Patrice Bergeron’s future at the center of pivotal Bruins offseason ahead

The Boston Bruins’ offseason has begun previously than numerous individuals predicted, and whether or not the crew is in a position to assemble a roster capable of creating a deep operate in upcoming year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs hinges on the final decision of a franchise legend.

Patrice Bergeron’s agreement is about to expire, generating him an unrestricted free agent in July. The Bruins captain is 36 several years old and just finished his 18th NHL period pursuing the team’s 3-2 reduction to the Carolina Hurricanes in Video game 7 of their first-spherical playoff series Saturday evening.

Bergeron reported ahead of the season that he was not focusing on his contractual standing and did not want to discuss it for the duration of the 12 months. He made very similar opinions through Round 1 of the playoffs, such as his press conference after Activity 7.

“It’s also early right now,” Bergeron mentioned when asked about his future. “Not soon after — it’s way too fresh new proper now. It nonetheless stings, certainly, from a tough-fought series. Arrived up limited. Of course, I’m going to have to believe about it, but I’m not there ideal now.”

Brad Marchand has emotional response to question about Bergeron’s future

Bruins head mentor Bruce Cassidy would not know which way Bergeron may be leaning.

“He signifies so a great deal to this franchise,” Cassidy claimed following Sport 7. “We all want him back again, but only he can reply that. I have no inkling. I have not addressed it with him. It’s not my put in the center of the season. He’ll make that selection likely forward.”

 

The Bruins desperately have to have Bergeron to occur back again mainly because it’s tricky to imagine this group getting any prospect at currently being a actual threat in the Eastern Meeting future year with no him.

Heck, the roster has evident flaws even with his title at the best of it.

Let’s commence with Bergeron’s present-day kind. He’s however a person of the most effective players in the league. Barring a key surprise, he must be the runaway winner of the Selke Trophy as the sport’s premier two-way forward. From an analytics standpoint, Bergeron experienced a single of the greatest defensive seasons due to the fact these stats entered the public eye following the 2004-05 lockout. 

Bergeron’s offensive creation does not get adequate credit score. He is coming off his ninth consecutive year scoring 20-plus aims. His playoff scoring has been continually robust, also. The veteran middle posted 7 points (three ambitions, 4 helps) in 7 game titles towards the Hurricanes. He is tallied 126 points in 166 career postseason games.

So, from a effectiveness viewpoint, Bergeron is nowhere near vacant on the gasoline tank.

If Bergeron were being to leave, his departure would develop a substantial gap at initial-line centre. Boston’s longtime No. 2 centre, David Krejci, left the workforce very last offseason to end his job at property in the Czech Republic. B’s standard manager Don Sweeney failed to adequately exchange Krejci. Erik Haula is not a No. 2 center on a championship contender.

A Bruins roster without the need of Bergeron and Krejci leaves Charlie Coyle and Haula as the leading two facilities. That is significantly from perfect, to say the the very least.

And it is really not like there are a myriad of higher-stop free brokers the Bruins could go after to fill Bergeron’s function if he does retire.

Claude Giroux and Evgeni Malkin are two notable facilities with expiring bargains, but they are 34 and 35 several years outdated, respectively. Pierre-Luc Dubois is a restricted free agent, but obtaining individuals gamers via trade or an offer sheet is frequently hard.

The solutions from inside the firm are even far more lackluster. Neither Coyle nor Haula are legit best-6 facilities on a contender. There are no prospective buyers in Providence who could fill that role. Jack Studnicka has nevertheless to show he is a common NHL player. College of Michigan middle John Beecher, who was Boston’s to start with-spherical decide on in 2019, is nowhere around completely ready for a best-6 NHL task.

What about the trade current market? The Bruins most likely you should not have the high-quality of prospective customers or the draft money needed to pull off a big acquisition for a heart able of changing Bergeron. Boston would not very own its 1st- or 3rd-spherical decide on this calendar year. The group has traded away 2023 and 2024 2nd-round picks, also.

Probably if Bergeron will come back again the Bruins could include a couple of items and contend for yet another Cup. But the Eastern Convention is totally loaded. The Tampa Bay Lightning usually are not likely anyplace. The Toronto Maple Leafs are a prime staff. The Florida Panthers are designed to contend for several several years. The Hurricanes have a remarkable youthful core and a great coach. The road to the Stanley Cup Remaining as a result of the East figures to be really hard for a although.

 

Bergeron has some time to make his choice. The 2022 NHL Draft just isn’t till July 8, and absolutely free company commences July 13. The Bruins want him back again and need to have him to return if they are heading to have any prospect of competing through the 2022-23 marketing campaign.