Bruins legend Patrice Bergeron elected to Hall of Fame on 1st ballot

Former Boston Bruins captain and forward Patrice Bergeron on Monday was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. His induction ceremony is scheduled for Nov. 9 in Toronto as part of the Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2026.

The selection comes less than a week after Boston announced that Bergeron’s No. 37 jersey will be retired during the 2026-27 season. He will become the 14th player in franchise history to receive that distinction.

The Bruins selected Bergeron with the 45th overall pick in the second round of the 2003 NHL Draft. He made his NHL debut on Oct. 8, 2003, and spent his entire 19-year NHL career with Boston before retiring in July 2023.

Over 1,294 regular-season games, Bergeron recorded 427 goals and 613 assists for 1,040 points. He became just the fourth player in Bruins history to reach 1,000 career points, joining Ray Bourque, Johnny Bucyk, and Phil Esposito. He also became the 41st player in NHL history to rack up 1,000 points with a single franchise. At retirement, he ranked third in franchise history in goals, points, and games played.

Bergeron built a reputation as one of the league’s premier two-way players. He won the Selke Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s top defensive forward, a record six times. He was also a finalist for the award in each of his final 12 NHL seasons, another league record.

Bergeron finished his career with 15,182 faceoff wins, third-most in NHL history, and recorded a 57.9 percent career success rate. He led the NHL in faceoff wins eight times and in faceoff percentage five times, while surpassing a 60 percent win rate in five separate seasons.

Team success also defined Bergeron’s career. He helped the Bruins win the Stanley Cup in 2011, ending the franchise’s 39-year championship drought, and reached additional Stanley Cup Finals in 2013 and 2019. In the playoffs, he appeared in 170 games and produced 128 points, including 50 goals and 78 assists. His 128 postseason points are tied for third in Boston’s history.

Bergeron also excelled internationally. A member of the Triple Gold Club, he won Olympic gold medals with Canada in 2010 and 2014 and captured the IIHF World Championship in 2004. He also represented Canada at the 2006 World Championship, the 2017 World Cup of Hockey, and was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in May 2026.

His career honors also include the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 2012-13 and the Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2020-21. Bergeron now becomes the 54th player affiliated with the Bruins to enter the Hockey Hall of Fame and joins former teammate Zdeno Chara as another franchise icon to receive first-ballot Hall of Fame recognition.

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