The Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2026 will be announced Monday. This year's crop of first-year eligibles pales in comparison to last year's list, with Patrice Bergeron being the only lock. Phil Kessel and Eric Staal could receive some deeper consideration down the road, but neither player boasts a resume worthy of first-ballot entry.
That leaves the door wide open for some leftovers to be enshrined. But who will get the call? We break down several possible candidates below.
As a reminder, the selection committee can elect up to four male players and two female players each year. We arranged the players alphabetically in their tiers.
Lock it in 🔒
Patrice Bergeron
| GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1294 | 427 | 613 | 1040 |
Nationality: 🇨🇦
Position: Center
Year eligible: 1st
Team: Bruins
Hardware: Stanley Cup; Selke Trophy (6x); Messier Leadership Award; King Clancy Trophy; Olympic gold (2x); World Cup gold; world championship gold; world junior gold
Arguably the greatest defensive forward ever, Bergeron amassed over 1,000 points and is a proven winner. The selection committee won't deny him first-ballot entry.
Carey Price
| GP | W | SV% | SO |
|---|---|---|---|
| 712 | 361 | .917 | 49 |
Nationality: 🇨🇦
Position: Goalie
Year eligible: 2nd
Team: Canadiens
Hardware: Hart Trophy; Ted Lindsay Award; Vezina Trophy; Jennings Trophy; Masterton Trophy; Olympic gold; World Cup gold; world junior gold
Alexander Mogilny's long-overdue - and well-deserved - induction last year meant one of the four first-ballot-worthy candidates would get the short end of the stick, and that happened to be Price. However, he won't be denied in his second year of eligibility. Price never won a Cup and lacks elite counting stats, but his dominant peaks are more than enough to get him in.
Gaining momentum 📈
Rod Brind'Amour
| GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1484 | 452 | 732 | 1184 |
Nationality: 🇨🇦
Position: Center
Year eligible: 14th
Teams: Blues, Flyers, Hurricanes
Hardware: Stanley Cup; Selke Trophy (2x); world championship gold
Brind'Amour's phenomenal job coaching the Hurricanes to a Stanley Cup in 2026 should shed more light on his Hall of Fame-worthy playing career. He was one of the best leaders and defensive forwards of his generation.
Keith Tkachuk
| GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1201 | 538 | 527 | 1065 |
Nationality: 🇺🇸
Position: Left wing
Year eligible: 14th
Teams: Jets, Coyotes, Blues, Thrashers
Hardware: World Cup gold; Olympic silver; world junior bronze
Could the star power of Matthew and Brady Tkachuk help raise awareness of their father's Hall of Fame case? Potentially. Keith's 584 adjusted goals are the second-most of non-Hall of Famers who are eligible for entry.
Interesting goalie cases 🧐
Curtis Joseph
| GP | W | SV% | SO |
|---|---|---|---|
| 943 | 454 | .906 | 51 |
Nationality: 🇨🇦
Position: Goalie
Year eligible: 15th
Teams: Blues, Oilers, Maple Leafs, Red Wings, Coyotes, Flames
Hardware: King Clancy Trophy; Olympic gold; world championship silver
Joseph ranks eighth on the all-time wins list and has the most victories of any eligible goalie who's not already enshrined in the Hall. Never winning a Stanley Cup or a Vezina Trophy hurts his case, but he was a three-time finalist for the NHL's goalie of the year award and was downright robbed of the honor in 1992-93, when he led the league in shots against, saves, save percentage, and goals saved above average. "Cujo" was also excellent in the postseason, raising his save percentage to .917 and often carrying mediocre clubs further than expected.
Chris Osgood
| GP | W | SV% | SO |
|---|---|---|---|
| 744 | 401 | .905 | 50 |
Nationality: 🇨🇦
Position: Goalie
Year eligible: 13th
Teams: Red Wings, Islanders, Blues
Hardware: Jennings Trophy (2x); Stanley Cup (3x)
Many credit Osgood's accolades to the stacked Red Wings teams he often played for, but three Cups - two of which he was the bona fide No. 1 goalie - are hard to ignore. He's one of nine netminders in NHL history with at least 400 wins and multiple rings. Recent inductions for Tom Barrasso and Mike Vernon certainly help Osgood's case.
Pekka Rinne
| GP | W | SV% | SO |
|---|---|---|---|
| 683 | 369 | .917 | 60 |
Nationality: 🇫🇮
Position: Goalie
Year eligible: 3rd
Teams: Predators
Hardware: Vezina Trophy; King Clancy Trophy; world championship silver
Rinne was one of the best goalies of his generation, winning the 2018 Vezina Trophy and finishing as a finalist three other times. He didn't become a full-time NHLer until his age-26 season, which hurt his win total. He also never won a Stanley Cup, though he carried the Predators to the 2017 final.
