Patrice Bergeron Retires

Zososoxfan

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Easily my favorite hockey player of all time (I enjoyed some of Bourque's last years with the team, but when I first tuned in he was already recognized league-wide as one of the best). The only hockey sweater I own bears his name, and he's never come close to letting me down once.

The man played with a collapsed lung in a playoff game. He also called the org out for the Miller debacle. He's the definition of the Selke. I mean, what else do you need to say about the player or the man?

It's been a privilege Patrice. Please stay involved with the club when you're ready, for the club's sake.
 

yeahlunchbox

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Can anyone recall another elite player as universally respected as Bergeron? In any sport? I mean has anyone, anywhere, ever said a bad word about him?
Didn't teammates on the Red Wings stop Sean Avery from heckling Mr. Sakic? I've never heard a bad thing about Joe.
 

Salem's Lot

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Didn't teammates on the Red Wings stop Sean Avery from heckling Mr. Sakic? I've never heard a bad thing about Joe.
That’s who Bergeron is usually compared too. Hopefully he wants to do with the Bruins in his post playing career what Sakic has done with the Avalanche.
 

pedro1918

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I don't think I would change the name of the forum. I like that the names all have a bit of sarcasm/self deprecation/wackiness involved.

Basically, Bergeron is too classy for this shit.
 

Jim Ed Rice in HOF

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Didn't teammates on the Red Wings stop Sean Avery from heckling Mr. Sakic? I've never heard a bad thing about Joe.
Yes.

With a few small gaps, we've been blessed going from Orr to Bourque to Bergeron. That's a pretty nice run of HOF players and league wide respected players. Going to miss him being out there but he deserves to ride off into the sunset. Given his concussion history its better to leave too early than too late.


I don't think I would change the name of the forum. I like that the names all have a bit of sarcasm/self deprecation/wackiness involved.

Basically, Bergeron is too classy for this shit.
LOL, when I saw the forum renaming brought up the only thing I was thinking was the tag line that goes with the forum name would have to be something like "more class in his pinky than this forum deserves".
 

RoDaddy

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One of my all-time favorite Boston athletes! And predictably, what a great statement he put out. He still had something left in the tank so this is a hit on the ice as well. Next year's team is looking worse and worse by the week
 

Red Right Ankle

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Yes.

With a few small gaps, we've been blessed going from Orr to Bourque to Bergeron. That's a pretty nice run of HOF players and league wide respected players. Going to miss him being out there but he deserves to ride off into the sunset. Given his concussion history its better to leave too early than too late.



LOL, when I saw the forum renaming brought up the only thing I was thinking was the tag line that goes with the forum name would have to be something like "more class in his pinky than this forum deserves".
You shut the fuck up, I'm classy as hell. LOOK AT MY CLASS

*moons you*
 

jk333

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I can’t believe Bergeron retired. Moreso for me than him.

I always looked up to athletes when I was growing up. Then I was similar age and peers were playing college sports and getting drafted while players I’d watched as a kid retired. Now with Bergeron, even people similar age to me are retired.

Bergeron was the best to root for. Played the game just like we all are taught and want to. From great team play and defense to offensive ability too.
 

katnado

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I knew it was coming after last season ended, but fuck it's still a gut punch. Just a class act, and I'm so glad I got to enjoy watching him live. Him and Ray Bourque are the only jerseys I've ever owned. It's going to suck watching the Bruins without him, much like it sucked when Ray was gone. Glad he went out on his terms and in typical Bergeron fashion with pure class. Damnit I'm going to miss watching him play and put on the spoked B. Fuck fuck fuck
 

astrozombie

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I know this sounds like homer fan bullshit, but he *should* have won another cup, probably the one against St. Louis. All time great Bruin and will be sad to see him go. Hopefully the org does right by him and keeps him around in whatever capacity he wants.
 

cshea

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I've said this before in this forum but I think it bears repeating today. Bergeron changed the way I, and I think a lot of other fans, looked at a hockey. He really was the first player whose true greatness really came to light with the advent of "analytics" (and I really hate that a lot of them are called that). I don't think it's any coincidence that his Selke dominance began in 2011/2012 when the analytics were becoming more publicly available, understood and accepted. I don't think 50-60 point Patrice Bergeron gets the credit he deserved as being mentioned in the same breath as stars like Sidney Crosby without them.
 

