32 Thoughts: The Podcast - Patrice Bergeron

Episode Date: November 9, 2022

Elliotte chats with Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron about his leadership style, memories from the 2011 and 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs, what Jim Montgomery has changed and how he's energized the team, if we'll see him involved with the NHL after his playing career, his relationship with Brad Marchand, if he's exceeded his expectation from when he joined the league 19-years ago, and he tells us his favourite non-Bruins teammate. This podcast was produced and mixed by Amil Delic, and hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman.Audio Credits: NESN.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

that work okay okay all right ready guys welcome to 32 thoughts the podcast presented by gmc and the new sierra at4x he's been described as the closest thing we have to a perfect hockey player since the last perfect hockey player we considered was nick lidstrom his name is patrice bergeron he plays for the Boston Bruins you already knew that now last week Bergeron sat down with Elliot Friedman in downtown Toronto for this conversation I had a little schedule overlap couldn't make it but Elliot was able to sneak in a few of my questions Elliot thank you for letting my goofiness get into this podcast. Topics covered on today's interview

include Bruins culture, Brad Marchand, who I've always felt is the Oscar Madison de Bergeron's Felix Unger. Yeah, nice hip reference there for the kids, Jeffy. His new head coach, Jim Montgomery, life after playing hockey, and both winning and losing in the Stanley Cup final. Yes, a look back at 2011 and 2013.

Really hope you enjoy this conversation. Elliot Friedman and Patrice Bergeron on 32 Thoughts, the podcast. A special player, so here's a special interview. More and more confidence with each game, with each given responsibility that he earns. And here we are in the final three minutes of this game that the Bruins were down 3-0 and really in danger of losing it. To Bergeron, the drive, save, rebound is loose. Sagan kicks it loose. Bergeron scores!

Patrice Bergeron with the point of the dagger in their throats they rip it out of Terrell's hands and kill the beast the Boston Brawls have won it after being three down in the third

one last time for number 37 Patrice Bergeron 1,000 games in the National Hockey League regular season with many more to come and many more highlights to come. Thanks, Patrice. All right, here's Barshad taking the tap from Pasternak back to Pasternak. Saved by Leonard, the rebound.

Bergeron scores in his 1,000th game. Get that puck for him. Guess I'm a good luck charm. Stick around. We've got about 30 games to go. You're invited. Turning defense into offense, one of the Bruins' specialty when they have their evening.

One of the things that I think that the Bruins have been as successful as they are is your culture. This is a bit of a tough question for us. I know you don't like to talk so much about yourself and the me. You like to talk about more of the we. So I'm looking at it from the we point of view. What makes this culture so good? Why has this team been so consistently good for a long time i think it's trying to get the best out of each individual i think we're uh focused on on what you can bring

to the table is make everyone valued i guess is is a better way to put it and it's hard because you know you have uh 13th and sometimes 14th forward or 7th and 8th. So the extra guys for them, it's like, what am I bringing to this team? It's about making sure you've let those guys know that they're a big part of it and just as important as whoever gets the most minutes on our team. And that's the biggest challenge at times, I think, pushing each other to be at our best and to be better, to be a better individual off the ice but also on the ice and in the gym and whatnot. So I think there's a lot of healthy competition on our team.

And it starts with training camp and testing and whatnot, and it goes on. Okay. There's a few stories I heard about you about this that I really like. Number one, people said that everything you do, you do with purpose. You have a reason for doing everything you do, you do with purpose. You have a reason for doing everything you do. Can you give me an example and kind of where does that come from? Because they said you've always, from the moment you were 18 and showed up in the NHL, everything you did had a purpose to it.

