PLYMOUTH — With names like Zdeno Chara and David Krejci no longer donning black-and-gold sweaters, it's rather apparent that this fruitful era of Bruins hockey is coming to a close.
Just not quite yet.
That finality won’t come until the captain of the franchise in Patrice Bergeron officially slams the window shut with his eventual retirement. But for as much as the 36-year-old pivot has continued to defy Father Time and thrive as a legit top-line star in today’s NHL, Bergeron is cognizant of the fact that the end of his playing days does indeed loom on the horizon.
All good things do come to an end — and it might be coming even sooner than some Bruins fans want to admit.
Bergeron’s standing as one of the premier two-way forwards in the game hasn’t taken a hit even as he continues to tack plenty of mileage onto his 18-year career, but the future Hall of Famer did note on Wednesday that he’s focused on playing out the final year of his current deal — and then keeping an open mind about his future.
“It’s something that a lot of people have asked me this summer, and the way that I approach it this year is I want to concentrate on this year,” Bergeron said during his media availability at the annual Boston Bruins Foundation golf tournament at Pinehills Golf Club. “I have a year left on my contract and I think it would be useless for me to think about the future. I want to create something special. We want to work toward winning a Stanley Cup. I know everyone says that, but it’s definitely our goal as a team. I think we’re always competitive to be in that group of teams. I think that’s where my focus is at right now.”
Bergeron, who is entering the final season of the eight-year, $55 million contract that he inked back in 2013, is not concerned about letting his current deal expire next summer. When asked about the possibility of extending his tenure in Boston by signing a new deal at some point during the 2021-22 campaign, Bergeron was candid.
“I’m going to play out this year and talk about that after,” the veteran remarked.
Obviously a potential future without Bergeron entrenched at the 1C spot in 2022 and beyond is not the reality that most B’s fans want to entertain — especially weeks ahead of the start of this current 2021-22 campaign.
But, of course, Bergeron’s remarks on Wednesday didn’t explicitly mean that the star center is going to hang up his skates and call it quits once his current deal expires. Rather, he very well could follow a similar contractual trajectory as his former teammate in Chara — opting to go year to year with his new contracts rather than lock in to, say, a three or four-year contract to round out his career.
Going year-to-year with contracts and giving himself the freedom and flexibility to call it quits on his own timeline might be the proper plan for all involved — especially given the various injuries that Bergeron has trudged through over the years.
Bergeron made it through the 2021 campaign with a relatively clean bill of health — appearing in 54 games, posting 48 points and finishing second in voting for the Selke Trophy once again.
But given the wear and tear that is to be expected over the course of a full 82-game slate, coupled with a few recurring ailments such as an ailing groin that has plagued him in years past, Bergeron is remaining cautious when it comes to the prospect of a healthy 2021-22 season.
“I shouldn't talk about that — I guess I don't want to jinx myself,” Bergeron said of his ability to avoid the injury bug last year. “But I feel good. I feel healthy and confident. And mentally, I'm excited. I want to play this year, and have a good year as a team, and, again, that's what my focus is. But I do feel great.”
Bruins fans are likely hoping that such positive (albeit measured) sentiment regarding his health extends for at least a few more years. Because if Bergeron believes his play on the ice is slipping below his standards — be it due to health or production — then the writing might be on the wall that this era of Bruins hockey has indeed reached its end.
OTHER NOTES:
Offseason surgery solved years of issues for Coyle
No Bruin may be entering the 2021-22 season with more pressure on them than Charlie Coyle — who is not only looking for a clean slate after a massively disappointing 2021 campaign (6 goals, 16 points over 51 games), but is also expected to be the first man up for the unenviable task of stepping into David Krejci’s shoes in Boston’s 2C role.
But there are few things working in Coyle’s favor as he attempts to carve out a top-six role in the B’s lineup. Not only will the 29-year-old pivot be granted a strong arsenal of wingers on the second line with Taylor Hall and Craig Smith — but Coyle is also expected to be handed a clean bill of health for the first time in a long time.
The Weymouth native underwent offseason knee surgery this past summer to repair an avulsion fracture in his left kneecap and a small tear of the patellar tendon — correcting a series of ailments that sure seemed to sap some of the big-bodied forward’s ability to playing keep-away with puck in the O-zone last season.
But Coyle, who has been back on the ice for a couple weeks now as part of his rehab, noted on Wednesday that his knee issues were not a red flag that suddenly popped up this past season. Rather, he’s been dealing with it for a few years now.
“I really didn’t know what it was for a while,” Coyle said Wednesday. “It’s been two or three years, it just progressively had gotten worse over the last couple, and then we finally addressed it, found out what it was, so then we took care of it. Hopefully put that behind me and be good to go.”
Granted, it’s a bit unrealistic to expect Coyle to suddenly turn a corner and become a 70+ point guy as a second-line center after getting his knee taken care of. What you see might be what you get with Coyle, who can and should still make a dent as a 2C if he’s able to regain his form as a puck-possession ace capable of extending O-zone time and letting his linemates set themselves up in Grade-A ice.
There’s a lot riding on Coyle’s ability to step into that 2C role and produce, but at least the forward is putting himself in the best possible position out of the gate with a healthy knee for the first time in years.
“When opportunities are out there — you always want to improve yourself,” Coyle said. “Make yourself better, a better player for your team. And when there's new opportunities, you want a number of guys who are going to be fighting for that spot, which will internally make our team better. So I think that internal competition is gonna be great for us."
Swayman isn’t sweating uncertainty in net
The stars sure seem aligned for Jeremy Swayman to run with a regular role up in the NHL ranks this season, but a lot can change for the B’s rookie — and Boston’s goalie corps as a whole — if Tuukka Rask does eventually return later this season.
At this point, it sure seems like Swayman is set to split reps with Boston’s potential No. 1 option in Linus Ullmark — with training camp and preseason matchups serving as the primary determinant in just how those reps are divvied up. But if Rask does potentially return in 2022, it suddenly becomes a whole lot tougher to map out just how a suddenly crowded goalie rotation would function down the stretch.
But with so many dominoes yet to fall, Swayman isn’t letting Rask’s potential return affect his preparation as he looks to make the decision easy for Boston when it comes to augmenting its goaltending group in 2022.
“He’s doing his job well and I want to do my job well,” Swayman said of Rask. “I think both of us want to do whatever is best for this team to win, and that’s all I care about is whatever is best for this team, so I’m going to do my job while I can and I’m sure he’s going to do the same, so I’m super excited to see what he does and likewise for me.”