Patrice Bergeron announced his retirement from the NHL on Tuesday after 19 remarkable seasons with the Bruins.
The longtime center and captain ends his Hall-of-Fame worthy career with 1,040 points, a Stanley Cup, six Selke Trophy’s and 1,294 games in a Boston sweater.
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Bergeron all but certainly will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame when he’s eligible in 2026, as well as have his No. 37 retired to the TD Garden rafters.
Here’s a roundup of reaction from around NHL after Bergeron made the announcement.
Aaron Ward, former Bruins player (2006-09)
“The perfect player. The perfect teammate. The perfect leader. A guy who consistently represented his City, his Team and most importantly ‘the game’ the way we all wish we could. Congrats Patrice!”
“During what was most likely a Hall of Fame career, Bergeron became the gold standard for two-way excellence, receiving 11 nominations for the Selke Award, given to the league’s top defensive forward. He has won it a record six times. He played 1,294 career games with 427 goals and 1,040 points, reaching the 1,000-point plateau in his final season.”
“If his record-setting Selke collection is the metric, Bergeron leaves as the best defensive forward in NHL history. Coaches Mike Sullivan, Dave Lewis, Claude Julien, Bruce Cassidy and Jim Montgomery took turns deploying Bergeron in shutdown situations. Bergeron has credited Julien as making him most aware of the importance of defensive thoroughness. Bergeron was the No. 46 player on The Athletic’s NHL99 list.”
“Beyond his accomplishments and skill on the ice, when I think of Patrice Bergeron – I think of class. A true professional who was cordial and always great to work with. Left an impression on many over his 19 years in Boston.”
Matt Porter, Jim McBride, The Boston Globe
“For a player who, along with Zdeno Chara, hauled the Black and Gold out of its post-Ray Bourque and Joe Thornton malaise, statistics alone are not a proper measure of Bergeron’s impact on the franchise. He is third among all Bruins in games played (1,294), goals (427), and points (1,040), and fourth in assists (613). The only names ahead of him on those lists: Bourque and Johnny Bucyk (games played); Bucyk and Phil Esposito (goals); Bourque, Bucyk and Bobby Orr (assists); and Bourque and Bucyk (points).”
“And on top of it all, Bergeron remains the only player in @IIHFHockey history to win a World Junior Championship gold AFTER winning gold at the Men’s World Championship. Bergeron won gold at the 2004 Men’s Worlds and then the 2005 World Junior Championship.”
“Never thought I’d see the day where Milan Lucic plays a game for the Bruins AFTER Patrice Bergeron does.”
“I’m not sure there was a player in this era more universally respected amongst his peers than Patrice Bergeron. What a career.”