I think it comes with taking pride in what I do. I think it's loving what I do as well. I think that might be also from the fact that i always think there's something i can learn and always look at other teammates or guys around the league's game and i'm like wow you know like i i need to put this into my game or find ways to kind of work on that side of of my game because it's not quite there so i think it's it's always been about pushing myself so maybe that's why they see that that side of it where i'm trying to do everything with a purpose i think i'm enjoying everything i do i think i'm i'm enjoying putting in the work to come to the

rink or to go for a workout you know i think to me it's important to do it right yeah i guess it's because i enjoy it who have you stolen from i i like to say bore it's borrowed but who have you stolen from who have you said you've seen i like that i'm gonna do that yeah i think there's a lot of things i think the you know obviously the the shooting like you know pasta has helped me a lot with the way that he shoots the puck i think the you know the stick work is kopitar and but i think datzuk was one of those guys for me that uh i looked up to and uh i was amazed with the way they was able to kind of take the puck away from uh from guys on back checks and whatnot uh and my skill levels

through the roof obviously but and And then probably the work ethic. And that was always there. You have a captain, Zdeno Chara, for 14 years that you learn from and you're able to be alongside him. Obviously, you learn a lot. So guys like that. Was there ever a day where you saw Chara and said, today I'm going to be in the weight room longer than you are?

I don't care how long you're here. I don't care how long you're here. I'm going to be in the weight room longer than you are. I don't care how long you're here. I don't care how long you're here. I'm going to beat you. There's not one day that I was able to beat him because I think he was always kind of – he's one of those guys, dude, if you challenge him to a thing like that, he's going to make sure he stays. He's going to stay there overnight if need be.

So I don't think he can ever win that one. But to see him in the gym after games and practices kind of influences you to kind of do the same, right? So, especially for me, I was 21 when he first walked into the locker room. So I was a young guy. So I learned a lot about that and how to prepare, how to conduct yourself on and off the ice. So, uh, one of the stories I heard was actually during the 2019 Stanley Cup final. And I met the Frederick family in St. Louis.

They were there watching Trent play. It was a tough one for them. You're playing the Blues and their son's on the Bruins. And they told a story about your 1,000th game, I think was his fifth NHL game or something. He was really new. And I guess you got a gift for everybody who was in the organization or on the roster that

night. And they said that you went to him specifically to make sure that he got his gift and felt included. And they said that it was for their son and them. They were unbelievably touched that you would do that. And Patrice, honestly, there are stories like this all the time. Whenever I ask someone about you, I always got that. And someone said to me that the credit probably goes a lot to your mom

because she instilled certain values in you. Would that be correct to say? Yeah, I think it's definitely. Sorry, what's your mom's name first of all? Sylvie. Sylvie. Yeah. And she was a social worker, right?

She was, yeah. And she was a social worker, right? She was, yeah. So she always was, she would always reach out to, you know, in her line of work to people, right? So I think I learned to do that at a young age. And so, yeah, for sure, I think she influenced me to be that person and to try to kind of do the same thing. I think, you know,

I learn a lot by example and by watching. So I think that's kind of what I learned from my mom, one of the things I've learned. And, yeah, I think to go back to that story about Freddie, you know, we talked about how are you able to bring a team together. I think you have to make sure everyone's included, and it goes even if you're gonna buy something for your teammates because they've they've had such a big impact for me to

reach a thousand even the guy that's played five games is a part of this team and should feel included so i think it's important to to point that out to let him know because he at first he didn't want to take it he's like i mean i was i was barely here like and i was like no you're you're a part of this like i bought it for you so don't you better wear it what was just out of curiosity what was it they're uh david german uh necklaces oh nice yeah you know and i've seen like you make people say like if a guy gets traded you whenever you go to their city or they come into boston you always make a point to go see them. Yeah.

I know you hate talking about yourself, but you should know you've left an incredible imprint on a lot of people. Yeah, well, I'm glad. I mean, I always say that it's all about the friendships. At the end of the day, it's all about the friendships and the things that you learn along the way. It's an incredible game, but what this game is going to give me the most is obviously the friendships and the people I've met. I think it's important that you realize that it's a team sport and you don't do this alone.

