Patrice Bergeron Officially Retires

[BackToTheBrierePatch]

One of the best 2 way players ever to lace them up.

 

[General Fanager]

What a great career. One of the goats for sure....


As a Habs fan...glad he is gone

 

[Drive425]

Bergeron was always a class individual on and off the ice. As a Habs fan I can honestly say I enjoyed watching Bergeron play the game and the league has lost a real asset. Not only on the ice but off it as well.

All the best Patrice! Truly hope you enjoy retirement.

 

[ranold26]

Crazy thing is, Bergeron essentially played one major junior season pre-NHL.

His "rookie" QMJHL season, he played AAA most of the year and got in 4 games total in the Q. Next year (2002-2003), has a solid season, gets drafted in the 2nd round and makes the Bruins out of camp.

What is even crazier is that he won a MEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP before he won a WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP.
He was so good on a crappy Bruins team as a rookie, that he was named to men's team first.
Rare event for a rare player.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Always loved watching Bergeron play... Easily 1st ballot HOF guy and rightfully so. Someone else will finally have a chance to win the Selke now lol

 

[Gee Wally]

I believe he may have made some small contribution to this.

 

[raswilliam]

Not many players left from the 2003 draft in the NHL now.

I count 7

 

[MikeK]

I have never seen a better 2-way player in all the years of following the game of hockey. In his prime he was a thing of beauty. He may not get the same attention because he wasn't as sexy about the way he did things, but for me, he is one of the best players to ever play in the NHL. One of the best careers I've ever seen.

 

[Sombastate]

One of the absolute best ever. Hope he enjoys retirement

 

[Gaylord Q Tinkledink]

I love the guy but there’s no way they waive the wait period for the HHOF or as some people are suggesting retire his number league wide.

I feel like the league wide number retiring is a bit much, but waiving the HHOF waiting period doesn't seem too much of a stretch, but get why they wouldn't as that's typically reserved for more than legends, or players who deserve to be in, but might not have that much time left, except for Pat Burns it seemed.

Changing the Selke to be named after him seems fair. They should change the name of the trophies, except the Stanley Cup every 30ish years.

 

[AcerComputer]

Surprised he retired, considering he had another great year last year winning the Selke and all.

 

[kingpest19]

One of the greatest two way players in the history of the league. Overcame the early concussions and had a long great career. Going to be a long time before we see a player of his caliber again

 

[serp]

I count 7

Pavelski , Burns , Suter , Perry , Fleury and Carter are under contract to play for next year . After that its 4 maybes in , Parise , Staal , Elliott and Halak depending on if they sign another contract . Everybody else is officially or unofficially ( Weber for example ) retired unless i missed someone

 

[Gee Wally]

 

[zar]

Incredible player and teammate. First ballot HHOF without a doubt.

Most importantly… classy human being.

I still want to know why he taps the top of his stick 3 times when on the bench!

 

[Xirik]

Someone else can finally win the Selke now?!

 

[Video Nasty]

Someone else can finally win the Selke now?!

Opens the door for the media to gift Crosby one.

Sad to see Bergeron go either way.

 

[FlameChampion]

Build a statue. Dude was a legend.

 

[Dread Clawz]

A real hockey player, extremely tough and gritty in his own way. Best defensive forward ever and also terrific offensively in his prime. I think it'll be awhile before we see another player like him, maybe never.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Berger-on is now Berger-off.

Great player. One of the few players in hockey that as an opposing fan you can actually respect.

 

[stlbluz]

Anyone that could tolerate marchand for that long is well overdue for some rest.

Enjoy the retirement Patrice!

 

[UConn126]

Surprised he retired, considering he had another great year last year winning the Selke and all.

He's been averaging at least one gruesome injury a year that he somehow plays through for like a decade now, with the most recent one being a herniated disc in his back. I would've lovved to see him back to be the captain for the 100th season, but the dude needs to let his body chill for a bit, and he's earned that right.

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

His career took off the day Joe Thornton was traded from Boston. Them choosing Bergeron over Thornton for their future was probably one of the best moves the Bruins franchise has ever made. Franchise altering trade that was. I couldn't even imagine how different Bergeron's career would be had Thornton not been traded from Boston. Don't think Patrice has near as much success playing behind Joe in Boston.

 

[TheBeard]

How often does a player retire right after winning a major award?

 

[Bon Esprit]

Respect from a Habs fan.