Boston Bruins
Bergeron took his place in the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday night.
Bruins legend Patrice Bergeron reached hockey immortality on Monday.
The former Bruins captain was formally inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto — a fitting capstone to a 19-year pro career in which Bergeron established himself as a worthy ambassador of the sport, a culture-cultivating leader, and arguably the greatest defensive forward in NHL history.
Bergeron — who played his entire career in Boston — thanked many of his former teammates in attendance for his induction, including Zdeno Chara, Brad Marchand, Tuukka Rask, David Pastrnak, David Krejci, Torey Krug, Charlie McAvoy, Marco Sturm, Andrew Ference, Mark Recchi, Chris Kelly, Shawn Thornton, and Adam McQuaid.
But he also saluted the team and the city that he represented for close to two decades.
“To the fans and the city of Boston, thank you for welcoming me and standing behind me throughout my career,” Bergeron said. “It was an absolute privilege to play in front of you for two decades. Thank you for your passion and making this journey so special.
“The Boston Bruins are more than a hockey team. They’re a part of Boston’s identity. It’s built by legends, cherished by generations and deeply connected to the community. Being a part of that history is one of the greatest accomplishments of my life.”
In the aftermath of his call to the Hall — and ahead of his No. 37 getting raised to the TD Garden rafters on Dec. 1 — here’s a look at 11 of Bergeron’s greatest moments with the Bruins.
Making an early impression
For some Bruins fans, the first memory of Bergeron might be the infamous NESN commercial where the teenage Bruins forward drove a Zamboni across the Zakim Bridge with goalie Andrew Raycroft.
But it didn’t take long for Bergeron — selected with the 45th pick in the 2003 NHL Draft — to quickly establish himself as a lineup regular for Boston, breaking camp with the Bruins just months after he was drafted.
Just four games into his pro career, Bergeron recorded his first point when he assisted on a Brian Rolston goal against the Stars — and then lit the lamp for the first time as a Bruin in the very next game against the Kings.
Bergeron played 71 games with the Bruins in his rookie campaign in 2003-04, scoring 16 goals and posting 39 points. He also scored the first of several clutch postseason tallies in the 2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs — tallying the OT winner against the Canadiens in Game 2 of Boston’s first-round series against the Habs.
Bergeron was just the second player in NHL history to score a postseason goal in overtime at age 18 or younger, joining Don Gallinger (1943).
Recovering from career-threatening concussion
Bergeron emerged as a franchise center for Boston in short order.
Following the 2004-05 NHL lockout, Bergeron hit at least 70 points in each of his next two seasons with Boston.
But Bergeron’s promising career nearly ended on Oct. 27, 2007, after Flyers defenseman Randy Jones smashed into him, causing the 22-year-old forward to slam face-first into the end boards at TD Garden.
Bergeron lay motionless on the ice as trainers attended to him, and the young center eventually needed to be stretched off the ice.
He suffered a Grade 3 concussion and a broken nose, with lingering post-concussion symptoms forcing him to miss the remainder of the season after just 10 games played.
Those recurring symptoms and concussion scares also limited him to just 64 games (and 39 points) over Boston’s breakthrough 2008-09 campaign.
But it didn’t take Bergeron long to get his career back on track — eventually forming a dangerous 1-2 punch down the middle with both Marc Savard and, later, David Krejci.
Winter Classic heroics
Bergeron was no stranger to the great outdoors with his Bruins teammates — playing in five outdoor games across four Winter Classic bouts at Fenway Park (2010, 2023), Gillette Stadium (2016), and Notre Dame Stadium (2019), plus an NHL Outdoor Games event in 2021 near Lake Tahoe in Nevada.
But he made an indelible mark on Boston’s first outdoor showdown against the Flyers in 2010 — setting up teammate (and current Bruins head coach) Marco Sturm for an OT winner in front of over 35,000 fans at Fenway.
Hoisting the Cup
Bergeron did more than his part to secure Boston’s first Stanley Cup title in 39 years.
In a decisive Game 7 in Vancouver, Bergeron led the Bruins in the last game of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final — scoring a pair of goals in an eventual 4-0 clincher at Rogers Arena.
He opened the floodgates with a quick shot off a Brad Marchand feed 14:37 into the first before he fittingly gave Boston some breathing room with a shorthanded tally in the second period.
Bergeron was the third to hoist the Stanley Cup after captain Zdeno Chara and veteran Mark Recchi — a fitting testament to the 25-year-old forward’s standing in Boston’s leadership hierarchy and his contributions to a long-awaited championship.