Even if those guys were there for a short period of time, they had a big impact on me having a good time and me enjoying what i do now one of your longest friendships and teammates is brad marchand i can't imagine there's two people who would seem to be more different what is the relationship like between you and marchand it's great i mean um and you're right a lot say that, you know, we're like the yin and the yang. Yeah, I think it kind of clicked right away. You know, I think he's, you know, as we all know, he's got the energy and he's got, you know, the tamper at times. But just an amazing person, super generous and a great family guy. And, yeah, over the years we just, you know, you play with someone for so long and he's on your left side, and you go through ups and downs, and you create connections beyond just, you know, being friends.

You know, you're obviously best friends. It's like it's a special bond, and, you know, it's something I'm very lucky to have. You know, and actually a few teammates have said that in the past where they're like, they're kind of jealous in a way where they're like, you know, I've never had that because, you i've bounced around or if you guys have said that that you know he's never had the connection with a teammate like we do because we've been playing together for so long so it's kind of when you look back and you know you don't think about it but

then when someone says that you're like i guess you're right you know it's it's pretty special and um we should be thankful for that i'm just wondering if there was a time a few years ago during a game where you turned to him in the room and said, you know, Brad, I was kind of focused on the game tonight, but did I see you lick someone on the ice? Yeah, there's been a few conversations about some of the things that have been done from him. I can't say that I always can control his uh temper uh try at times but he's gotten so

much better over the years and i think like it makes him who he is too you know he just plays with his heart on his sleeve and most night is the heartbeat of our team as well and and so you don't want to change that too much either. So it's a fine line. I wanted to ask you a little bit about 2011 because one of the people I reached out to was Mark Recchi. And he talked about the morning of Game 7 in 2011. And he said that, and Daniel Pais said this too, he said, first of all, that team, you would never have thought

they were playing Game 7 for the Stanley Cup Final. Everybody was so relaxed so calm and recce just said that you and him had a great i don't know breakfast or lunch outside and it's the one thing he always remembered about winning the stanley cup that day i think you're right because it was a five o'clock yeah it was outside yeah so we went for a walk and um we had that conversation because i was you don't want to show it but like you're it's game seven like you're there's some nerves there's some butterflies and everything's at stake right so and you talk to a guy that's been around for so long and has had success so i was just asking him like have you ever been part of a game seven for the cup

and he's like yeah and i was like how'd you do he's like, yeah. And I was like, how'd you do? He's like, I won both. So I was like, all right, so we're good. You know, like, so it kind of helped like put me at ease. Like, and then he was just saying like, it's just not a game. You know, like we, let's not overthink this. Like it's still, it's still a game and we talk about everything. Right. But like, it's just a, it was just nice to have the conversation and to kind of put your mind at ease

and being able to just kind of enjoy the moment. Don't look at the 5 o'clock game right now. Like, right now you're outside enjoying, like, you know, a nice day and you're having a conversation. And I think that's something I've learned over the years to do is, like, you're so caught up in what's coming and what you need to do what's you know like what's i need to work on this and that like this is missing we're not doing well we're like you always got caught up in good or bad like and a lot of stuff and i think like sometimes you need

to kind of take a step back and enjoy the moment and be in the present and kind of so i think that was a teachable moment for me that you know what we're not quite there yet like the game's tonight like let's let me enjoy this you know so it was a nice conversation yeah pae said that when you guys were in the room before the game he was like i've never seen a team so calm yeah before a big game like he said i didn't know we were going to win, but I knew we were going to win because of just how calm everyone was. Yeah, I think you're right. Actually, we landed in Vancouver the day before,

and we didn't practice both times before. So we went for game one and two. We went for game five, and we didn't practice that day. It was a travel day. It was a long flight. So we went just straight to the hotel and went for a walk and had a meal. And game seven, I remember the leadership group saying, let's practice.

