Latest news with #PatriceBergeron
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bruins linked to Connor McDavid and record-setting 7-year contract ahead of pivotal choice
Don't count out anyone when it comes to the possible Connor McDavid sweepstakes of next offseason. If the Edmonton Oilers superstar doesn't sign a new contract after his current deal is up at the end of the 2025-26 season, everyone will be interested. Advertisement The Boston Bruins would certainly be on that list. Bleacher Report sees Boston as a possibility, explaining it like this: Even though they have rapidly arrived in the NHL's mushy middle of mediocrity, the Bruins do not seem prepared to start rebuilding or tearing things down. To be more than what they were this past season and more than what their roster figures to look like this upcoming season, they'll need a game-changing No. 1 center. That has been their biggest need since Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retired, and the likes of Casey Mittelstadt, Pavel Zacha and Elias Lindholm are not going to satisfy it. McDavid obviously would. The Bruins are in a big market and are an Original Six franchise that still has eyes on winning. That could potentially be appealing to McDavid. The Bruins are listed last on the B/R list. They're probably a bit of a long shot compared to a team like the Maple Leafs or Rangers. MORE: Red Wings forward announces shock NHL retirement at age 28 But there will likely be a number of factors at play here. McDavid will surely get a record-setting contract, potentially of the max seven-year variety (or eight years in a sign-and-trade). He'll have to make the huge choice to leave Edmonton, of course. But if he does that, anything could happen, even a joining with the Bruins. Advertisement MORE NHL NEWS:
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bruins linked to Connor McDavid and record-setting 7-year contract ahead of pivotal choice
Don't count out anyone when it comes to the possible Connor McDavid sweepstakes of next offseason. If the Edmonton Oilers superstar doesn't sign a new contract after his current deal is up at the end of the 2025-26 season, everyone will be interested. Advertisement The Boston Bruins would certainly be on that list. Bleacher Report sees Boston as a possibility, explaining it like this: Even though they have rapidly arrived in the NHL's mushy middle of mediocrity, the Bruins do not seem prepared to start rebuilding or tearing things down. To be more than what they were this past season and more than what their roster figures to look like this upcoming season, they'll need a game-changing No. 1 center. That has been their biggest need since Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retired, and the likes of Casey Mittelstadt, Pavel Zacha and Elias Lindholm are not going to satisfy it. McDavid obviously would. The Bruins are in a big market and are an Original Six franchise that still has eyes on winning. That could potentially be appealing to McDavid. The Bruins are listed last on the B/R list. They're probably a bit of a long shot compared to a team like the Maple Leafs or Rangers. MORE: Red Wings forward announces shock NHL retirement at age 28 But there will likely be a number of factors at play here. McDavid will surely get a record-setting contract, potentially of the max seven-year variety (or eight years in a sign-and-trade). He'll have to make the huge choice to leave Edmonton, of course. But if he does that, anything could happen, even a joining with the Bruins. Advertisement MORE NHL NEWS:
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Matt Vautour: For Bruins fans, Brad Marchand's second Stanley Cup is both joyful and sad
As they watched Brad Marchand take the Stanley Cup from Sergei Bobrovsky after the Panthers finished off the Oilers in Game 6 on Tuesday, hockey fans in New England absorbed the scene with a mixture of joy and regret. The reasons for both were obvious. Advertisement Joy because a beloved former Bruin won the Stanley Cup that he so badly coveted. Regret because things have sunk badly enough in Boston that his celebration had to happen somewhere else. For the better part of the past 20 years, Marchand embodied what it meant to be a Bruin. He's played bigger and tougher than most players in his weight class. He thrived at both ends of the ice and was at his best in the biggest spots. He was a revered teammate and an incredibly loathsome opponent. For most of his career, he was on a path to spend his entire career in Boston before the team eventually raised his No. 63 to the TD Garden rafters. In 2023, when the Bruins ran away with the Presidents' Trophy, it looked like Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, etc. would get a chance to win that second Stanley Cup in Boston or at least make a legit run at it. But