TheAOE

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Im sure many of us have stories to share, but i wanted to add one that just speaks to his character on the ice that just resonated with me and i wont forget it. Game was against the Sharks in SJ earlier this year and Vlasic hit his 1100 game in the league. It was announced during a TV timeout so it wouldn't have been on TV i believe....anyways as the timeout was ending and the teams were getting to line up Bergy made his way over to Vlasic and gave him a friendly tap on the shin pads and congratulated him. Absolute class act. Maybe this happens all the time, but in my heart this was just something he did, showing class and leadership.
 

Ale Xander

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Didn't teammates on the Red Wings stop Sean Avery from heckling Mr. Sakic? I've never heard a bad thing about Joe.
Someone could have made a lot of money betting on a prop that Sean Avery would be mentioned in a thread honoring Patrice Bergeron.
 

lars10

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Wonder if this has anything to do with his birthday (and mine) being yesterday?
 

RG33

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I honestly don’t know what to say. Few sports retirements have felt like this for me. Most underrated athlete in Boston sports history, despite universal agreement that he is a 1st ballot Hall of Famer. Loved his game, loved his leadership, loved everything about him. He will be sorely missed.
 

lars10

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I honestly don’t know what to say. Few sports retirements have felt like this for me. Most underrated athlete in Boston sports history, despite universal agreement that he is a 1st ballot Hall of Famer. Loved his game, loved his leadership, loved everything about him. He will be sorely missed.
Love that he won one with Boston.. sad he didn't win more.
 

The B’s Knees

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Nice writeup on Bergeron by Yost on the TSN site.

https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/travis-yost-boston-bruins-patrice-bergeron-retires-as-an-almost-peerless-defensive-forward-1.1988205

In short: Patrice Bergeron’s one of the best players you have ever seen on the ice in the last twenty years. He’s a first ballot Hall of Famer. He has a genuine argument for being the best defensive forward of all-time. And most notably, despite being 38 years of age, there were zero signs of his play slowing down – perhaps the greatest accomplishment of all.
 

Haunted

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Of all of them, my favorite Bergeron story is about when he made the entire locker room watch the Kyle Beach 60 Minutes interview. That's incredible. I've read - and tried to absorb - a lot about leadership, and how so much of it is this kind of team-building. Rallying around your team/staff when they need it. Never make anyone feel like an outsider. And Bergeron embraced that. He embodied it in everything he did and said.

the league has one less great man.
 

The B’s Knees

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Also a member of the quadruble gold club: Stanley Cup Camp, World Juniors, Men's World Championship, Olympic Gold (2x)
I think there are only 4 members of the quadruple gold club (Bergeron, Crosby, Toews, and Perry)

The same 4 would be in the quintuple gold club if you add the World Cup of Hockey (2016)

I believe Bergeron would stand alone in the "Sextuple Gold Club" if we include his 2012 Spengler Cup gold medal during the 2012-13 lockout season.
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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The goals he scored in Game 7 against VAN were absolutely incredible and even though they were obviously huge I don't think they get mentioned enough as they get lost behind the OT winner against TOR. But that shorthanded breakaway score while being dragged down cemented that game and I'm forever in awe of it.

View: https://twitter.com/NHLNetwork/status/1684186814771331074?s=20
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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I honestly thought Olcyzk in general was very fair calling that series. He was the one immediately calling for Rome to be suspended for the hit on Norton, which is something Pierre never figured out.
 

cshea

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I honestly thought Olcyzk in general was very fair calling that series. He was the one immediately calling for Rome to be suspended for the hit on Norton, which is something Pierre never figured out.
Probably, I just always remember him advocating for that goal to be waived off and also screaming "Gotta get him out of there" in game 6 after the Bruins 3rd goal.

