The Boston Bruins offseason has been centered around trying to entice their captain Patrice Bergeron to not retire and come back for another season with the B's. Those efforts finally paid off this morning, when it was announced that Bergeron had decided to return to the Bruins on a one-year, $2.5 million deal, ensuring Boston's longtime star will be on the ice for at least one more season.
BERGY 🕺 IS 🕺 BACK 🕺
Patrice Bergeron has signed a one-year deal with the @NHLBruins! pic.twitter.com/auc16Oeefy
— NHL (@NHL) August 8, 2022
Bergeron's deal could reach $5 million in total value if all the incentives in the contract are reached. While the terms of those incentives are not known, it may be unlikely that Bergeron will hit every incentive in his deal.
Re-signing Bergeron was the Bruins prime objective this offseason. It wasn't so much a question of whether Bergeron would leave in free agency, but whether or not he would be returning for the 2022-23 campaign. Now that he is, it appears Boston is poised to make another playoff run this upcoming season.
Bergeron's presence on the B's top line is crucial, even as he enters his age 37 season. Bergeron is one of the best two-way centers in the game, and without him, Boston would have been in a lot of trouble, especially considering key contributors such as Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy aren't going to be ready for the start of the season.
But with Bergeron back on board, he should be able to help keep the Bruins afloat in time for the rest of his teammates to return. And while Boston's roster still needs a lot of work if they intend on being Stanley Cup contenders, bringing back Bergeron was the most important piece of the puzzle. The Bruins were facing a potential rebuild, but Bergeron re-signing shows they will be a playoff contender yet again for the upcoming season.
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