Florida stunned them that year and, in the process, ripped away their status as the Atlantic Division's best team going forward. Advertisement Meanwhile, Boston's fade from contention happened fast, putting them in a spot where trading their aging captain at the deadline was their best move. Marchand isn't done. This postseason potentially earned him around $30 million when free agency hits next month and it probably helped his chances of making Team Canada for next year's Olympics in Italy. But his priority was always about winning another Stanley Cup. Everything that follows will be epilogue in Marchand's story. Fourteen years after he lifted the trophy as a brash kid, Marchand raised it above his head again as a respected veteran. It's a great story, but it ended in the wrong place. But Tom Brady won a Super Bowl in Tampa as the Patriots crumbled behind him. Mookie Betts has won two championships with the Dodgers while the Red Sox are in disarray and now Marchand is celebrating in Florida in the same year that the Bruins finished last in the Atlantic Division. Advertisement It's another sad reminder that the amazing run of titles that started this century in Boston is over. While it's been a popular narrative to compare this to Ray Bourque winning with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001, this is different. Yes, Marchand, like Bourque, is an aging beloved former Bruins captain who was traded elsewhere for one more shot at a Stanley Cup. But unlike Bourque, Marchand didn't ask or want to be moved. Marchand had won a Cup before and Bourque wasn't traded to a team that Bruins fans hate. This was more like if Larry Bird or Kevin McHale had ended up on the Bad Boys era Detroit Pistons. Advertisement Nationally, this playoff run for Marchand has been a true celebration of his evolution from controversial, line-straddling star/rat to a begrudgingly respected elder statesman bound for the Hall of Fame. Marchand was terrific in the finals. He was very good and very under control. He had 10 goals, including two in overtime, and 10 assists in the playoffs, including six goals and no penalty minutes in the finals. Now, Florida forever owns a piece of the Marchand story, which had long been a Boston exclusive. He'll be loved in South Florida the way Mark Recchi or Orlando Cabrera are in Boston. If somebody made a Brad Marchand biopic, he'd be wearing a red Panthers jersey during the movie's climactic final scene. Some of the indelible images of Marchand's career now are alongside Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennet, not just Patrice Bergeron. His signature Stanley Cup performance came this year, not in 2011. Advertisement For Bruins fans, that's sad. More Matt Vautour Columns Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
2025 NHL mock draft roundup: Final No. 7 pick predictions for Bruins
2025 NHL mock draft roundup: Final No. 7 pick predictions for Bruins originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston The 2025 NHL Draft is of the utmost importance to the Boston Bruins. They have the No. 7 overall pick — their highest first-round selection since 2011. If the Bruins keep the pick and don't trade it, the position they need to target is center. Advertisement The Bruins were lucky to have a top-tier center tandem in Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci for well over a decade. The franchise has been unable to draft a worthy replacement for either player, but that drought could end this year. The 2025 draft class is loaded with quality centers. We might even see seven of them taken in the top 10 picks. A talented wing such as Porter Martone or Victor Eklund could be enticing, but the Bruins desperately need a top-six center, and given how expensive that kind of player is to acquire via trade or free agency, the most effective way to get one is through the draft. Which players should the Bruins consider with the No. 7 pick? Here's a roundup of projections from recent expert mock drafts. Nick Goss, NBC Sports Boston: Jake O'Brien, C, Brantford (OHL) 'It's no secret the Bruins need a center. They haven't drafted well at that position for a long time. Luckily for the B's, they have a top 10 pick (their first since 2011) in a draft that's loaded with quality centers. Advertisement O'Brien is the best center available at this point in Round 1. He has a really strong two-way skill set with the high-end offensive talent to consistently create scoring chances for himself and teammates. He tallied 66 assists in 66 games for Brantford last season.' Corey Pronman, The Athletic: Roger McQueen, C, Brandon (WHL) 'Despite their needs, I don't think Boston is as hard pressed to take a center here as the organizations in front of them, in part because six centers in a row just got picked. I could see the Bruins lean toward winger