It goes without saying that this weekend kicks off an extremely welcome, good-feeling segment of time for the Boston Bruins with the legendary Patrice Bergeron getting the call to the Hockey Hall of Fame. It just so happens that it also coincided with the B’s continuing their winning ways on the ice as well, with a 4-1 victory over the Florida Panthers at TD Garden on Sunday afternoon to make it four wins in a row for the Black and Gold.
Bergeron is in Toronto this weekend to get inducted with fellow New England natives and/or transplants Cindy Curley, Keith Tkachuk and Brian Burke among others in the 2026 HOF class, and received his Hall of Fame ring and plaque along with other honors earned by the greatest two-way center of his generation, and perhaps of any generation, in the NHL.
“It’s a huge honor,” said Bergeron of his induction on the first ballot where he’s again alongside longtime teammate Zdeno Chara. “You look back at the memories and all the people that have helped you along the way.
“It’s hard to believe that my name is up there in this room. So [it’s] definitely very special.”
Patrice Bergeron: “It definitely means a lot. You look back at all the memories and the people that helped you along the way, that sacrificed so much for you to be in this position –– so this is definitely special and we will try to soak it all in.”
— Belle Fraser (@bellefraser1) November 7, 2026
There have been testaments to Bergeron’s greatness, but perhaps none better than the tribute written by longtime linemate Brad Marchand at the time of his induction. Nobody played together more during their era playing in the NHL and that means No. 63 saw every part of Bergeron’s greatness up close for close to 15 years.
Every year we have players, coaches, execs write testimonials for the Hockey Hall of Fame inductees. They are always great. This one, written by Brad Marchand on Patrice Bergeron is an absolute all-timer. https://t.co/W1cZkAXxKo
— Bill Price (@BillPriceNHL) November 5, 2026
“There was 2011. He was still very young, but to me and to all the guys, he was so mature for his age and so focused and, at 25, he had been through so much already, losing almost a year of hockey to a traumatic concussion,” wrote Marchand in the post on NHL.com. “That year he had gone to such a different level, on the ice, but off as well. I know he credits Mark Recchi a lot for that because “Rex” really tried to pull him out of his shell and have him become more vocal and you could see what an incredible leader he was. Part of that was how he was communicating with each guy in the dressing room. He’s the best I’ve ever seen at being able to walk into a room and automatically know how each guy is feeling. He can look around and be like, this guy, you can tell he’s a little anxious, he’s a little nervous, and he has the ability and the confidence to approach them and try to help them feel better, make them feel more comfortable or help pull them out of a funk or talk them through situations or just be a support. It was all year long, but especially when playoff time came. There was a determination within him that there was nothing that was getting in the way of his lifting that Cup. That’s what big players do. They show up and shine in big moments.”
There’s not much more to be said about Bergeron that hasn’t been said before, but the ultimate compliment for a professional athlete is that they are exactly the kind of person, and player, that fathers and mothers would point to their children and say “Be like that guy. He’s the kind of person and player you want to grow up to be like.” In this day and age those kinds of individuals are like gold and Bergeron was that guy in terms of the way he played in winning a record six Selke trophies, and the way he was a member of the rare Triple Gold Club where he has won IIHF championships at the World Junior, Olympic and World Championship level for Team Canada while also leading the Bruins to their only recent Stanley Cup title in 2010-11.
Bergeron has long deserved the moment of hockey immortality that he’s getting this weekend, just as he’ll be deserving of the seeing his No. 37 retired next month at TD Garden ahead of a home date against the Colorado Avalanche.
*Elias Lindholm started the scoring for the Bruins on Sunday afternoon’s win over the Panthers and continues to play well for Boston this season in a third line role. Lindholm has now seven goals on the season and won 22 of 32 faceoffs in a very strong 18:58 of ice time while skating with Casey Mittelstadt and Marat Khusnutdinov.
“He’s been unbelievable. I know a lot of people have ripped on him over the last couple of years, but I mean he brings his all every night,” said Geekie. “I think you it up and down the ice as a 200-foot player. I don’t think he gets enough credit for how good he is night in and night out.”
While serving in a third-line center role is absolutely helping him in some ways, the biggest factor may just be that he’s fully healthy after going through a lot of back problems over the last couple of years. The fully healthy Lindholm has been excellent with points in seven of the last eight games for the Bruins as they continue to streak with the wins.
*The Bruins will be without
