Marc-Andre Fleury is set to take center stage in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2026 Hall of Fame class, a fitting next chapter after his official retirement as a Penguin during last year’s preseason.
The Penguins announced Thursday morning that Fleury will be joined by defenseman Larry Murphy, general manager Jim Rutherford, and Jack McGregor in the latest Hall of Fame group. The class spans three different eras of franchise history, but Fleury’s name still jumps off the page first.
Over 13 seasons in Pittsburgh, the 2003 first-overall pick built the kind of résumé that leaves no debate. He owns the franchise record for regular-season games played with 691, wins with 375, shutouts with 44, and playoff games played with 115.
His Penguins run also came with three Stanley Cup championships. Fleury was the starter in 2009, when he made the infamous " Secret Service" save in game 7 against the Detroit Red Wings, and later shared the crease with Matt Murray during the team’s back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2017.
Murphy’s place in the class is just as rooted in winning. The defenseman was a major part of the Penguins’ championship teams in 1991 and 1992, and his plus-minus rating of +102 remains the best among defensemen in franchise history. In those two Stanley Cup Final runs, Pittsburgh played 10 total games, and Murphy recorded at least a point in eight of them.
Rutherford, meanwhile, is being recognized for shaping the Penguins’ most recent championship stretch. His moves brought Phil Kessel, Carl Hagelin, and Patric Hornqvist to Pittsburgh, and he was named the NHL General Manager of the Year as the team began its 2016 Stanley Cup run. Under Rutherford’s watch, the Penguins became the first team to win back-to-back championships in the NHL’s salary cap era.
The final member of the class, Jack McGregor, is being inducted posthumously. A former Pennsylvania State Senator, McGregor led the push to bring a hockey franchise to Pittsburgh and later served as team president from 1967 through 1970. He died on January 6, 2026.
The Penguins will honor the 2026 class before their game on Saturday, November 14 against the Ottawa Senators.
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