Let's set the tone today for tomorrow. Let's go on the ice, kind of have a feel for the building and and we did that and i had a good feeling even then i was like wow i think like i like her mindset you know i just like the practice was guys was sharp it was quick and then went home i had a good meal the next morning and he's's right. That pregame in the locker room, guys were just – you could tell guys were on a mission. And it's usually telling, the preparation and how guys are feeling. There was not much said in that locker room before the game.

Was that the best game you ever played? Yeah, I think so. I think for us as a team it was you know it wasn't perfect but it was an amazing team effort to accomplish that well that's another thing that someone said to me is that when a player gets upset in the dressing room you're unbelievable at handling it you say all right you got it out there you're ready to move on is that the way you do it yeah yeah usually i think it's good to let it out too you know i think move on? Is that the way you do it? Yeah. Yeah, usually. I think it's good to let it out too.

I think sometimes you have to. I'm the same way. But it's like don't get stuck in that moment. Now it's like, okay, you did that. And use that anger or use that to propel you to have a better game and to kind of do something about it. So I think it's always something that I try to tell guys. It's just like, all right, good for you. It probably feels better, so now let's do this.

2013 against Toronto. You guys are down 4-1 in the third period. One of your teammates said, I looked at Bergeron. I saw how calm he was, and I knew that somehow we were going to find a way to win this game. Did you believe that at the time um the fourth goal hurt I'm not gonna lie that didn't help and that's what we say you get one and it's you know now it's a two goal lead it's a hard lead to have because now you start thinking you're like okay if they score one more or we're only one up and it's you know it's in

their building so i think we we always have that that message to the guys that listen you just get one just focus on one and then rest will take care of itself and that's always something that we say i think as a team to try to come back in games it's you look at the end result you look too far it's just not going to get there. It's not always going to happen. But I agree that a lot of guys, I mean, even Looch had that kind of fire in his eyes where he's like, it's not over yet.

And I think when you have a few guys that kind of have that mindset, everyone follows and you need that. 2013 also, the games everybody talks about you was the Stanley Cup final where they realized how hurt you need that. 2013 also, the games everybody talks about you was the Stanley Cup final where they realized how hurt you were after. And what one of your teammates said was, there's a lot of people who have complained a lot more who've been injured a lot less.

I remember when you came out and basically told everybody what you had, nobody could believe you played. Was there ever a question that you weren't going to play we were trying to find a way to for me to play like and actually be able to move on the ice but you know i think you battle so hard for it's 80 82 games and you have like two and a half months of grind absolute grind just to get there and you're like i'm i have to be out there with and obviously like you you don't want to let your teammates down and you also want to be half decent out there as well you don't want to you know as i said letting the team down by by

not playing well so there's a fine line where like you need to make sure you're you're actually able to play but that being said i think it I think it was more trying to find a way to get out there and to play than me not. I wanted to play, and then it was like, all right, what can we do to make this work? And I talked to the medical staff, and we found a way. Now, when that was over and it all came out, did anyone say to you, you're nuts and you shouldn't have played?

My mom. I was going to say say what did sylvie say yeah she wasn't very happy with it she didn't know about the lung the collapsed lung so that's that's when she was like what are you doing so yeah my parents were a little i think they were scared a little bit when they heard all that especially the lung I think the long was kind of like the last draw where they're like, what's going on? There's mixed feelings, I guess. Mixed reviews.

There was both sides of the spectrum, which I can understand. You took some time this offseason before deciding to come back and play. Do you see... I mean, I hope the answer is no, but do you see the end? Um... and play do you see i mean i hope the answer is no but do you see the end um yeah eventually the end is closer than it's been right so i know that i'm not foolish to think that you know there's a lot ahead but i'm trying to enjoy the now and we talked about that earlier you know i think right

now it's especially more at this stage of my career is like i need to enjoy every moment now will you make those decisions at the end of every season or will you ever go into a year and say this is my last season it's a good question i think um i think it's going to come to me when it's the last one. That hasn't happened yet, I assume. No. Once I know, I think I'm going to kind of express that. I think I owe that to everyone involved. And then family, friends, teammates, obviously management,

but also eventually media as well. But time is not quite there yet. Montgomery this year, you guys are having an unbelievable start to the season. How has he changed things and how much has that energized you personally? Yeah, it's been great. Really impressed with the way that he manages the locker room and the guys How much has that energized you personally? Yeah, it's been great. Really impressed with, you know, the way that he manages the locker room and the guys and being able to connect with guys and the conversations. His system is different.

