BOSTON (AP) — Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron is returning for another season.
Nearly three months after leaving the ice with no certainty that he would return, the five-time Selke Trophy winner signed a one-year contract with the Bruins on Monday. He will pay her $2.5 million, with an additional $2.5 million possible in incentives.
Bergeron, 36, led the Bruins to the NHL championship in 2011 and two more trips to the Stanley Cup Finals during an 18-year career as the league’s dominant forward. Boston was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Carolina Hurricanes on May 14 and fired coach Bruce Cassidy three weeks later.
Jim Montgomery was hired to replace Cassidy, and the new coach said in his introductory press conference that Bergeron was his first call. Team CEO Charlie Jacobs said Bergeron should return.
“So fingers crossed,” he said in July.
It worked.
Bergeron has 400 goals and 582 assists — all with the Bruins, who selected him in the second round of the 2003 draft. Since then, he’s established himself as one of the game’s most respected players.
When he leaves, the Bruins are expected to retire his number 37, making him the 12th player so honored. He is likely to be inducted into the first round of the Hockey Hall of Fame as soon as he is eligible.
But now it won’t be until at least 2026.
Bergeron is third in Bruins history with 1,216 games played and fourth in goals, assists and points. He is second all-time for the Original Six franchise with 47 playoff goals and 123 points.
Bergeron’s 11 consecutive seasons as a Selke finalist — including this year — is the longest top-three streak for an NHL award, breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record of 10 consecutive years as an MVP finalist. (Gretzky has won the Hart Trophy nine times.)
Bergeron played 2021-22 without a future contract for the first time in his career, scoring 25 goals with 40 assists and helping the Bruins reach the playoffs for the 14th time in 18 seasons. They were eliminated by the Hurricanes in seven games.
“That’s why this one probably hurts more, the unknown for next year with him,” said forward Brad Marchand, the roster’s second-longest starting player, after the Game 7 loss .
“He did so much for this group and sacrificed so much,” Marchand said. “It would have been nice to have a good race for him. So it’s disappointing.
Bergeron was Boston’s last player off the ice in Carolina, leading his teammates through the post-season handshake line with the Hurricanes and then staying on the ice to hug each of his teammates.
But he said he hasn’t decided on his future.
“It’s hard when it ends like that,” Bergeron said after the game. “It stings. It’s not the feeling you want. But that being said, we did it together.
Bergeron and Marchand are the only players from the 2011 Stanley Cup champion team remaining on the Bruins roster. Longtime captain Zdeno Chara left as a free agent in 2020, David Krecji opted to play at home in the Czech Republic last summer and goalkeeper Tuukka Rask has given up on a comeback after hip surgery. in the middle of this season.
The Bruins have David Pastrnak, 25, on offense, Charlie McAvoy, 24, on defense and Jeremy Swayman, 22, in net. Hampus Lindholm, 28, was acquired mid-season to bolster the defense, and Marchand is still one of the league’s most dangerous scorers at 33.
But losing Bergeron would have been the end of the most successful era in team history since the Big, Bad Bruins of Hall of Famers Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Gerry Cheevers and John Bucyk.
“He is the backbone of our team. He’s obviously the biggest part of our team,” Marchand said after the playoff exit. “So, yes, we want him back. No matter what, he has earned the right to make the decision he wants and take the time he needs.
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