Congrats on retirement, Patrice, but the Bruins really are screwed without you. The failures of the Boston Bruins offseason has just been exacerbated to the maximum as team legend Patrice Bergeron finally decided to retire after 19 years with the organization.
The Bruins are in an utter mess of a situation.
After a disappointing playoff exit and a horrific offseason, Bruins captain and team legend Patrice Bergeron has finally called it quits on his historic career after 19 years with the team. And, as I’ve said, the Bruins are utterly and entirely screwed without Bergeron in the lineup.
Now, before I get into how messed up the Bruins are now that they just officially lost their #1 center for the last two decades, let me just say my thanks to Bergeron as a born-and-raised Bruins fan. Bergeron has easily been one of the greatest defensive forwards in NHL history and one of the Top-10 best players to have ever laced up his skates for the Bruins in the 100-year history (Bruins turn 100 on November 1st, 2024) of the team.
And this is an organization that has seen Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Tiny Thompson, Milt Schmidt, Dit Clapper, Ray Bourque, Eddie Shore, Cam Neely, Johnny Bucyk, Zdeno Chara, Gerry Cheevers, Brad Park, Adam Oates, Terry O’Rielly, etc. That’s how great Bergeron has been, and his stats show it.
Bergeron retires with 1,294 career games played with the Bruins (3rd most for Bruins all-time), 427 goals, (3rd most for Bruins all-time), 613 assists (4th most for Bruins all-time), 1,040 points (3rd most for Bruins all-time), spent 19 seasons with the team (2nd most for Bruins all-time behind Clapper’s 20 seasons), 3 seasons as the Bruins captain, 6 Selke Trophy wins (most all-time in NHL history), 12 Selke Trophy Finalist appearances (most all-time in NHL history), 3 President’s Trophies, 3 Prince of Wales (Eastern Conference championships) trophies, 3 Stanley Cup Finals Appearances, member of the 65-win team, and 1 Stanley Cup victory (2011).
Patrice Bergeron will be a first ballot Hall of Famer and will see his #37 retired into the Bruins rafters as soon as he’s eligible. And, as I said in the beginning of this article, thank you, Patrice Bergeron, for everything you’ve given to this organization and all us Bruins fans. Go and enjoy retirement as you more than deserve it.
As for GM Don Sweeny and team president Cam Neely, what the hell have you done this offseason? You have now officially lost Patrice Bergeron, Tyler Bertuzzi, Taylor Hall, Dmitry Orlov, Garnett Hathaway, Craig Smith (traded at the deadline), Nick Foligno, Tomas Nosek, Connor Clifton, Connor Carrick, Chris Wagnar, Mike Rielly, Anton Stralman, and probably David Krejci (he’s most likely going to retire) in a single offseason.
I know not all of these guys were playing week in and week out or were on the team for a while, but Bertuzzi, Hall, Orlov, Hathaway, Smith, Foligno, Nosek, Clifton, Bergeron, and Krejci made up half the starting roster for the season last year. HALF THE ROSTER OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL REGUALR SEASON TEAM HAS BEEN LOST FOR NOTHING THIS OFFSEASON!!!!
And who were they replaced with? 35-year-old Milan Lucic, 34-year-old Kevin Shattenkirk, 35-year-old James Van Riemsdyk, 31-year-old and career minor leaguer Patick Brown, depth center Jesper Boquist, and Morgan Geekie.
Oh, and the Bruins Top-3 centers are now Pavel Zacha (who failed at being a Top-6 center in New Jersey before being traded to the Bruins), Charlie Coyle (who failed at being a Top-6 center in Minnesota before being traded to the Bruins), and Morgan Geekie.
HOW HAS THIS HAPPENED?!?!
I hate to sound so morbid and pessimistic, but the Bruins are utterly screwed next season as they just don’t have any scoring prowess beyond Pastrňák and Marchand in their forward core. Guys like Zacha, Coyle, and Debusk played so well last season due to being on lines with Bergeron and Krejci…who are now gone…or without the pressure of Top-6 minutes.
Maybe I’ll be proven wrong, and the Bruins will go on another incredible winning streak next season, but I don’t see it happening at all. The heart, soul, and firepower has been torn out of this roster and replaced with ancient, decaying players.
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