Hockey Hall of Fame Inductees Give Up Treasured Items to Join the Legends

Six hockey legends received their Hockey Hall of Fame rings on Saturday as part of the Hall's big weekend celebration. The Class of 2026 includes Patrice Bergeron, Cindy Curley, Pekka Rinne, Carey Price, Keith Tkachuk, and builder Brian Burke. They will be officially inducted in a ceremony on Monday night. But first, each of them had to follow a special Hall tradition — giving up some of their most prized belongings.

Every inductee is asked to hand over a few meaningful items from their career. These could be a team jersey, a favorite stick, or any important keepsake they collected over the years. Once donated, the items stay in the Hall of Fame's collection forever. Fans who visited the Hall on Saturday could see a large display case filled with all the donated items from each member of the Class of 2026.

Patrice Bergeron, the beloved Boston Bruins center, was clearly moved by the moment. After slipping on his new ring inside the Hall's grand Great Hall, he could barely find the words. 'Still can't believe it,' Bergeron said. 'Still can't believe I am here.' His emotion showed just how much reaching the Hall of Fame meant to him after his long and successful career.

Cindy Curley, who grew up in Stow, Massachusetts, was also overwhelmed when she first found out she was chosen. The 63-year-old former forward had starred at Providence College and was one of the first women to play for the United States in international hockey tournaments. When she got the phone call in June, her first reaction was disbelief. 'Are you sure you're calling the right person?' she remembered saying. She will become the 15th woman ever inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Curley donated several special items, including one of her old Providence College jerseys. The jersey reads 'Lady Friars' across the chest, which was the team's name back in the early 1980s. She also gave up a stunning ring she earned at the 1990 IIHF Women's World Championship, the first-ever women's world tournament. The United States won silver, and Curley led all players with 23 points in just five games. Even though these items were meaningful, Curley said she was never much of a collector and was happy to share them.

Keith Tkachuk, who grew up in East Boston and Medford, Massachusetts, donated a pair of hockey pants from his days with the St. Louis Blues. He also gave the Hall a Team USA jersey with his famous No. 7 on the back. But perhaps the most sentimental piece was an old blue-and-yellow jersey from his high school days at Malden Catholic, a school with a proud hockey tradition. Just weeks after finishing his senior season with the Lancers, Tkachuk was drafted 19th overall by the Winnipeg Jets. He wanted that piece of his past to be part of his Hall of Fame story.

Finnish goalie Pekka Rinne played for years as the top goaltender for the Nashville Predators. He donated a catching glove, a blocker, and his skates to the Hall. But the item that meant the most to him was a stick — the stick he used to score the only goal of his entire NHL career. On January 9, 2020, Rinne fired a shot from behind his own goal line that slid the full length of the ice into an empty net, giving Nashville a 5–2 win over the Blackhawks. 'It's great that it's here now,' he said with a smile.