Here are 15 things that defined Patrice Bergeron’s 19-year career with Bruins
"He’s an iconic player in this franchise."
After close to two decades in a black-and-gold sweater, Patrice Bergeron announced on Tuesday that his Hall-of-Fame career has come to a close.
The 38-year-old forward retires as one of the greatest Bruins in franchise history, with his name etched in multiple categories across the record books.
In his 19 seasons with Boston, Bergeron had no shortage of memorable moments, both on and off the ice.
Here are 15 that stand out in the wake of the legendary forward’s retirement.
Making an instant impact
Taken with the 45th overall pick in the 2003 NHL Draft, Bergeron carved out a spot on the NHL roster that same year as a poised pivot with top-six potential. Just four games into his pro career, Bergeron recorded his first point when he assisted on a Brian Rolston goal against Dallas.
Just one game later, Bergeron lit the lamp for his first of 427 career goals, knocking a loose puck past Roman Čechmánek at 17:28 in the third period against the Kings.
Bergeron ultimately played 71 games with the Bruins as a rookie in 2003-04, scoring 16 goals and posting 39 points. A fresh-faced teenager out of Quebec with limited English, Bergeron became familiar to many Bruins fans thanks to this memorable NESN commercial alongside teammate Andrew Raycroft.
Defensive wizardry
Let’s face it, we could make this list a whole lot longer if we opted to include every single defensive masterclass performance from the best 200-foot forward in NHL history.
There is no shortage of options when it comes to going through the extensive catalog of Bergeron’s D-zone plays, but this one against the Hurricanes back in October 2018 does stand out.
Few players in the NHL can regularly make an impactful play in the D-zone and then generate a goal within the next few seconds.
Then again, there aren’t many players quite like Patrice Bergeron.
A fixture in the community
Bergeron’s impact on the ice with the Bruins is well-documented. But he left an enduring legacy within the community as well.
Bergeron took home the King Clancy Memorial Trophy at the conclusion of the 2012-13 season in recognition of his numerous charitable efforts.
Along with his primary charity endeavor, “Patrice’s Pals” — which brings in hospital patients and children’s groups to watch Bruins games from a luxury box — Bergeron frequently visited children’s hospitals, both in person and virtually, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
First of many postseason tallies
Bergeron was no stranger to delivering in the clutch with timely goals during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
We’ll focus on a few more standout postseason tallies in a bit, but the first of his career served as an OT winner in Game 2 against the Montreal Canadiens during the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Bergeron became the second player in NHL history to score a postseason overtime goal at age 18 or younger, joining Don Gallinger (1943).
Even though Boston ultimately fell to the Habs in seven games, a rookie Bergeron made his presence felt in his first foray of NHL postseason play, posting four points in the series.
Fighting back a concussion
Following the NHL lockout in 2004-05, Bergeron was establishing himself as one of the premier young talents in the NHL.
He scored 31 goals as a 20-year-old in 2005-06, and posted seven points (3 goals, 4 assists) in his first 10 games of the 2006-07 campaign.
But Bergeron’s young career was nearly cut short on Oct. 27, 2007 after Flyers defenseman Randy Jones hit him from behind — causing him to slam face first into the end boards at TD Garden.
Bergeron had to be stretchered off the ice, eventually getting diagnosed with a Grade 3 concussion and a broken nose. Severe post-concussion symptoms forced him to miss the remainder of the season, while additional concussion woes the following year limited him to 39 points over 64 games in 2008-09.
Bergeron eventually managed to avoid missing significant stretches of games for the next few years, logging at least 80 games in five out of his next six full seasons in the NHL.
Winter Classic triumphs
Bergeron played in all four of Boston’s Winter Classic matchups at Fenway Park (2010, 2023), Gillette Stadium (2016) and Notre Dame Stadium (2019). He also took to the great outdoors with his teammates during the 2021 NHL Outdoor Games near Lake Tahoe in Nevada.
Bergeron sent close to 40,000 fans home happy in Boston’s first outdoor event at Fenway, assisting on Marco Sturm’s OT goal in the Bruins’ 2-1 win over the Flyers in 2010 Winter Classic.
His best moment came during the 2019 Classic in South Bend.
In the span of 28 seconds, Bergeron snuffed out a shorthanded breakaway bid for Chicago’s David Kampf with a timely stick lift, then buried a power-play goal down the other end of the ice.
“Selke, Selke,” Tuukka Rask said of Bergeron’s play following Boston’s 4-2 win over the Blackhawks.
Assuming the captaincy
After donning the “A” on his sweater for 14 seasons, it came as little surprise that Bergeron was named the 20th captain in Bruins franchise history back on Jan. 7, 2021.
Despite the obvious promotion of Bergeron as Boston’s unquestioned leader following Zdeno Chara’s departure, Don Sweeney and the Bruins opted to have fun with the news by initially naming Brad Marchand as Boston’s newest captain before making things official.
Bergeron held court as Boston’s captain for three seasons, but his impact in Boston’s locker room was felt long before a “C” was stitched on his chest. Alongside Chara, Bergeron helped cultivate a locker-room culture in Boston that stressed open lines of communication, mutual respect and accountability.
An unbreakable bond on and off the ice with Brad Marchand
At first glance, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron’s play styles seem to mix as well as oil and water.
But over 14 seasons together, both Bergeron and Marchand became nearly inseparable as a potential 1-2 punch in Boston’s top-six unit.
With Marchand usually stapled to Bergeron’s left on Boston’s top line, both forwards routinely made life miserable for opponents — be it at even strength, on the power play and in shorthanded situations.
On most PK shifts, the duo of Marchand and Bergeron turned many 4v5 situations into puck-dominant shifts for the Bruins.