Anywho, the Bergy retirment press conference is today at 11:30.
 

cshea

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Bergy says he started to think as early as last summer that last season was going to be his last. Body was the main reason.

Nothing planned short term, taking time off and spending it with family.

Wanted to leave while he was still on top of his game.
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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Bergeron was unhateable

Great article on Patrice by Barry over at Defector. Use an incognito window to read it if you don't have a subscription (this is what I did).

The great ones have a sort of gravitational pull to them, and the spacetime of the ice bent toward Bergeron. Pucks seemed to funnel his way, both in the way his wings would find him for the finish and the way opposing attacks found his stick to die. His outsized presence—you could never not know when and where he was on the ice at all times—caused havoc at its fringes. He'd clamp down on a rush or jump a passing lane, and his linemates would be free to head off to the races. Or a defenseman would put a body on him just to be safe, making space for another Bruin. Therein was his magic: If you had Patrice Bergeron, it didn't matter who else you had—you had a top line that could hang with anyone on both ends. Boston was often blessed to have excellent talent to put alongside him, but he remained a rock through constant roster turnover. The Bruins made the playoffs in 15 of his 19 seasons; he was a one-man cheat code to having a good team, in a sport where you can count on one hand the number of forwards with that power.
 

biff_hardbody

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I suspect legend of Bergeron's greatness will only grow with time as people come to appreciate that preventing goals can be as important as scoring them, and Bergeron was the best forward in his generation at it (maybe ever).

There was some Twitter back and forth over the weekend about whether Malkin or Kane is the best forward of their generation after Crosby/Ovechkin, but I'd personally take Bergeron over both 88 and 71.
 
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cshea

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Bergeron and Crosby are in a class of their own. Everyone else falls in line behind them, and it's not particularly close.
 

biff_hardbody

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Bergeron and Crosby are in a class of their own. Everyone else falls in line behind them, and it's not particularly close.
I almost included something to the effect that Bergeron is likely better than Ovechkin in my post, but I don't have the chops or the time to back up the argument that Bergeron is a better hockey player than the NHL's future all time leading goal scorer, even though I agree with it.
 

MiracleOfO2704

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I almost included something to the effect that Bergeron is likely better than Ovechkin in my post, but I don't have the chops or the time to back up the argument that Bergeron is a better hockey player than the NHL's future all time leading goal scorer, even though I agree with it.
I mean, it’s Twitter, so the XBox controller disconnect gif vs. the Rangers in the playoffs ~10 years ago should do. The man is prolific at what he does (I’d say at the detriment of developing actual PP strategies with the emergence of similarly gifted players like Stamkos and Pastrnak), but what he does is one small thing in a bigger game.
 

cshea

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I almost included something to the effect that Bergeron is likely better than Ovechkin in my post, but I don't have the chops or the time to back up the argument that Bergeron is a better hockey player than the NHL's future all time leading goal scorer, even though I agree with it.
Didn't mean it as a slight to Ovechkin. Ovechkin is the greatest goal scorer in the history of the game, in my opionon.

The cliff notes is Bergeron's non-goal scoring greatness is vastly superior to Ovechkin's non-goal scoring impacts (some of which are even negatives).

The Travis Yost article linked in post 138 discusses how Crosby is really Bergeron's only tough comparison.
 

kenneycb

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I suspect legend of Bergeron's greatness will only grow with time as people come to appreciate that preventing goals can be as important as scoring them, and Bergeron was the best forward in his generation at it (maybe ever).

There was some Twitter back and forth over the weekend about whether Malkin or Kane is the best forward of their generation after Crosby/Ovechkin, but I'd personally take Bergeron over both 88 and 71.
I think it's going to be the opposite. Goals and assists are mainstream and easy to cite. Rate stats are not.