As the longest-tenured current Bruin, Patrice Bergeron suffered through the lean years of the middle part of the last decade and persevered through some dark days of his own in overcoming a severe concussion suffered in 2007. It was all worth it, though, after the Bruins reached the pinnacle this spring with their first Stanley Cup in 39 years.
And it's not an overstatement to say that they wouldn't have had that championship celebration without the strong two-way play and steady leadership Bergeron provided throughout the season and Boston's long playoff run.
2010-11 stats: 80 games, 22-35-57, plus-20, 26 PIMs
Playoffs: 23 games, 6-14-20, plus-15, 28 PIMs
Contract status: Signed through 2013-14, $5 million cap hit
Preseason expectations: The Bruins clearly identified Bergeron as one of the cornerstones of the team, locking him up with a three-year extension before he could even enter the final year of his existing contract. They were counting on him to continue to provide leadership on the ice and in the room, shut down opposing teams' top lines and contribute offensively.
Regular-season evaluation: Bergeron more than met those expectations. He continued to be one of the top defensive forwards in the league and put up a career-best plus-20 despite usually playing against the opposition's top offensive threats.
Bergeron led all Bruins forwards with 56 blocked shots, was second only to David Krejci in ice time with an average of 17:53 a game, and was charged with just 24 giveaways while forcing 49 turnovers. He also remained among the league's elite faceoff men, winning 56.6 percent of the draws he took to finish ninth in the league. At the same time, he put together his best offensive season since 2006-07, the final year before suffering the first and most severe concussion of his career.
Bergeron's 22 goals matched his total from that year and his 57 points were his most since collecting 70 that season. He was the league's First Star for the month of January after posting 8-9-17 totals and a plus-13 in 14 games that month. It was in January that Claude Julien put Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Mark Recchi together as a line, and that unit carried the Bruins' offense for long stretches in the season and playoffs.
Playoff evaluation: Bergeron got off to flying start in the postseason, with his line providing the bulk of the offense against Montreal, as Krejci's unit was quiet for most of that opening-round series. Bergeron led the Bruins in scoring through two rounds with 2-10-12 totals in 11 games, but suffered yet another concussion on a hit from Philadelphia's Claude Giroux in the third period of Game 4 of Boston's sweep of the Flyers. Fortunately, this concussion was not as serious as his past ones and Bergeron missed just two games of the Eastern Conference final.
It took some time to get back to full speed, but he still had 4-4-8 totals in 12 games after his return. He also delivered two of Boston's biggest goals, when he opened the scoring in Game 7 in Vancouver, then put the game out of reach with a shorthanded tally to make it 3-0 in the second period.
Despite the concussion, Bergeron finished with more hits in the playoffs (48) than he had in the entire regular season (45), as he raised his physical game to meet the intensity of the postseason. He also improved his already-impressive faceoff rate, winning 60.2 percent of the draws he took. He was third in the league in the postseason in that category, but his 497 faceoffs more than doubled the combined 182 taken by the two players ahead of him, Boyd Gordon and Chris Drury.
2011-12 outlook: Bergeron has been a mainstay in the Bruins' lineup since debuting as a rookie in 2003-04. With such a long tenure, it's hard to believe that he's still just 25 years old — for a few more days at least, as he turns 26 on July 24.
Bergeron is set to begin his new three-year deal this season, but little should change in his role. He'll still be counted upon to shut down opposing teams' top lines while contributing significantly to Boston's offense, and he'll remain a key part of the team's leadership core both on and off the ice.
One thing will be different. He'll need a new linemate with the retirement of Recchi. That could end up being Tyler Seguin, but even if the youngster doesn't line up next to Bergeron, you can count on Bergeron stepping into Recchi's role as a mentor for Seguin and the rest of the team's young players.
Coming Friday, July 22: Brad Marchand