“When they retire, I’m retiring. I can’t play without those two,” Brad Marchand joked of both Bergeron and David Krejci’s future back in April. “I honestly try not to think about that. I really do. It’s inevitable that day is going to come. It could just as well happen that when that day does come, they’re like, ‘OK, let’s get rid of the old guys,’ and trade me away too, right?”
Reaching 1,000 career points
Bergeron checked off multiple individual milestones over the final years of his career, including reaching his 1,000th career game on Feb. 5, 2019 (scoring two goals in the process against the Islanders).
During Boston’s record-setting 2022-23 season, Bergeron became just the fourth Bruin in team history to reach 1,000 career points with the Original Six franchise.
After recording a secondary assist on Brad Marchand’s second-period tally against the Lightning on Nov. 21, 2022, Bergeron was swarmed by all of his teammates, who emptied the visitors bench at Amalie Arena.
Bergeron was treated to a standing ovation in a road arena filled with black-and-gold sweaters.
Speaking out against Miller signing
The Bruins faced plenty of deserved criticism after signing defenseman Mitchell Miller to an entry-level contract back in November 2022.
Miller pleaded guilty in an Ohio juvenile court in 2016 on charges of assault and a violation of the Ohio Safe Schools Act after he and a classmate were accused of racially motivated bullying of a developmentally disabled Black classmate, Isaiah Meyer-Crothers.
Amid the immediate backlash, Bergeron and other veterans in Boston’s locker room denounced Miller’s actions and his place within the organization.
“As a person but also as a team, we stand for integrity and inclusion and diversity, obviously,” Bergeron said of the signing. “That was the first thing that came out of my mouth, was that it goes against what we are as a culture and as a team. And for me as a person.”
Just two days later, the Bruins announced that they cut ties with Miller.
Rewriting the record books
Regularly considered the greatest defensive forward of his generation for most of his playing career, Bergeron finally set himself apart as the best defensive forward in NHL history after capturing a record-breaking fifth and sixth Frank J. Selke Trophy in 2022 and 2023.
In the final two years of his Hall-of-Fame career, Bergeron was as stout as ever in his own zone, with both Bruce Cassidy and Jim Montgomery regularly deploying him as an equalizer against opposing team’s top weapons.
It feels like it’s only a matter of time until that annual accolade for defensive excellence is renamed in honor of the Bruins’ pivot.
A final salute
Bergeron’s final season had all of the makings of a storybook ending, with the return of David Krejci and a surge from a number of supporting players helping Boston set NHL records for the most wins (65) and points (135) in a single season.
But in crushing fashion, the Bruins 2022-23 campaign came to a shocking end in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with the eighth-seeded Panthers taking Game 7 in overtime at TD Garden on April 30, 2023.
After tearfully embracing each of his teammates before they made their way off the Garden ice, Bergeron raised his stick and saluted Bruins fans one final time.
“The amazing people of New England welcomed a young French Canadian who didn’t speak great English and you treated me like one of your own,” Bergeron said in his retirement letter. “I can’t imagine representing a better community or more passionate fan base than the Boston Bruins. Your passion, your dedication and your kindness towards me and my family will never be forgotten.
“Please know that every time I took the ice I tried to compete for you the right way, and off the ice I tried the best that I could to give back to the community that supported me. The connections and friends that my family and I have made here are unquantifiable. Boston is, and will forever be, a special place for me and my family.”
Fighting through injury
Bergeron’s will to win and toughness exacted a heavy toll on him.
After the Bruins fell to the Blackhawks in the 2013 Stanley Cup Final, Bergeron spent three days in a hospital. In the final stages of that series, Bergeron suited up and played through a broken rib, torn rib cartilage and a separated right shoulder. Playing through a cracked rib in Game 6 against Chicago led to a punctured — and eventually collapsed — lung.
“He’s an iconic player in this franchise, [but] you wouldn’t necessarily feel it meeting him,” Adam McQuaid said of Bergeron earlier this month. “Just the humble way he goes about his business, shows up to work. … 2013, when we found out he had a punctured lung and had all those injuries in the [Stanley Cup] Finals and played, I remember going in to visit him in the hospital.
“That’s something that stands out. What he went through and no one really — we knew he was banged up — but not to that extent. Wasn’t making a big scene about it, but trying to quietly just try to battle through. I think that sums him up in a lot of ways.”
“Bergeron! Bergeron!”
Bergeron regularly thrived during the pressure of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, scoring four career playoff overtime goals and four series-clinching tallies over his 15 trips to the postseason.
He appeared in 14 Game 7s, tied with teammate Zdeno Chara for the most appearances in NHL history. He lit the lamp six times in those 14 contests, the most famous coming on May 13, 2013.
With Boston trailing, 4-1, against the Maple Leafs with 10:42 left in regulation, the Bruins surged back in dramatic fashion, with Bergeron securing the equalizer with 50.2 seconds left on the clock.
Six minutes into overtime, Bergeron sent Causeway Street into a frenzy by firing home the series winner past a sprawled-out James Reimer.
With Boston’s 5-4 victory over Toronto, the Bruins became the first team in NHL history to win a seventh-and-deciding game after trailing by three goals in the third period.
Lifting the Cup
Of course, the Game 7 that defined Bergeron’s legacy in Boston came on June 15, 2011.
With Boston on the brink of its first Stanley Cup in 39 years, Bergeron delivered in hostile territory at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena.
The Bruins center scored two goals in Boston’s triumph, opening the floodgates with a quick strike 14:37 into the first period before giving the Bruins a three-goal lead off a shorthanded strike late in the second period.
“I will forever be grateful being a part of such an exceptional group of men, and I will carry the pride of winning in 2011 with me forever,” Bergeron said in his retirement letter.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com