Patrice Bergeron Confident Former Teammates Will Continue ‘Bruins’ Style’

The Bruins still have plenty of question marks when it comes to what lines they will roll out with when the 2023-24 NHL season begins following the retirement of captain Patrice Bergeron.

The recent retiree told NHL.com’s Hughes Marcil before the Pro-Am Gagne-Bergeron charity game in Quebec City that he’s confident the Bruins will still play with the same style they have for the previous decade or so.

“It’s a team that, every year, finds a way to always play the same,” Bergeron told Marcil. “They’re hard to play against because they give up nothing defensively and offensively, everybody contributes.”

Boston will undoubtedly get contributions from stars David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy and Jake DeBrusk, but the Bruins will also look toward Pavel Zacha, Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic to continue building on their successes of last season.

“I still expect the same thing from them,” Bergeron said. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in the players who are on the team at the moment. There’s a good mix. Some guys have been in Boston for several years now, and they know how to run things and get the new guys to get on the same page as them and to play the Bruins’ style. I’m expecting a good season from them.”

Marchand and company will have the added benefit of fan-favorite Milan Lucic joining them in the battle on the ice this season with the forward signing a one-year deal to return to the team he started his career with.

Bergeron may not be on the ice in October, but the six-time Selke winner laced up his skates with former teammates Marchand, Brandon Carlo, Jeremy Swayman, Matt Grzelcyk and Connor Clifton in the charity game organized by Bergeron and former NHL forward Simon Gagne.

“It truly will be special to put the uniform back on for one night,” Bergeron said. “I think that it’s about seven or eight of us on the Bruins who are really good friends, so we’re going to have a real great night taking the ice together.”

The charity game has raised nearly $4 million over the years to benefit Leucan, Le Pignon Bleu, the Philippe Boucher Foundation and the Maurice Tanguay Foundation.

The retired captain knows that when the season starts, he will have a few adjustments to make himself.

“Right now, everything’s great, it’s the offseason,” Bergeron said. “But when the time comes for the season to start, when I would normally resume my hockey routine, there’s definitely going to be some adjustment on that side. It’s something I’ll have to deal with at that point.

“But the daily life of a hockey player, I’ll definitely miss it. I’ve said before, there were some mixed emotions for me in retiring. I’m very much at peace with it inside, but I also know that there’s a lot of stuff I’m going to miss because that was a childhood dream that I got to live for 20 years. It’s a passion.”