Patrice Bergeron Reaches Out To John Tavares, Pitches Him On Boston
The Boston Bruins — and the other five teams involved — are officially playing The John Tavares Waiting Game.
With a three-day meeting bonanza in Los Angeles concluded and with Tavares back in Toronto to mull over his decision before the start of free agency on Sunday, the six teams involved find themselves in an obvious holding pattern of sorts.
But Bruins center Patrice Bergeron has apparently done his part to try and help the Black and Gold in their pursuit of the 27-year-old superstar, as Bergeron acknowledged that he has reached out to Tavares to talk to him about Boston.
“I talked to him to answer all the questions he has about Boston,” Bergeron told TVA Sports on Friday. “I’ve been playing there for 18 years and it’s like my home away from home. I told him about the city, the organization and our teammates.”
A career-long Bruin, Bergeron’s word mean a lot, as he is truly the face of the franchise. One of Boston’s alternate captains for well over a decade now, there’s not a player on the roster that would have a better handle on the Bruins’ goals and locker room culture than No. 37. In fact, B’s captain Zdeno Chara has publicly said that he considers Bergeron to be his co-captain.
So, while it’s simply ‘answering questions,’ there’s no doubt that this was more of a pitch from Bergeron.
Bergeron and Tavares have history together, too, as they were both on Team Canada for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and again at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, and did events together during their partnership’s with Reebok’s Canadian branch.
“He’s a good person,” Bergeron said of Tavares. “I only have positive things to say about him. On and off the ice. ”
“Now the ball is in his camp. We know that it must have been an eventful week for him,” Bergeron said.
“Hoping that [my initiative] has had an impact.”