There's a chance 🤞
Ryan Getzlaf
| GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1157 | 282 | 737 | 1019 |
Nationality: 🇨🇦
Position: Center
Year eligible: 2nd
Team: Ducks
Hardware: Stanley Cup; Olympic gold (2x); World Cup gold; world junior gold and silver; world championship silver
Getzlaf may have to play the waiting game, but a proven winner with over 1,000 points should get the call eventually. While his peak never reached incredible heights, his 120 points in 125 playoff games help his case.
Sergei Gonchar
| GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1301 | 220 | 591 | 811 |
Nationality: 🇷🇺
Position: Defense
Year eligible: 9th
Teams: Capitals, Bruins, Penguins, Senators, Stars, Canadiens
Hardware: Stanley Cup; Olympic silver and bronze; world championship silver and bronze
Gonchar played in an era that had some of the game's greatest defensemen. Although he was never a Norris Trophy finalist, he finished in the top 10 in voting seven times. He was the No. 1 defenseman on Pittsburgh's 2009 Cup-winning team, and his 811 points are the second-most among Hall of Fame-eligible blue-liners who aren't already enshrined.
Patrick Marleau
| GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1779 | 566 | 631 | 1197 |
Nationality: 🇨🇦
Position: Center/left wing
Year eligible: 3rd
Teams: Sharks, Maple Leafs, Penguins
Hardware: Olympic gold (2x); world championship gold (2x) and silver
Marleau's case is all about longevity rather than peak. The NHL's all-time games-played leader never reached 90 points in a season and scored only 40 goals once. The closest he came to winning a major individual award was placing eighth in Selke voting and ninth in Hart voting.
Gary Suter
| GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1145 | 203 | 641 | 844 |
Nationality: 🇺🇸
Position: Defense
Year eligible: 22nd
Teams: Flames, Blackhawks, Sharks
Hardware: Calder Trophy; Stanley Cup; World Cup gold; Olympic silver
Suter has the most points of any eligible defenseman who isn't already enshrined. His resume is Hall of Fame worthy. What hurts his case is that he had a reputation for being a dirty player and was injured for most of the Flames' 1989 Stanley Cup run.
Henrik Zetterberg
| GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1082 | 337 | 623 | 960 |
Nationality: 🇸🇪
Position: Center/left wing
Year eligible: 6th
Teams: Red Wings
Hardware: Conn Smythe Trophy; King Clancy Trophy; Stanley Cup; Olympic gold and silver; world championship gold, silver, and bronze (2x)
Zetterberg's counting totals are lacking, but he was a highly respected player and the definition of a winner. He racked up a playoff-leading 13 goals and 27 points in 22 games during his Conn Smythe-winning campaign in 2008.
Female candidates
Meghan Duggan
Nationality: 🇺🇸
Position: Center
Year eligible: 6th
Hardware: Olympic gold and silver (2x); world championship gold (7x) and silver; CWHL champion; NCAA champion (3x)
This has to be Duggan's year. She wasn't the most prolific point producer, but she played a key shutdown role at the 2018 Olympics, captaining the Americans to gold. Her off-ice impact of helping secure livable wages for women's hockey players cannot be understated, either.
Rebecca Johnston
Nationality: 🇨🇦
Position: Left wing
Year eligible: 1st
Hardware: Olympic gold (3x) and silver; world championship gold (2x), silver (8x), and bronze; CWHL champion (2x)
Johnston may not gain entry in her first year of eligibility, but her resume screams Hall of Fame. Her 26 points at the Olympics are tied for ninth all time.
Noora Raty
Nationality: 🇫🇮
Position: Goalie
Year eligible: 1st
Hardware: world championship silver and bronze (x4); Olympic bronze (2x); NCAA champion (2x)
The Hall of Fame has yet to enshrine a European female goalie, but Raty will undoubtedly be the first at some point. She made Finland relevant on the international stage, winning the top goalie honor at the world championship a record five times. Raty's 10 career Olympic wins are the most among female goalies.
Shannon Szabados
Nationality: 🇨🇦
Position: Goalie
Year eligible: 5th
Hardware: Olympic gold (2x) and silver; world championship gold, silver (x4), and bronze
Szabados owns a sparkling .959 save percentage and 0.85 goals-against average in nine career Olympic games. She was Canada's starting goalie for two Olympic gold medals and memorably recorded a 28-save shutout against the United States in the 2010 gold-medal matchup.