You know, a few tweaks here and there. It's not that different. You know, obviously, like, it still remains, you know, the D zone coverage that we're used to. A few changes here and there. Ne neutral zone is probably the biggest change. But he wants us to be really aggressive. I think defensemen to be extremely aggressive as well on the attack and leading the rush and whatnot.

That's an adjustment for us. I think it's been a good change. But I'm just impressed with his communication and the way he's been handling the bench and the locker room. Somebody said when Lindholm went coast-to-coast the other night in Pittsburgh, they said, that's not the Boston Bruins I know and I've watched. Monty must have loved it. That's for sure.

I think it's a lot more freedom maybe for those guys. But that being said, that's an amazing player, though, that made that play. Lindy's been playing amazing hockey but i think we've we've always had that like but you're right that maybe that these would maybe try to find a forward and not carry it all the way through i don't have an issue with it i think it's i think it's great i think it's uh you have to be careful at times and and and i think that's what we're trying to manage is trying to read when it's okay and when it's okay. It's not the time. Playing Toronto on Saturday night,

I mentioned to a friend of mine who's a big Leaf fan that I was going to meet you today, and he said, can you thank that guy for all the times he's tortured me in his career? The Bruins have big rivals. For you, where does playing in Toronto against the Maple Leafs rank for you? It's up there. It's always special to come to Toronto.

There's something in the building, something about playing the Leafs. I grew up, obviously, as a Canadian boy. I was a Nordiques fan, but still, that being said, Montreal, Toronto, Boston were all kind of big games, right? So yeah, it's extra special. Saturday night, Hawking in Canada is, for me, great memories as a kid. So all that put together is always a lot of fun to come back.

Always a lot of fun to come back to Canada. Yeah, just great memories. Some players say it's more fun beating Toronto than any other team. Is that true? I can't say it's more fun than, let's say, Montreal. For me, anyways. You know, as I said, I was a Nordiques fan.

So I think that's pretty telling. And yeah, grew up like two and a half hours from Montreal. So it's always kind of extra special, if I can say it, to beat them and to play there too and have a lot of respect for the organization the history but the leaves is definitely up there you know um I'm not gonna lie it's probably my if I have to rank it's probably second with them and MSG and playing Rangers you know it's it's pretty special as well but you know Toronto is is uh is fun, but it's obviously a lot more fun when you're winning. That brings me to a Jeff Merritt question, which is a great question.

He mentioned you're a Nordic fan. You talked about it. If the NHL came back to Quebec City, would you play a season there if you could? That's a great question. I would have to think about that one, I think. Because you're a Bruin. Exactly. I think it would be hard for me to leave the Bruins.

If there'd be one place that I would consider, it would be Quebec City. Yeah. Will you be involved in the NHL when your playing career is done? Good question. I feel like I haven't really thought about it yet i'm not sure i mean you know i think it's gonna be hard to take the game away from me but at the same time i think

my i value a lot of my family time and and once i'll be there it's gonna be all about you know spending time with my kids and family so i think it I'm going to have to really take the time to look into what that entails and how much time that would mean and away from my family and whatnot. So as we all know, it's a great lifestyle, but it's also busy and you're away from your family a lot. So I'd like to kind of catch up on that when I'm done. Will you coach your kids? Do your kids play?

