Bruins Preview: Patrice Bergeron Jersey Card

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: 2020 is a different beast and requires adaptability; in my case, it means the joint posts with my "main/personal" blog will not be in the "player here/analysis there" format but rather the entire scope of the analysis will take place here and the player will have some sort of direct connection to what's written. Caveats: at this point, despite the season being set to start in Mid-January, several impact players haven't found a team yet and quite a few teams are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much maneuvering left to do.

One team that saw its situation get more problematic with the realignment this year is the Boston Bruins, who go from being one of two powerhouse teams in the Atlantic with the Tampa Bay Lightning and be nearly assured of at least one round of home ice advantage in the playoffs to joining the Metropolitan with perennial division winners Washington Capitals, contenders Philadelphia Flyers, the NHL's best-coached team (the New York Islanders), recent two-time Stanley Cup winners Pittsburgh Penguins, two teams that are nearing the end of their rebuilds in the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres, and the New Jersey Devils. With Brad Marchand possibly still suffering from a serious injury to some extent and Rocket Richard Trophy co-winner David Pastrnak set to miss six weeks (i.e. close to half the season), the Bs will be fighting for their spot all year.

What makes their odds look good:
They still have the best goaltending duo in the league in Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak, for starters, so regardless of the team in front of them, they will always be in the game; Patrice Bergeron is still a two-way wonder, the middle-six is a solid if unimpressive blue collar-type of mix that always seems to fare well in Boston, and Bruce Cassidy has done a masterful job since taking over behind the bench in 2017.

Question marks:
With Bergeron still on board, I don't really fear a leadership "void" with the absence of Zdeno Chara on the blue line, as the giant's role had diminshed a lot in recent years with the steady play of Torey Krug and the rise of Charlie McAvoy, but don't sleep on Brandon Carlo, who is effective when on his game. Still, this is a defense that compares more with that of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets than the Flyers'. And Pastrnak's goals will be hard to replace.

Outlook:
The Flyers and Capitals are in a zone of their own, the Devils are a mess, theSabres' goaltending will sink them, the Rangers are clmbing and Pens are falling, which leaves the Bruins and Isles as the above average teams that should make the playoffs. But missing them and obtaining a high draft pick in a contract year for Rask that would bring his value down and getting back at it next year while essentially riding Pastrnak's injury out wouldn't be the end of the world, either.

Prediction:
Fourth in the Metro.

What was the sense since 2006 until concussion issues derailed his early career and Chara took the actual "C" actually came to fruition today when Bergeron was named the team's 20th captain, and only the fourth Quebecer to earn the title after Sprague Cleghorn (1925-27), Léo Boivin (1963-1966) and Ray Bourque (1985-2000). Here he is wearing the Bruins' white jersey on card #TS-BE from Upper Deck's 2012-13 Artifacts collection and Treasured Swatched sub-set:

It features two matching game-worn jersey swatches. I got it in a trade a couple of years ago.

At this point, Bergeron is tied with Bob Gainey with four career Selke trophies, the award for best defensive forward. He looks poised for a Hall Of Fame nod at the end of his career.

Patrice Bergeron Jersey Card

Patrice Bergeron is making quite a nice little reputation for himself on the international stage with Team Canada, what with six world titles now that he has helped secure the 2016 World Cup thanks to scoring the game-tying goal with three minutes left in the decisive game. On the powerplay, no less.

He has also won gold at the Olympics (2010 and 2014), the World Championships (2004), the Spengler Cup (2012), and the World Juniors (2005). He won the MVP title in the latter, playing on a team that included regular national team teammates Sidney Crosby and Carey Price.

The two-time All-Star and Stanley Cup champion (2010-11, becoming the 25th member of the Triple Gold Club) also has three Selke Trophies as the league's best defensive forward, in an era where Jonathan Toews, Pavel Datsyuk, Marian Hossa and Tomas Plekanec are also active (and dominating the two-way aspect of the game).

Here he is sporting his country's colours and the alternate captain's "A", on card #GJ-PB from Upper Deck's 2014-15 Series 2 set and UD Game Jersey sub-set:

It features a red game-worn Team Canada jersey swatch that matches the one he's pictured in.

Two Patrice Bergeron Jersey Cards

Sometimes you're lucky, most times you aren't. This time, I was.

Here are two different-coloured jersey cards from Upper Deck's 2006-07 Trilogy Honorary Swatches (card HS-PB) line of Patrice Bergeron, a Boston Bruins player I actually like. One of them is white, likely from the all-white jersey, and the other one's yellow, likely from a shoulder of wrist or bottom of either the home or away jersey. All I'd need to be really happy with these would be a black one, to complete all three official Bruins colours.

Bergeron was on his merry way to become a star player in the NHL: an All Star Game appearance, invitations to represent Canada in three straight World Championships (two gold medals), a long-term contract with the Bruins as their first-line center (before the arrival of Marc Savard) collecting nearly a point per game and being named Associate Captain to Zdeno Chara.

Unfortunately, a cheap hit by Randy Jones of the Philadelphia Flyers on October 27th, 2007 has cost him a full season and slowed his progress a bit, but he has shown flashes of recovery last year, totalling 39 points in 64 games.

It's good enough that he will not suffer permanent damage because of the cheap shot, now here's hoping he returns to form as one of the most promising players under the age of 30.

Mike Ribeiro - Patrice Bergeron Jersey Card

The Montréal Canadiens - Boston Bruins rivalry has spawned great moments for hockey fans (as well, apparently, as other seasons' SPX sets), and the Montréal-Québec rivalry has spawned countless arguments in Quebecers' families. Here's a card that puts both rivalries to good use - perhaps without even knowing it.

Montréal native Mike Ribeiro, seen here in his former team's jersey, the white Habs uniform, coming off a season where he led the team in points, shares the bill with Québec-born Patrice Bergeron of the Bruins - also in his team's whites.

This card (# WC-MP from Upper Deck's 2005-06 SPX series) is numbered 007/350, and what makes it so special is that Bergeron's side is actually comprised of two colours - back and white - which likely means it was taken from the stripe at the bottom of the jersey, or the sleeve, both of which hold a slimmer chance of making in onto a jersey card as, say, a piece of the chest or back.

Also of note is that this was to be Ribeiro's final year playing for his hometown team, as he was traded to the Dallas Stars before the start of the 2006-07 season, days after having agreed to a raise. In october 2007, Bergeron's playing days were almost over after he suffered a broken nose and 'Grade 3' concussion after a questionable hit from behind by Randy Jones.