Bergeron Believes Changed Bruins Can Find Consistency, Success
BOSTON (CBS) - It's been 12 years since Patrice Bergeron reported to his first Bruins training camp as an 18-year-old rookie months after he was drafted in the second round of the 2003 NHL Draft.
Back then the Bruins' management philosophy was synonymous with disarray, as coaches were coming and going every other season and the roster was in a constant state of flux. So although he's been part of the Bruins' stability the past half a decade, Bergeron's no stranger to the type of changes Boston went through this summer.
Now 30 years old entering his 10th season with an alternate captain's 'A' on his sweater, Bergeron remains a constant on the Bruins' roster and in their locker room. This season he'll also bear some responsibility for making sure general manager Don Sweeney's changes to the roster smoothly integrate into the Bruins' culture.
The changes should make for a different type of training camp for the Bruins, but Bergeron believes the team can handle it and will benefit from the new blood.
"It's going to be different from the past few years. I've been here a little longer, so there's been some years before where it was a complete change," he said after a captains' practice Wednesday at Ristuccia Arena. "So it is going to be different from the past few years, but still I've been through that before and I think it's just about getting to know the guys on and off the ice. And taking the time to do that; we really can't rush it. Everyone's got to feel comfortable. It's also our job as leaders and veteran guys to make guys feel comfortable off the ice and even on and make everyone realize that it's about everyone. It's not just one guy or two guys here, it's about everyone going toward the same direction if you want to have some results."
The addition of forwards Matt Beleskey and Jimmy Hayes, as well as a full season of Brett Connolly, should provide the Bruins' offense with a boost after it ranked in the bottom third of the NHL almost all of last season. One of those three players will probably play right wing next to Bergeron and left wing Brad Marchand.
Another way the Bruins might juice their scoring will be implementing the changes to the system Sweeney and coach Claude Julien spoke about earlier in the summer. Sweeney wants the Bruins to inspire more anxiety in their opponents and be a little more aggressive. They're not going to get away from their defensive mindset, but there might be a little more gambling than we're used to seeing from the Bruins. That might go against three-time Selke Trophy winner Bergeron's nature, but he's ready give the philosophical tweaks a run. After all, he's just one season removed from scoring 30 goals.
"I think [Sweeney] does have a point. I think sometimes we were a little too passive, letting teams attack us and without us really trying to cause turnovers and going back on our toes and getting back on that puck," Bergeron said. "So you know I think it is something that we definitely need to work on. I think it does fall into my style, I guess. I like to do that and that's definitely something that I agree with Don on."
In addition to his all-around great skills, Bergeron's known as a model of consistency on and off the ice. As the Bruins have trickled back to the Boston area a couple weeks before the start of training camp, many returning players have voiced a disappointment about how the Bruins weren't consistent enough in 2014-15. They'll need to model their approach after Bergeron, and he's confident Bruins veterans and newcomers will equally accept the challenge to be better and be accountable to one other.
"That's something we definitely have to fix and work on. I think I've said that a few times before, we all need to be better," Bergeron said. "I think if you want to work on your consistency as a team, everyone individually has to be better. So that's definitely something that we've got to let people know. And I think everyone's smart enough here to know that. It starts now to have the new guys feel comfortable being here and for us to get accustomed to everyone. Then in training camp, the start of the season, we've got to do a good job of finding chemistry and establishing our goals to be effective on the ice."
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.