My youngest wants to. My oldest does not. Okay. And my daughter hasn't. She gets on skate at times, but she said no to learn to skate and learn to play type of programs. So we'll see for her. But my youngest seems like he wants to.

So the question is if you want to coach them. Yeah, would you coach them? If they ask me, I probably would. I think early on, just try to help out and get involved somehow with my kids' team. So it would be kind of fun. Last week, Kevin Biaxia got ejected from a game for the first time ever, and he said he did nothing wrong. Could you see yourself getting ejected from coaching a kid's hockey game?

I don't think so. I mean i i guess i shouldn't say that you never know but um i feel like i would try to be on the calmer side of coaching if i if i'd be a coach i let the kids kind of learn enjoy themselves i want to ask you about your training camp your first one there were guys who showed up at that training camp and they saw you play and they said how long has that guy been in the ahl and they were they were like he just got drafted and they couldn't believe it i want to take you back there and just what do you remember about that and did you think you'd make an impact so quickly what i remember is know, I was just trying to take everything in, right? I was just trying to soak everything in. And I knew that every day could be the day that you were sent back.

So it was like leave an impression. That was my motto was just to leave an impression to the organization, to the coaching staff that it might not be this year, but, you know, like I'm coming. Like I want to have a spot on this team. But as it progressed, I had the conversation with the Quebec scout at the time, Daniel Doré, and he said, hey, you're opening eyes right now. You're going to get a game in Montreal. I wasn't supposed to play exhibition games. Then they gave me the first game and ended up scoring in overtime.

I was supposed to go back to juniors from Montreal, go to my junior team. And they're like, you're coming back. You're going to play the next game. So it was kind of a cool, like, I have great memories of that training camp, I guess is what I'm trying to say. It was a special one just to play with some of the guys you idolized and you watched growing up and and now you're actually playing with them and passing the puck with them were you shocked to

make the team when you got there i was yeah but i think like i i talked about making an impression and i think like once like they were giving me games and i kept playing i was like all right now i i think i have a shot so then i was like i want to make now I think I have a shot. So then I was like, I want to make it. I want to find a way to put in the extra work if needed to really stick at this point. But I don't think my mentality at the beginning was that. Favorite non-Bruins teammates from your World Juniors or World Cup or Olympics?

Favorite non-Bruins teammates. Sid and Shea Weber. Oh, yeah? I mean, we know each other from the juniors, and then we played with Sid at the World Championship. I played with Webbs and Sid at the Olympics, the World Cup. So we've been together for a long time. We kind of grew up in the league together as well.

So I felt like we had a pretty special bond. During those times, those tournaments would kind of hang out a lot. So, yeah. Did you ever say to Weber, like, easy on the lumber, we're supposed to be friends here? It wouldn't matter if I said that. I think it'd go even harder. There's no friends on the ice.

You don't always say that. So I knew that was the case with him. So I wasn't surprised if he'd come at me in the corner. I knew there was no hard feelings, or I think so anyways. Maybe there were some. And just last one for you. That was almost 19 years ago, Pat, when you first made the Boston Bruins. And I'm just wondering, have you exceeded your own expectations

in terms of what you thought? Yeah, I think you never imagine or dream of playing for this long. So yes, in a way, I think I've always been, especially more so as I got older, to kind of be thankful and recognize like the gift that I've been given. So I think there's been a lot of that uh you know trying to thank the i guess the people up there to to give me that chance but that being said i think it's yeah probably in a way it's exceeded my wildest dream you know to play for this long so i'm thankful every day for for that is there anything you haven't done yet that you still look at and say, I'm going to do this before I retire?

That's a good question. I think for me it's always, you know, I'd like to win again. You know, it's definitely that. It's cliche. Everyone says that. So you're never going to be able to replicate the emotions and the feeling of winning with your teammates. So it's such a special

bond, a special moment that I'd like to do that again. Thank you so much. Thank you. I was extremely messy at that time. Oh yeah? I was 18 years old. Thanks.