TORONTO — Carey Price spent a lot of his youth on the road and in the air. Growing up in a remote part of British Columbia, that's what chasing his hockey dream required. When the phone rang in June to announce he would be joining the game's greats, Price was fittingly in a familiar situation — driving. "I was on my way to go visit my grandmother at the hospital," recalled the former Montreal Canadiens goaltender. "Hockey Hall of Fame came up with my caller ID in my truck, so pretty excited about that. Got to spend the rest of the day with my grandmother, who made a recovery. "It was a blessed day." Price had plenty of those in the NHL and with Canada on the international stage. Now he will share another one Monday with the rest of the hall's 2026 class. The netminder headlines this year's inductees alongside Patrice Bergeron, Pekka Rinne, Keith Tkachuk and Cindy Curley in the player category set to be enshrined Monday. Brian Burke will go in as a builder. "A long road to get to this point," Price, who starred in Montreal for all 15 of his NHL seasons and will enter the hall in his second year of eligibility, said Saturday. "I'm just extremely thankful for that journey and everything that I learned along the way — not only in hockey but in life." The No. 5 pick at the 2005 draft, Price won the Hart Trophy as league MVP and the Vezina Trophy as its top goaltender in 2015. The 39-year-old from Anahim Lake, B.C., finished with a 361-261-79 record, .917 save percentage, 2.51 goals-against average and 49 shutouts across 712 regular-season games in a career that was, at times, hampered by injury. Price had even better big-moment numbers before a knee issue forced him to stop playing beyond the 2021-22 campaign. He owned a .919 save percentage, 2.39 GAA and eight shutouts in 92 playoff contests, with his final post-season act perhaps the most impressive — willing the underdog Canadiens on an improbable push to the 2021 Stanley Cup final. Those gaudy numbers and achievements are a long way from the lonely roads and empty skies of his hockey-playing youth. "A very large part of my childhood, spending time in planes and trucks and cars with my dad," Price said. "He'd tell you that he wouldn't have it any other way. But I'm grateful to him and the rest of my family for their support in getting here." A six-time Selke Trophy winner as the NHL's top defensive forward after being selected 45th overall in 2003, Bergeron hoisted hockey's holy grail with the Boston Bruins in 2011. The 41-year-old former centre from L'Ancienne-Lorette, Que., registered 427 goals and 613 assists for 1,040 points in 1,294 regular-season games. He added 128 points (50 goals, 78 assists) in 170 playoff contests, including Boston's run to the 2019 final, before retiring in 2023. "A huge honour," said Bergeron, who spent all 19 of his NHL campaigns with the Bruins and was in his first year of eligibility. "You look back at all the memories and the people that have helped you along the way." Price, who added the Ted Lindsay Award as the league's most outstanding player voted on by the NHLPA membership to his trophy case in 2015, and Bergeron also enjoyed success side-by-side sporting the red Maple Leaf. The duo was on Canada's juggernaut 2014 Olympic team that topped the field before capturing the World Cup of Hockey two years later. "It was a lot more fun to be on his side with Team Canada," Bergeron, who also claimed gold at the 2010 Games to go along with victories at the 2005 world junior hockey championship and the 2004 men's worlds, said of Price. "A legendary career." Rinne, 43, owned a 369-213-75 record playing parts of 15 NHL seasons with the Nashville Predators. The 2018 Vezina-winning goaltender had a .917 save percentage and a 2.43 GAA in 683 regular-season games. He added a 45-44 playoff mark with a .914 save percentage, 2.49 GAA and five shutouts. Tkachuk, whose NHL-playing sons Matthew and Brady will be in attendance Monday, registered 1,065 points (538 goals, 527 assists) in 1,201 contests in 18 NHL campaigns. "They'll probably be critiquing me when I'm up there speaking and making faces," the 52-year-old Tkachuk joked of his sons before turning serious: "They're great kids, they're supportive, and I'm just glad they have the opportunity, with the schedule, to be here." A trailblazer in women's hockey, Curley captained the U.S. to three silvers at the worlds in the 1990s. "There's just so many people that wouldn't give up," the 62-year-old said of her sport. "I just benefitted from their hard work. I'm truly grateful." Burke, 71, had a long career in NHL management that included stops with the Hartford Whalers, Vancouver Canucks, Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames and Pittsburgh Penguins following a stint at the league office. "Still pinching myself," said the Cup-winning GM with Anaheim in 2007. "Like a dream come true." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2026. Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
