The Patrice Bergeron era has ended.
The Boston Bruins captain and No. 1 center officially announced his retirement Tuesday after 19 NHL seasons. Bergeron won nearly everything in his career, including a Stanley Cup title and gold medals in several different international tournaments with Team Canada.
He also was a tremendous leader and person. He helped build the Bruins' winning culture, which the current generation of players must now continue to build on.
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Bergeron had a lot of great moments, plays and games during his almost two decades as an Bruins player. He's a recap of the most notable ones.
June 21, 2003
The 2003 NHL Draft is arguably the best in league history. Bergeron didn't come off the board until the Bruins picked him at No. 45 overall in the second round.
Other second-round picks in that draft include Shea Weber, David Backes, Loui Eriksson, Corey Crawford and Jimmy Howard. Notable first-round picks include Eric Staal, Marc-Andre Fleury, Nathan Horton, Thomas Vanek, Ryan Suter, Dion Phaneuf, Jeff Carter, Dustin Brown, Brent Seabrook, Zach Parise, Ryan Getzlaf, Brent Burns, Ryan Kesler, Mike Richards and Corey Perry.
Wow!
The Bruins' franchise changed in a major way on this day in Nashville.
Oct. 18, 2003
Bergeron scored his first of 427 career regular season goals early in his 2003-04 rookie campaign. He also tallied two assists in a 4-3 Boston victory.
Jan. 4, 2005
Canada won the gold medal at the 2005 World Junior Championships led by Bergeron and his 13 points in six games. He was named the tournament's MVP after tallying two points (one goal, one assist) in the gold medal game against Russia. This Canada WJC roster is considered one of the best in the history of the tournament. It also included future Stanley Cup champs Sidney Crosby, Jeff Carter, Brent Seabrook, Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf.
(Click here to watch highlights from the tournament)
2010 Winter Olympics, Gold medal game
Canada took home the gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory over the United States. Bergeron claimed the first of his back-to-back Olympic golds.
April 10, 2010
This play pretty much sums up why Bergeron is the best defensive forward ever.
2011 Stanley Cup Final, Game 7
The Bruins won their first Stanley Cup title in 39 years by defeating the Canucks 4-0 in Game 7 at Vancouver. Bergeron opened the scoring 14:37 into the first period. It was the first time in four games in Vancouver that Boston scored the first goal. Bergeron extended Boston's lead to 3-0 with a great effort on a shorthanded goal late in the second period.
2013 First round, Game 7
The Bruins trailed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 with 10:42 remaining in the third period of Game 7 at TD Garden. It looked like a season with so much promise would go down in flames.
Bergeron came to the rescue, tying the game in the final minute of regulation and then scoring the series winner in overtime.
The Bruins became the first (and only) team to overcome a deficit of three-plus goals in the third period of a Game 7 and win.
2013 Eastern Conference Final, Game 3
The Bruins swept the high-powered and heavily favored Pittsburgh Penguins, but the final two games of the series at TD Garden were close, hard-fought classics.
Game 3 went to double overtime, where Bergeron won the game with a beautiful tip in front of the net. Marchand supplied Bergeron with the feed after Jaromir Jagr won back puck possession from Penguins star Evgeni Malkin in the neutral zone.
Oct. 30, 2018
Bergeron showed off unreal defensive ability to steal the puck, and then he made a sweet pass to Marchand for a power-play goal.
2019 Eastern Conference Final, Game 4
Bergeron scored twice as the Bruins beat the Hurricanes 4-0 to sweep the series and punch their ticket to the 2019 Stanley Cup Final. He also added an assist for a three-point night.
Nov. 4, 2021
Bergeron scores four goals in a game for the second and final time in his career during a win over the Detroit Red Wings.
Nov. 21, 2022
Bergeron assisted on a Marchand goal for his 1,000th career point. The entire B's bench emptied and swarmed Bergeron in celebration.
June 26, 2023
Bergeron won the Frank J. Selke Trophy for a record sixth time -- two more than any other player in league history -- last month. It was the final award in Bergeron's career, one that includes a Stanley Cup, and many gold medals from international tournaments such as the Olympics.
