Bill Belichick compares Patrice Bergeron to a Patriots legend
Bruins center Patrice Bergeron officially retired this week after 17 seasons in the NHL. The mutual respect between franchises has been there over the years, so when asked to reflect on Bergeron’s career, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick compared him to another recently retired sports legend in town.
“Obviously great. All the coaches that have been here, you know, Claude, Bruce and Jim now, everybody’s raved about him and what he’s meant to the team, the organization and this, you know, all the things. So it sounds like he’s just kind of their [Devin] McCourty, you know He just did everything right. He was just a great, great leader and player. So congratulations on a tremendous career.”

Feb 5, 2019; Boston, MA: New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman shakes hands with Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara and New York Islanders left wing Anders Lee before the game at TD Garden. (Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports)
As a fellow captain, special teams ace Matthew Slater was also effusive in his praise for #37:
“I think he should be celebrated as an icon for the city of Boston and Boston sports. I think for me, consistency is the thing that that stood out to me about him. I probably was about five or six years into my career before I really started looking at what those guys were doing. And obviously he was a guy that just gave that organization and gave our city so much consistency. And I think that’s something to celebrate.
“And then, the other thing I appreciate is just the loyalty, right? I think was the way pro sports go nowadays. It’s not uncommon for guys to move and go other places, but for him to do it here for as long as he did I think is tremendous. So I think it’s a bit of a sad day for Boston sports fans, but we should certainly celebrate everything he’s done. I wish him the best. Congratulations on a tremendous career. One of the last old guys in this town. So I certainly appreciate what he did.”