It admittedly doesn’t take much to light up the internet these days.
But when Spittin Chiclets, the most popular hockey podcast in the world, hints at the rumblings of Patrice Bergeron coming out of retirement and rejoining the Bruins, you can understand why the proverbial internet sky lit up like the Esplanade in July.
Oct 11, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Former Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron greets former teammates David Pastrnak (88) and Brad Marchand (63) before the start of Boston’s 100th season in the NHL. (Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports)
But those rumblings, as fun and juicy as they may have been, also sent Bergeron into a ‘damage control’ mode of sorts where he had to calm the masses before the pro shop started working overtime to pump out some new Bergeron jerseys and player tees with the centennial logos and throwback crest.
In a text exchange with the Boston Herald’s Steve Conroy late last week, the 38-year-old Bergeron, who retired just six months ago, was adamant that he was not making a comeback.
Oct 11, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Members of the Boston Bruins 2011 Stanley Cup championship team, from left, Tim Thomas, Tuukka Rask, David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara before the start of Boston’s 100th season in the NHL at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports)
And in case that wasn’t enough, Bergeron said more of the same in an interview with the Canadian Press.
“No, it is not happening,” Bergeron told the CP’s Joshua Clipperton when asked about a return to the NHL. “I’m not making a comeback, not trying to make a comeback.”
As for the note that he was skating, Bergeron confirmed as much, but downplayed the intensity of those skates.
“Come to our skates … the rumours would go away pretty quickly,” Bergeron told Clipperton. “It’s a slow pace.”
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – APRIL 26: Patrice Bergeron #37 of the Bruins faces off against Aleksander Barkov #16 of the Panthers during the first period in Game Five of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
When it came to this rumor — and just the overall talk of Bergeron potentially coming back to the Bruins, even if it was just some spitballing hypothetical type more than an actual rumor — was just how guarded the Bruins have always been when it came to any sort of Bergeron scoop.
A little ‘inside baseball’ stuff for you: When it came to Bergeron’s late-season injury and his uncertainty, multiple sources happily bent the truth and said he was sick. Looking back on it, you understand why they did it (especially in the playoffs), but even off the record, it was about protecting Bergeron and the news surrounding him. And when I caught word of Bergeron’s retirement announcement the night before, it was denied across the board. If there’s one thing I’ve come to learn about Bergeron, it’s that the Bruins themselves have too much respect for Bergeron to let anybody who isn’t Bergeron himself or the team break his news. (I mean, think about how they were the ones to report his contract, not NHL insiders. The same was true for then-captain Zdeno Chara during his final years with the franchise, too.) Bergeron is that kind of protected asset as a player and person for the club.
If this one had any legs to it, you had a feeling that the Bruins would do absolutely everything they could to protect it and ensure that they were the ones to break the story. (They’d probably have him skate in the dark at Warrior, or maybe sneak him into Wilmington’s Ristuccia just for old time’s sake.)
Nov 7, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron (37) directs his teammates prior to a face-off during the first period against the St. Louis Blues at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)
Now, with all that said, there’s no denying the natural allure of the Bruins trying to re-add Bergeron.
The Bruins, though they are still at the top of the Eastern Conference, are an asset-deficient club. They’d love to improve their club for what they hope is a deep playoff run, but with low funds and a relatively empty cupboard from a trade chip standpoint, the pickings are going to be slim. There would be nothing better for B’s general manager Don Sweeney — and in more ways than one — than signing a pro-rated Bergeron.
When Bergeron walked away from the game, it was clear that he still had something in the tank. He was fresh off yet another Selke Trophy, and his regular season included a more-than-respectable 27 goals and 58 points in 78 games played. His plus-35 was also his best single-season plus-minus in almost a decade. But at the same time, going out before he became a shell of himself seemed to be something that was of importance to Bergeron.
“I was leaning, that it might be my last year so the whole [2022-23 season], I was kind of preparing for that. And over time the body and realizing that it was just time for me to kind of move on,” Bergeron admitted at his retirement press conference last summer. “There’s a lot of things that kind of influenced me but the main thing is probably the body and spending more time with the family. I’ve always wanted and told myself that for me, I wanted to play the game at the highest level that I could, and felt like I wanted to kind of leave on top of my game.”
Bergeron also elected not to undergo any sort of surgical procedure for the back issue that effectively ended his 2022-23 season on the sourest of notes, and while he may not have ‘needed’ it per se, that felt like a tell of sorts that Bergeron was done when it came to rehabbing and then ramping up for another push for a Stanley Cup.
Still, you can’t convince that even now, and despite not playing for nine months now, Bergeron wouldn’t be an upgrade over countless names you’ll see moved between now and the 2024 NHL trade deadline. Hoping and wishing for another run always made sense from that standpoint, as farfetched or unrealistic as it may be.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – APRIL 30: Patrice Bergeron #37 of the Bruins waves to fans before exiting the ice after Panthers defeat the Bruins 4-3 in overtime of Game 7 of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
But doesn’t Bergeron strike you as the type to stick to his word, too? Knowing how difficult of a decision it was for Bergeron to walk away, it’s almost impossible for me to wrap my head around the idea of Bergeron going back on what he said and what he talked about and jumping right back into the NHL grind. It just doesn’t seem like him.
It would also kind of fly in the face of what Bergeron’s said at multiple points since his retirement, with the veteran center noting both the miles on his body (and how deep down he felt like it was truly time) and how much he’s simply enjoyed being around his family on a full-time basis for the first time in his life.
There’s also the nightmare scenario that I gotta admit kicked around in the back of my head (and probably in the back of his head at some point, too). Say Bergeron came back to the Bruins, they remained a powerhouse, and then they lost in heartbreaking fashion once again. YEESH. I mean, the odds alone suggest that that would happen — you have a 3.125 percent chance of winning the Stanley Cup when the season begins and you have a 6.25 percent chance of winning when the field is sliced down to 16 in mid-April — and that might arguably sting worse than losing in overtime in Game 7 after a historic, record-breaking regular season.
So for now, and for the best, it’s time to let Bergeron and the hopes of a comeback truly rest.
Until the next time you see him going end-to-end in a free skate, anyway.
