Patrice Bergeron’s closing hug on the ice on Sunday was reserved for Brad Marchand, his longtime linemate and good friend. It was longer and tighter than the opposite hugs he shared together with his teammates, and it introduced Bergeron to tears as somber followers stood and cheered.
If it was Bergeron’s closing second in a Boston Bruins uniform, so ends a powerful 19-year profession that locations him within the pantheon of nice Boston athletes. He didn’t win as many championships as Invoice Russell or Tom Brady. He was not a three-time most precious participant like Larry Chook. He was not as clutch as David Ortiz and didn’t change the sport the best way Bobby Orr did.
However someplace on that glittering checklist stands Bergeron, one of many best two-way facilities in hockey historical past. He’s maybe a couple of spots larger than he in any other case could be due to his unmistakable class and the truth that he performed his total profession, no less than, to this point, for the Bruins.
“He is likely one of the finest to ever play the sport,” Marchand stated in March, when the Bruins appeared invincible. “He’s additionally top-of-the-line leaders ever. It’s arduous for anybody to pull their toes when your finest participant and oldest man is on the market setting the instance.”
Marchand and his teammates, together with David Krejci, spoke overtly all 12 months about how this season was deliberate and arranged by the Bruins to win the Stanley Cup for Bergeron in what could be the beloved captain’s closing season. His age matches his iconic quantity, 37, which can ultimately dangle above the ice at TD Backyard in Boston. He may even definitely be inducted into the Hockey Corridor of Fame sooner or later, however maybe will probably be with a tinge of disappointment — as there was with Orr — that there might have been extra success, together with this 12 months.
Bergeron received a Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011 together with Marchand and Krejci, and that’s greater than some nice gamers obtain. However the Bruins additionally misplaced within the finals in 2013 and 2019, and now there’s this, a very sorrowful and painful ending.
Maybe he was crying Sunday evening due to the fast and colossal disappointment, and never as a result of he knew it was his closing N.H.L. sport. Bergeron and the Bruins skated off the ice after a surprising, season-ending time beyond regulation loss to the Florida Panthers at dwelling in Recreation 7 of their first-round playoff collection. Afterward, Bergeron indicated the choice on his future had not been finalized.
“It hurts proper now,” he stated. “I’m going to must step again and provides it some thought with my household.”
Bergeron and his teammates had hoped, perhaps even anticipated, to see their names carved into the Stanley Cup on the finish of the playoffs. As an alternative, their names might be added to a brief checklist of probably the most bitter Boston sports activities disappointments in current reminiscence, together with their very own Recreation 7 loss at dwelling to the St. Louis Blues within the 2019 finals.
However as a result of they’d been so good and had the best of expectations, this gorgeous final result was barely harking back to the lack of the undefeated 2007 Patriots to the Giants within the Tremendous Bowl. This one got here lengthy earlier than the ultimate stage, nevertheless it was devastating, nonetheless.
Within the common season, the Bruins received 65 video games, greater than some other staff in N.H.L. historical past, a file that now taunts them and their followers. On Sunday, after constructing a three-games-to-one lead of their collection with Florida — and holding a 3-2 lead with one minute left in regulation — the Panthers pulled their goalie for a sixth skater and Brandon Montour scored to ship the sport to time beyond regulation. There, Carter Verhaeghe scored the winner for Florida, and the Bruins grew to become the newest sufferer of the curse of the Presidents’ Trophy.
Since Chicago received the Stanley Cup in 2013, no staff that led the league in wins (an accomplishment for which that doubtful trophy is awarded) has received the Stanley Cup. Solely 4 instances has a staff received each for the reason that 2000-1 season, and the Bruins grew to become the eighth straight Presidents’ Trophy winner to lose within the first or second spherical.
Maybe all of them suffered from dangerous luck, or maybe there’s something extra substantive in these numbers. For some groups, it may very well be the dearth of aggressive video games towards the top of the season. For others, it might have been overconfidence.
For the Bruins, it might have been the pursuit of historical past that did them in, and the load of expectations. They led the league from starting to finish and secured a playoff spot earlier than some other staff. The Bruins received 16 of their final 17 video games within the common season, however eked out wins as an alternative of dominating. They pushed to the ultimate sport, maybe so as to add to their file, or in an try to remain sharp.
However come the playoffs, Florida was sharper, meaner and had extra intent. The Bruins, with arguably the very best and deepest defensive core within the league through the common season, regarded tentative and tight. That they had problem breaking the puck out of their zone and made quite a few uncharacteristic turnovers that led to targets.
Bergeron, who performed in 78 of 82 video games within the common season, didn’t play within the first 4 video games of the collection due to a herniated disk that he might have suffered within the closing regular-season sport in Montreal on April 13. Within the three playoff video games he did skate, the Bruins misplaced.
“Clearly, it’s extraordinarily disappointing,” he stated, “particularly with the staff that we had.”
Bergeron, a second-round draft choose in 2003, joined the Bruins at age 18 and has performed in 1,294 regular-season video games. He has amassed 1,040 factors within the common season, together with 427 targets, and he in all probability prevented a thousand or extra by opponents (he had a plus-minus score of +289).
He additionally had 128 factors in 170 playoff video games, and Zdeno Chara, the previous Bruins captain, usually lauded Bergeron as his efficient co-captain.
Finest identified for his offensive and defensive wholeness, Bergeron received a file 5 Selke Trophies because the league’s finest defensive ahead, most lately in 2022, however can be one in every of league’s most professional face-off males. In accordance with NHL.com, he received 14,837 face-offs in his profession, greater than some other participant since 2005, and his 58.7 successful proportion is eighth finest in historical past and highest amongst lively gamers.
He additionally received two Olympic gold medals with Canada, in 2010 and 2014, and received a world championship in 2004, all whereas setting a shimmering instance of professionalism.
After Sunday’s loss, Marchand was requested about Bergeron and the likelihood that his good friend’s profession was over. Marchand grew emotional, showing to combat again tears.
“There’s clearly too many reminiscences to checklist,” Marchand stated. “However the friendship we’ve constructed and the connection we’ve has been particular. So, hopefully, it’s not.”