Weber ‘fortunate to play’ with 2026 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees

TORONTO -- Shea Weber arrived for Hockey Hall of Fame weekend late Sunday, traveling from his son's hockey tournament to enjoy a special weekend for former teammates who each had an impact on his career.

Weber, a Hall of Famer himself (inducted in 2024), was not going to miss watching former teammates Pekka Rinne, Carey Price and Patrice Bergeron have their moment in the spotlight Monday, when they will be inducted with Brian Burke, Cindy Curley and Keith Tkachuk.

"It's one of those things you always talk about the guys you want to thank and there's never enough time to go through all the names, but these are definitely three of the guys that helped me get there, and now it's their opportunity to get what they deserve," Weber told NHL.com.

Weber and Rinne played together in the American Hockey League with Milwaukee in 2005-06, and for eight seasons in the NHL with the Nashville Predators (2008-16).

He became teammates with Price in Montreal when the Predators traded him to the Canadiens for P.K. Subban on June 29, 2016. They played together for five seasons.

Weber played with Bergeron for Team Canada four times -- at the 2005 IIHF World Junior Championship, the Winter Olympics in 2010 and 2014, and the World Cup of Hockey in 2016. They won gold each time.

Subban, it should be noted, also played with Price in Montreal, Rinne in Nashville and Bergeron for Canada.

Weber and Rinne grew up in the NHL together. Weber became a full-time player first, in 2006-07, and Rinne joined him in 2008-09 after two more seasons in Milwaukee.

"I got to know him as a person and obviously as a goaltender as well," Weber said. "Playing with him, it was enjoyable. It was enjoyable in practice because he competed like none other. There was no rebound that was out of play. There was no puck he didn't want to stop.

“The compete level he had was next level. He had that fire and hunger to make every save. It was good for both of us because I wanted to score, he wanted to stop it and it became a competition."

Rinne and Weber caught up with each other two months ago in Nashville for former Predators coach Brent Peterson's funeral. They met up with another former teammate, Ryan Suter, and the three of them fondly rehashed stories of their time together with the Predators.

"You could almost consider him a sloth off the ice," Weber said of Rinne, laughing. "When he wasn't training or competing in practice, when he was off the ice, he was the last guy on the bus, just very casual that way, laid back. It wasn't a bad thing, but when he got on the ice he just flipped a switch, and he was intense and competitive."

Weber and Bergeron only knew winning together. The defenseman marveled at how Bergeron controlled the game.

He won the Selke Trophy as the NHL's best defensive forward a record six times.

"As a defenseman, you want to be in control of situations. As a forward, a center, defensively he controlled it," Weber said. "He knew exactly where he was all the time. He defended as good as anyone below the hash marks. He was always in a good support position. And obviously offensively, yeah, he could make it happen offensively. It started at World Juniors when we were young. Just a great guy, have always kept in touch with him, and being able to play with him multiple times, I feel fortunate."

Weber and Price remain as close as they were when they played together, first at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia, next at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey in Toronto, and for five seasons with the Canadiens, helping them reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2021.

They live less than 10 minutes away from each other in Kelowna, British Columbia. They talk regularly, run into each other at their kids' sporting events on occasion, and sometimes skate together.

Weber said Price's poise is what he thinks made him a Hall of Fame goalie.

"He was never off kilter," he said. "He was never overanalyzing. He was always in control; in control of himself and the way he played. Obviously, his play speaks for itself. He's one of the best of all-time. He could read the game and make it look easy. You think that was an easy save, but no -- he read it off the blade or whatever the situation. He never got off kilter. If things didn't go well, he kept his level head. If things were going great, he stayed level. He kind of just rode it.

"To know those three guys, all three are amazing, just good human beings first of all, and I was fortunate to play with all of them. "I've had a lot of great teammates, and these were three of the best."