Patrice Bergeron mastered it all, even the graceful goodbye.
He spent 19 seasons with the Bruins as the ideal all-around player, a faceoff-winning, goal-scoring, authentic first-line center who was so adept for so long defensively that the Selke Trophy ought to be renamed “The Bergy.”
And by all accounts, he is a better teammate and person than he is a player. That’s an extraordinary feat of character given that his on-ice achievements will be celebrated with a Hockey Hall of Fame induction.
More on Patrice Bergeron:
In terms of how he carried himself as a Boston superstar athlete, it seems to me that Bergeron is essentially the modern-day John Havlicek, albeit not quite as accomplished individually or in matters of team achievement.