A comeback for the ages
Things looked dour for the Bruins in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series against Toronto on May 13, 2013, with Boston trailing, 4-1, with 10:43 left in regulation.
But as the seconds continued to tick away, the Bruins clawed back — cutting into the deficit with goals by Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic before Bergeron tallied the equalizer with 50.2 seconds left on the clock.
Just six minutes into OT, Bergeron nearly uncorked the roof off TD Garden when he completed the comeback by potting the game-winner past James Reimer.
Dave Goucher’s “Bergeron! Bergeron!” still stands as one of the greatest calls in Boston sports history.
Battling through injury
Beyond that 2011 run, Bergeron had plenty of other standout playoff moments — including a crucial role in Boston’s run to the 2019 Stanley Cup Final with a career-best nine goals and 17 points over 24 games that postseason.
In that 2013 Cup run, Bergeron had several other noteworthy tallies beyond those Game 7 goals against Toronto — tipping home a Brad Marchand feed in double overtime to help Boston win Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final against the heavily favored Penguins team, en route to an eventual sweep.
But one of Bergeron’s most memorable playoff feats came after the 2013 Cup Final ended in a crushing Game 6 defeat to Chicago.
Had Boston forced a Game 7 in that series, it’s unlikely Bergeron would have been able to play — considering he spent three days in a hospital after playing through a broken rib, torn rib cartilage, and a separated right shoulder in the previous game.
During that Game 6 loss, Bergeron’s willingness to gut through that cracked rib led to a punctured and eventually collapsed lung.
Taking over as captain
While there was plenty of discourse going into this current Bruins campaign about who would captain Boston, there wasn’t much debate about who would get the “C” stitched into their sweater after Zdeno Chara left the Bruins in 2020.
On Jan. 7, 2021, Bergeron was named the 20th captain in Bruins franchise history — earning the distinction after serving as an alternate captain for 14 years. He ultimately served as Boston’s captain for three years before hanging up his skates.
Winning a record-breaking fifth Selke Trophy
There is no shortage of plays we could highlight over Bergeron’s 19-year career that would affirm his standing as the greatest defensive forward in NHL history.
Few players have been gifted with Bergeron’s hockey IQ, knack for winning critical faceoffs, and reputation for both snuffing out scoring chances and burying looks down the other end of the frozen sheet.
“Selke, Selke,” Tuukka Rask said of Bergeron breaking up a shorthanded breakaway chance for the Blackhawks and subsequently scoring a power-play tally in a 30-second span during the 2019 Winter Classic.
His defensive credentials were validated in 2022, with Bergeron winning a record-breaking fifth Selke Trophy — handed annually to the best defensive forward in the league. For good measure, Bergeron took home a sixth Selke Trophy following his final year in the NHL in 2023.
Speaking out against Mitchell Miller signing
Bergeron — who routinely preached accountability and empathy during his lengthy tenure as a veteran voice in Boston — didn’t mince words after the Bruins made the controversial decision to sign defenseman Mitchell Miller to an entry-level contract 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.
Shortly after the signing, Bergeron, Nick Foligno, and Brad Marchand voiced their disapproval of the move.
“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 after signing him, the Bruins announced that they cut ties with Miller.
Reaching 1,000 points
In the midst of Boston’s record-setting campaign in 2022-23, Bergeron also etched his name into the record books — becoming just the fourth Bruin to hit 1,000 points with the Original Six franchise on Nov. 21, 2022.
After recording a secondary apple on a Brad Marchand tally against the Lightning, his longtime linemate and the rest of his teammates swarmed him on the ice at Tampa’s Amalie Arena — drawing a standing ovation in the road barn.
David Pastrnak will join Bergeron in that 1,000-point club in short order, as the Bruins’ current captain currently sits at 957 points.
A final farewell
The Bruins and Bergeron were seemingly set for a storybook ending in his final NHL season — with Boston rewriting the record books in 2022-23 with the most wins (65) and points (135) in a single season.
But Boston’s season ended in heartbreak after the Florida Panthers delivered a shocking first-round upset against Boston — culminating in a crushing Game 7 OT loss at TD Garden on April 30, 2023.
After tearfully embracing each of his teammates, Bergeron raised his stick and saluted Bruins fans one final time. He’ll be back on the Garden ice to see his No. 37 join some legendary company in less than a month.
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