inductions.
Price played all 15 of his NHL seasons for the Canadiens (2007-22) and is Montreal's all-time leader in wins with 361 in 712 games. He’s one of five goalies in NHL history to win the Vezina Trophy voted as the best goalie in the League and the Hart Trophy as the most valuable player to his team in the same season (2014-15). He had a 2.51 goals-against average, .917 save percentage and 49 shutouts, helping Montreal reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2021. Playing internationally for Canada, he won gold at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, the World Cup of Hockey 2016 and the 2007 IIHF World Junior Championship.
He said he was inspired by watching Rinne, who played 13 full NHL seasons (2008-21) for Nashville and is the Predators’ all-time leader in every major statistical category for goalies with 369 wins, a 2.43 GAA, .917 save percentage and 60 shutouts in 683 games.
He is tied for seventh in NHL history in GAA and tied for fifth in save percentage among goalies with at least 500 games played. Rinne won the Vezina in 2017-18 and the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community in 2020-21.
“I just want to reiterate what Pekka said and how much respect I have for ‘Pek’ and his abilities,” Price said. “I always thought that his standard of compete level was always at the pinnacle because his battle level was unmatched by any goaltender in the League.
“It’s been a real treat to think about being able to go in (the Hall) with Peks, because we competed against each other for so long.”
Another member of the 2026 class who saw a lot of Price in the NHL was Bergeron, who played his entire 19-season career for the Boston Bruins from 2003-23, scoring 1,040 points (427 goals, 613 assists in 1,294 games. He was their captain from Jan. 7, 2021, until he retired after the 2022-23 season.
He won the Stanley Cup in 2011, played in the Stanley Cup Final in 2013 and 2019, and had 128 points (50 goals, 78 assists) in 170 Stanley Cup Playoff games, including 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) in 23 games in the 2011 playoffs.
One of the best two-way centers of all time, Bergeron was a six-time winner of the Selke Trophy, awarded annually to the best defensive forward in the NHL.
He also won the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award in 2020-21, the Clancy Trophy in 2012-13 and the NHL Foundation Player Award in 2013-14 for applying the values of hockey to enrich the lives of people in his community.
Internationally, Bergeron represented Canada in the 2010 and 2014 Olympics, winning a gold medal each time. He also won gold with Canada at the 2004 IIHF World Championship, 2005 IIHF World Junior Championship, 2012 Spengler Cup and the World Cup of Hockey 2016.
The Bruins announced last week they will retire his No. 37 at some point next season.
In 38 regular-season games against Price, Bergeron had 25 points (eight goals, 17 assists). They were teammates for Canada at the 2014 Olympics and the 2016 World Cup.
“It’s always special to play in Montreal and play against the Canadiens all the time,” Bergeron said, “but it was a lot more fun to play with Carey than against him.
“When the game was on the line, he was always a guy that would make a difference.”
Tkachuk was also a gold medalist at the World Cup, winning it with the United States in 1996. He had 1,065 points (538 goals, 527 assists) in 1,201 NHL games for the Winnipeg Jets (1991-96), Phoenix Coyotes (1996-2001), St. Louis Blues (2001-07, 2007-10) and Atlanta Thrashers (2007). His 538 goals were second most of all eligible players not already elected to the Hall of Fame behind Patrick Marleau (566).
The Hall of Fame selection capped a momentous weekend for Tkachuk and his family. On Sunday, his son Brady Tkachuk was traded from the Ottawa Senators to the Florida Panthers to be teammates with Keith’s older son, Matthew Tkachuk. But he couldn’t tell them right away about the Hall of Fame nod.
“I have a house full of grandkids here,” Keith said. “It’s been a crazy weekend. I was at home, and honestly, I missed a few phone calls from (the Hall of Fame), but I got the phone call again. I couldn’t believe it. I actually didn’t tell my family for about 45 minutes. I grabbed my brother, my niece’s fiancé and Brady and said, ‘Hey, you guys want to have a beer together?’ And then I told them and broke the news to them.
“I’m emotional and I knew if I went in and told my family right away I just wouldn’t be able to handle it, so it was a thrill to get that call.”
Curley starred with Providence College and helped the Friars win back-to-back NCAA championships in 1983-84 and 1984-85. At the inaugural IIHF Women’s Hockey Championship in 1990, she helped the United States win a silver medal and continued as team captain until 1996. During her time with the U.S. women’s team, Curley won two more silver medals, in 1992 and 1994.
She said it was extra special to get this honor while women’s hockey is on the rise, with the U.S. winning gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics and the Professional Women’s Hockey League gaining in popularity.
“When I was playing, I hoped I could play on a girls team at some point, and then to be able to play at Providence, which is the greatest school I think, and playing on the first Worlds team,” Curley said, “and seeing it progress to the Olympics and now professional, and seeing how great the players are, it’s just wonderful.”
Burke began his NHL management career in 1987 as vice president and director of hockey operations for the Vancouver Canucks. In 1992, he joined the Hartford Whalers as general manager before moving to the NHL office as senior vice president and director of hockey operations in 1993. In 1998, he was named president and GM of the Canucks. In 2005, he became executive vice president of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, winning the Cup with the team (by then known as the Anaheim Ducks) in 2007. Burke later assumed team president roles with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames and Pittsburgh Penguins.
When asked what he felt was his greatest hockey contribution, Burke paused for a second, saying he was “trying to think of an intelligent response.”
He said making the Providence College hockey team as a walk-on was the biggest accomplishment to that point in his life, then mentioned winning the Stanley Cup with the Ducks and later said one of his best memories is drafting Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin with the Canucks.
He then said, “I hadn’t expected this today. No one does. No one starts playing hockey and says, ‘Someday I’m going to be in the Hockey Hall of Fame,’ unless you’re an idiot.
“You make an all-star team and then you should never think about it. I never thought about it.”
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