Rod Brind'Amour not a part of Hockey Hall of Fame class

Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour, who led his club to the Stanley Cup title last week, was passed over by the Hockey Hall of Fame Monday, and did not make its 2026 class as a former player.

Brind'Amour, 55, a part of both Carolina titles, having captained the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup in 2006, finished his career with 452 goals and 1,184 points. He won the Selke Trophy, as the league's top defensive forward in both 2006 and 2007, before eventually heading into coaching.

And last week, with a Game 6 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights, Brind'Amour completed a 16-3 run through the Stanley Cup Playoffs, a stretch that included two sweeps in earlier rounds.

"You knew what you were going to get every single time you played against him: You had to dig in," former NHL forward Keith Tkachuk, a member of this year's class, said of Brind'Amour, on Monday's Hall of Fame media conference calls. "Hats off to him. He'll be here, there's no doubt in my mind, as a player and as a builder."

In addition to Tkachuk, this year's class includes center Patrice Bergeron, who won the Stanley Cup with Boston in 2011 and the Selke Trophy as the league's top defensive forward six times, goaltenders Carey Price from Montreal and Pekka Rinne from Nashville, and U.S. women's hockey pioneer Cindy Curley. Executive Brian Burke is also set to be inducted.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.