Bruins legend Patrice Bergeron reflects on whirlwind of number retirement, Hall of Fame announcements: ‘It’s been wild’
The career celebration directing Patrice Bergeron’s life in recent days chugged into Brighton on Tuesday, with the freshly ordained Hockey Hall of Famer his typically gracious, humble self during a half-hour news conference.
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Bergeron, 40, some 24 hours earlier was welcomed into the Hall’s class of 2026. Last Thursday, the Bruins announced that their legendary pivot will have his No. 37 retired.
If anyone expected receiving hockey’s highest honor was going to deliver, say, a bolder, brasher Bergeron to the podium, they clearly got caught skating with their head down these last 20-plus years.
The “Bergy” of today, the one who spoke so eloquently and appreciatively Tuesday, is very much the same baby-faced 18-year-old who arrived on Causeway Street in the fall of 2003. Granted, he is older, stronger, and far more confident and fluent with his English, even if, as he noted, he has yet to master a Boston accent.
But, boy, did the boy master Boston.
“It’s kind of wild,” mused Bergeron. “It’s been only a day for the Hall of Fame, a few days for the jersey retirement. It’s something that you never dream of, and to be in this position, I feel very thankful.”
All the attention, and all the discussion, added Bergeron, made him “out of my comfort zone, in a way. I’d rather talk about my teammates than this.”
A day earlier, the Bergeron household was abuzz, particularly when sons Zack and Noah arrived home from school. Indeed, word arrived in the late morning that Dad was headed to the Hall of Fame. The boys, both hockey players, knew what it meant.
Youngest son Felix, he wasn’t really in on all the congrats and conversation, because 2½-year-olds better grasp toy trucks and blankets.
As for Victoria, Patrice and Stephanie’s lone daughter, he shared with the media that she processed the Hall of Fame news with, shall we say, reserve before she finally spoke.
“Then she was like, ‘OK, can I watch TV now?’ ” said a smiling Bergeron, laughter erupting, in part because he imitated Victoria’s voice. “I guess she put me back on earth pretty quickly.”
Bergeron’s feet, of course, were firmly planted on the ground the day he arrived as an unknown Round 2 draft pick. He was handed a first-ballot speed pass into the Hall on Monday based on the numbers on his stat sheet, including his half-dozen Selke Trophies as the game’s premier defensive forward. Even without the numbers, he might have made it to the Hall just by the way he played.
Bergeron centered his game on hard work, attention to detail (especially on defense), and an unremitting desire to improve.
What drove him above all, he said, was a sense of never feeling satisfied.
“I always kind of wanted to raise the bar and get better,” said the former captain. “I felt like there was always something to learn — from teammates, from opponents, from coach and trainers. That was always what drove me to keep improving, pushed me.”
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Two key figures to aid in that quest, he noted, were fellow Hall of Famers Zdeno Chara, who preceded Bergeron as captain, and Mark Recchi, whose last NHL appearance was the Game 7 Cup clincher in Vancouver with the Bruins in 2011.
“Rex really loved the game,” said Bergeron, “and that was very contagious for others like myself.”
On Thursday, Bergeron confided that Recchi, 18 years his senior, was the one who truly brought out his voice. They spent two-plus seasons as teammates, Bergeron only 23 upon Recchi’s arrival in 2009.
“He was definitely the one that helped me find, or trust to use, my voice more leadership-wise,” said Bergeron. “I always led my example, but he gave me that push, to step up and not be afraid to let the team know what I thought.”
Recchi, the crafty and creative winger, proved to be a valuable coach. The rite of passage to team leader, recalled Bergeron, brought with it a surprising revelation.
“It’s funny, but you think it would be awkward, right? It was kind of the contrary,” he said. “I was always maybe a little hesitant to say anything, because I didn’t know if the guys would listen or take anything from it. Then the first time I did it, the guys responded so positively, and that was great — the positive feedback really gave me confidence.”
It was a far quieter, nearly mum, future Hall of Famer who first pulled on hockey skates as a Quebec preschooler. Bergeron’s parents frequently have told the story that he barely stood upright that first hockey season, preferring to sit on the ice and stack pucks. When drills began, he would gather pucks, sit inside a net, and watch the others skate.
A full season, nothing but watching.
Asked about it Tuesday, Bergeron said he remembered skating to the sideboards to tell his parents that his skates were “killing me. You know, just the usual.”
Young Felix now tells his father the same. Apple and tree. The tree knows the drill. He lived it.
“At some point, once I started like picking it up and skating,” recalled Bergeron, “I realized it’s a lot more fun than just sitting in the back of the net.”
Decades later, Nov. 9 in Toronto, the journey will be complete. From the back of the net to the front of hockey’s class.
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