Martone or defenseman Radim Mrtka for that reason but it wouldn't surprise me as well if they took another center. McQueen, O'Brien and Hagens would all be possible fits here.' Scott Wheeler, The Athletic: James Hagens, C, Boston College (NCAA) 'Everyone I've talked to in the last week or so seems to think O'Brien/Martin/Hagens don't get past the Flyers and Bruins at 6-7, and yet one of the top eight guys has to go outside the top seven. I've also heard the Bruins have looked into moving up. I do think it's interesting that the Flyers and Bruins seem to like the same three guys and pick back-to-back, though, and Hagens just makes so much sense for the Bruins as that high-end piece to build around if he's there.' Lyle Richardson, Bleacher Report: Victor Eklund, RW, Djurgarden (Sweden) 'With only one natural right wing among their top 15 prospects, the Boston Bruins could use this opportunity to address that particular need. They could turn to Victor Eklund of the SHL's Djurgårdens IF. NHL Central Scouting ranked him No. 2 among international skaters. Advertisement 'Eklund is the younger brother of San Jose Sharks forward William Eklund. The 5'11', 170-pound Swede had 31 points in 42 games this season for Djurgårdens' HockeyAllsvenskan squad, helping them earn promotion to the SHL alongside teammate and fellow NHL prospect Anton Frondell. ' Mike G. Morreale considers him to be the second-best right wing in this year's draft. Corey Pronman praised Eklund's speed and creativity, while Steven Ellis cited his playmaking and excellent shot. Eklund will likely spend next season with Djurgårdens IF, where he'll garner valuable experience against SHL talent. He has the potential to become a top-six right wing for the Bruins.' Alex Daugherty, The Tennessean: Jake O'Brien, C, Brantford (OHL) 'The Bruins need to reload up the middle and O'Brien has the potential to be a top-six center that can lead the way. He had 98 points in 66 games with the Bulldogs last season.' Sam Russell, Bleacher Nation: Brady Martin, C, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) 'Martin is an accomplished two-way player and has solid defensive instincts. His game doesn't involve any unnecessary risks and is good at cutting passing lanes in the neutral zone.'


Time of India
11-06-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Patrice Bergeron cheers on and sends positive vibes to Brad Marchand ahead of Stanley Cup finals
Patrice Bergeron Brad Marchand,Getty Images While the seasons change, the bond between Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand remains a constant source of inspiration. The duo were teammates in the Boston Bruins from 2009-2023 and also won the Stanley Cup together in 2011. Fourteen years down the line, Bergeron is hoping Marchand achieves victory with the Florida Panthers. The former NHL star reflects on memories with Bergeron and cheers him on as he advances to the last few games of the season. Patrice Bergeron is supporting Brad Marchand in the Stanley Cup Finals With the Florida Panthers winning Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Bill Marchand has cemented his position in the league. While many ardent supporters rally behind him, one of them include his former Bruins teammate, Patrice Bergeron. While the latter has retired from the NHL, he continues to cheer on Marchand and closely follow the matches. In a recent interview with the former Boston Bruins star opened up about his support for Marchand. He shared, 'It's kind of weird seeing him in Florida red, not Bruins black-and-gold. Otherwise, he's the same competitive difference-maker I played with for so many years. It's amazing, and I'm loving it." Patrice Bergeron also showered praises on Marchand's skillsets in the sport and shared, 'Am I surprised at how productive he is, how influential he's been in these playoffs? Not in the least. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Not for a minute. This guy is one of the hardest-working guys you'll ever find. He's so competitive. When people start doubting him, he thrives on that. You're seeing that out of him right now. Tell him he can't do something or that he's slowing down, and it just motivates him. ' Bergeron further added, 'He embraces the whole experience. He loves it." Also Read: Auston Matthews' Maple Leafs target Brad Marchand amid Mitch Marner exit buzz Recalling the time they had spent together, he also shared, 'We'd go for lunch and stuff. His oldest daughter and my daughter are in the same dance class. I miss him, but I'm also a bit envious of him chasing the Cup. It's funny -- people will come up to me and ask if I'm cheering for the Oilers or Panthers. My answer is always the same -- I tell them I'm cheering for 'Marshy.' And I am. I'm his biggest booster right now. I'm cheering for him. I'm trying to send him positive vibes.'