The Captivating Career of Patrice Bergeron

On July 25, 2023, just one day after celebrating his 38th birthday, Patrice Bergeron called it a career. This was not surprising news. When the Boston Bruins were shockingly defeated in Game Seven of the opening round against the upstart Florida Panthers, we saw Bergeron tearfully hugging longtime teammate Brad Marchand. It had been hinted for months before the playoffs started that this past season would be Bergeron's last. That moment with Marchand basically sealed it, as it was reminiscent of Aaron Rodgers and Randall Cobb's moment in the Green Bay Packers' 2022 season finale.

Born in the small town of L'Ancienne-Lorette in Quebec on July 24, 1985, Patrice Bergeron grew up as a fan of the Quebec Nordiques, as his hometown is an enclave within the provincial capital, Quebec City, where the Nords played until they moved to Denver and became the Colorado Avalanche. After playing in a pair of minor leagues, one of them the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Bergeron was drafted by the Boston Bruins in the 2003 NHL Draft, the 45th pick overall. He played 71 games in the 2003-04 season, which was the last before the crippling lockout, and had 16 goals and 23 assists for a grand total of 39 points. Bergeron received his first taste of playoff hockey that year as well, with his overtime winner in Game Two of the opening round against the Canadiens being his only goal during that postseason.

After playing with the AHL's Providence Bruins during the NHL lockout, Bergeron returned to the team when the league returned in the 2005-06 season. He played all but one game that year, and had 73 points (31 G/42 A), but it would be the first of three straight seasons without playoffs for the Bruins, with the third of those three seeing Bergeron being plagued by a season ending head injury.

The awards for Bergeron would start to come in the 2010s, beginning with the biggest one of all, the Stanley Cup. After two seasons of long runs, 2010-11 saw Bergeron rack up 57 points (22 G/35 A) during the regular season, while Boston's long run saw Bergeron finish with 20 points in 23 playoff games. Six of those points were goals, and two of them were scored in Game Seven of the Cup Final against the Vancouver Canucks, which was a 4-0 shutout win to give the Bruins their first Stanley Cup in 39 years. Bergeron would reach the Stanley Cup Final two more times with the Bruins, once during the shortened 2012-13 season, and one more time in the 2018-19 season. Bergeron scored nine goals in each of the additional long runs (in the case of 2013, one of Bergeron's goals was the famous Game Seven OT winner against Toronto), though Boston came up short both times.

In the 2011-12 season, right after winning the Stanley Cup, Bergeron racked up 64 points (22 G/42 A), but only had two during that year's playoffs. Bergeron would end up with another award: the Selke Trophy. The Selke Trophy is named after Frank J. Selke, who was the general manager of the Maple Leafs and the Canadiens, and is awarded to the best defensive forward (center/winger) in the league. Bergeron took home the trophy that year, and would win it again in 2014, 2015, 2017, and his final two seasons in the NHL. No other forward has won the Selke more than Bergeron has.

Bergeron became the Bruins captain on January 7, 2021, less than a week before the abbreviated 2020-21 season began. By that time, Bergeron was established as a member of what had been known as the "Perfection Line," with Bergeron at center, David Pastrnak on his right, and Brad Marchand on his left. That line served as my favorite non-Avalanche line, because much like Colorado's top line of Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, and Mikko Rantanen, they are a well-oiled machine. What I find fascinating about that line is that each player pretty much has their roles. Bergeron was the sage veteran, Pastrnak was the sniper, and Marchand was pretty much the wise guy of the trio.

Regarding those final years, the shortened season saw the Bruins ousted in the second round by the Islanders, and regarding Bergeron, he followed up 48 regular season points (in 54 games of a 56-game season) with nine in the playoffs. The following season saw Bergeron rack up 65 points (25 G/40 A), and put up seven points in the seven-game opening round against the Carolina Hurricanes, who ousted the Bruins. And as we know, this past season was the record setting year for Boston: 65 wins and 135 points. As for Bergeron, who signed a one-year deal for that year: 27 goals, 31 assists, 58 points, and surpassed the 1000-point mark that year. As we also know, Boston was ousted by the Panthers in the opening round, and Bergeron only had one point in three games, but at least that was a goal.

Patrice Bergeron's career was explosively quiet, and yes, that oxymoron is intentional. 427 goals, 613 assists, 1040 total points in 19 NHL seasons, but look at the moments. Most career playoff OT goals in Bruins history. Scored the Cup clincher in Game Seven. Game Seven vs Toronto. It's amazing; the Bruins have seen three recent legends retire in a short span: Tuukka Rask, Zdeno Chara, and now Patrice Bergeron. Fun fact: with Bergeron's retirement, Marc-Andre Fleury is now the only player left who was drafted before that lockout. Bergeron's career was quite stellar, and I'm fortunate as a hockey fan to have seen it all the way through.