Jim Montgomery said earlier this offseason after being named head coach of the Bruins Bruins that chatting with Patrice Bergeron was like “talking to a coach, not a player.”
Bergeron thinks about the team first and ways to improve, Montgomery explained, even after playing 18 NHL seasons.
So, Montgomery probably is thrilled Bergeron decided to return to Boston on a one-year contract, which the Bruins announced Monday. And Bergeron likewise sounds confident and optimistic about the direction the B’s are headed under their new bench boss.
“We’ve had some great conversations,” Bergeron told reporters Monday during a video conference. “Just going over what we thought of the state of the team, but also as far as Coach Montgomery’s way of thinking and how he saw it and how he wants things to be run and the system. A lot of those conversations that way.
“It went from one subject to the next. It was just a great conversation, and it was also just getting to know him and each other so that it wouldn’t be an unfamiliar face or person when we got going in September. It was more just to get to know each other and starting to work on things.”
Montgomery, hired to replace Bruce Cassidy after the latter was relieved of his duties following the 2021-22 season, inherits a veteran-laden roster that now looks much more formidable with Bergeron and David Krejci rejoining the mix.
The Bruins will be shorthanded to begin the season, as Brad Marchand (hips), Charlie McAvoy (shoulder) and Matt Grzelcyk (shoulder) all are recovering from offseason procedures. But Bergeron explained Monday he expects to be ready for training camp after recently undergoing elbow surgery, and his presence could prove vital in helping Montgomery navigate the early part of the 2022-23 campaign.
