Former Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron elected to Hockey Hall of Fame in first year of eligibility
Patrice Bergeron will take his place next to the game’s elite after the former Bruins center was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday.
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Bergeron, who spent his entire 19-year career — from 2003-23 to 2023 — in Boston, ranks high on the franchise’s all-time lists, including third in goals (427), points (1,040), and games (1,294).
Bergeron is a member of the so-called Triple Gold Club — the exclusive group of hockey players who have won an Olympic gold medal (2010, 2014), a World Championship gold medal (2004), and the Stanley Cup (2011).
The Bruins’ captain for his final three seasons (and an alternate for the previous 14), Bergeron was the preeminent two-way center of his generation.
Bergeron won a record six Selke Trophies, given annually to the best defensive forward in the NHL. He was nominated for the award 12 times — also an NHL record — and finished second in the voting four times.
Bergeron will be enshrined in November in Toronto and will be joined in the class by Melrose native Keith Tkachuk, Carey Price, Pekka Rinne, Cindy Curley, and builder Brian Burke.
It’s the second honor in a week for Bergeron. The Bruins announced last Wednesday his No. 37 will be sent to the rafters as the 14th retired number in franchise history.
The decision by the 18-member Hall of Fame selection committee made up of former players, executives, and media members was a “no-brainer,” according to Bruins president Cam Neely, who was enshrined in the Hall in 2005.
“Just the way he approached the game, like a true professional, both on and off the ice. Him as a teammate speaks volumes for his character and personality. Him as a person, same thing,” Neely told the Globe following his foundation’s recent golf tournament. “He’s someone that I feel blessed to get to know and watch him play, watch him grow. Anybody that played with him should feel blessed to have an opportunity to play with him and learn from him because you really think about our sport, it’s like you have to be a true professional to really maximize what your abilities are. And if you don’t take care of yourself, if you don’t prepare, and if you don’t have the details, you may not get the most out of your career. Patrice Bergeron got the most out of his career because of all that.”
A three-time All-Star, Bergeron recorded 14 20-goal seasons, including 10 straight from 2013-23. He is the franchise leader in shootout goals (25) and game-deciding shootout goals (10).
In Bergeron’s final season (2022-23), he helped lead the Bruins to the Presidents’ Trophy as the Bruins set NHL records for wins (62) and points (135). He led the club’s forwards with a plus-35 rating. Bergeron retired with a plus-289 for his career.
Bergeron goes to the Hall a year after Zdeno Chara, who preceded him as Bruins captain. The pair’s leadership helped fuel the franchise’s success for more than a decade.
The timing is perfect, according to Neely.
“Makes a lot of sense,” said Neely. “Both those guys, what they brought to the organization for as long as they did, the leadership that they brought and what it means to put that jersey on, to me is really something that you don’t want to have anybody, any generation not understand that. And for those two guys to really understand Zdeno coming from a couple different organizations, Bergy growing up in this organization, they really embraced that and it showed in what they did in the locker room, in the gym, and on the ice.”
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