TORONTO — Carey Price entered the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday, joining a six-member class that also honoured Patrice Bergeron, Pekka Rinne, Keith Tkachuk, Cindy Curley and builder Brian Burke.

The former Montreal Canadiens goaltender reflected on his childhood ambitions and the sacrifices that helped him reach the NHL during the induction ceremony in downtown Toronto, according to reporting by Josh Clipperton of The Canadian Press, published by Global News.

“All I can ever really remember wanting to be was a hockey player,” Price said. “Growing up in a remote community, there was a very slim chance of this happening without a relentless desire and an opportunity.”

Price, 39, spent all 15 of his NHL seasons with Montreal. The Anahim Lake, B.C., native won both the Hart Trophy as league MVP and the Vezina Trophy as its top goaltender in 2015.

He finished with 361 wins, a .917 save percentage and 49 shutouts in 712 regular-season games. A knee injury ended his playing career after the 2021-22 season, a year after he helped carry the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup final.

Bergeron entered the hall after 19 seasons with the Boston Bruins, winning the Stanley Cup in 2011 and a record six Selke Trophies as the NHL’s top defensive forward. He recorded 1,040 points in 1,294 regular-season games before retiring in 2023.

Price and Bergeron also won Olympic gold together for Canada in 2014 and the World Cup of Hockey in 2016.

Rinne, the 2018 Vezina winner, earned 369 victories over 15 NHL seasons with Nashville. The Finnish goaltender urged young athletes not to be discouraged by an unconventional route to success.

“Your path doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s,” he said.

Curley captained the United States to three silver medals at the women’s world championship in the 1990s. Tkachuk scored 538 goals and collected 1,065 points across 18 NHL seasons.

Burke was inducted in the builder category following an NHL management career that included a Stanley Cup championship with Anaheim in 2007.

Sources