Minor hockey He played in the 1998 and 1999
Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a
minor ice hockey team from
Sainte-Foy, Quebec City. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 2001 QMJHL Draft out of AAA Bantam hockey with the Sainte-Foy Gouverneurs. The following year, he played A hockey for the Séminaire St-François Blizzard before reporting to the
Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Boston Bruins (2003–2023) Beginnings (2003–2007) Bergeron was drafted 45th overall in the
2003 NHL entry draft by the
Boston Bruins. During his rookie season, he was selected for the
NHL YoungStars Game in
Minnesota as part of the
2004 All-Star weekend. He finished his rookie season with 39 points in 71 games. His first NHL goal came versus the
Los Angeles Kings on October 18, 2003, in a 4–3 Boston road victory. He would then score the overtime-winning goal in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals against the rival Montreal Canadiens on April 9, 2004. during the
NHL lockout.|upright Due to the
2004–05 NHL lockout, Bergeron played for Boston's minor league affiliate, the
Providence Bruins of the
American Hockey League (AHL), tallying 61 points in 68 games. As the NHL resumed the
following season, Bergeron led the Bruins with a career-high 31 goals and 73 points. He played the majority of the season with linemates
Brad Boyes and newcomer
Marco Sturm, who had been acquired in a trade that sent captain
Joe Thornton to the
San Jose Sharks in November 2005. Then-Bruins general manager
Mike O'Connell recalled in a June 2011 interview that the organization had decided to build the team around Bergeron instead of Thornton, preferring the former's on- and off-ice character. Playing under a defensive system employed by new head coach
Dave Lewis, he recorded his second consecutive 70-point campaign in
2006–07 with 22 goals and 48 assists. He again played alongside Sturm and Boyes until the latter was traded late in the season. Bergeron was hampered the majority of the season by a nagging shoulder injury.
Establishment, Stanley Cup title, two more Stanley Cup Finals, "Perfection Line" era (2007–2020) After recording three goals and four assists in the first ten games of the
2007–08 season, Bergeron suffered a season-ending head injury during a game on October 27, 2007.
Checked from behind by
Philadelphia Flyers defenceman
Randy Jones, Bergeron hit his head on the end-boards, knocking him unconscious. He lay motionless on the ice for several minutes before being wheeled off on a stretcher and taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was diagnosed with a broken nose and a grade-three
concussion. Bergeron made his first public statements regarding the injury on November 8, saying he would not take any legal action and that Jones had tried to contact him to apologize. On January 19, 2008, the
Boston Globe reported Bergeron had been sent on vacation by then Bruins general manager
Peter Chiarelli and that he would likely sit out for the remainder of the season as his recovery had regressed. In March 2008, Bergeron started preliminary on-ice practice with Bruins goaltender
Manny Fernandez, who was himself recovering from knee surgery. He steadily progressed into full-contact practices in early-April, aiming for a playoff return against the
Montreal Canadiens in the opening round; however, he was held back by team doctors. In June 2008, Bergeron was reported as being symptom-free during off-season training. He participated in the Bruins' summer development camp (typically for Bruins prospects) with Fernandez, before joining the Bruins' main training camp. He returned to action with the Bruins for the team's preseason opening game on September 22, 2008, against the Montreal Canadiens, an 8–3 victory played in
Halifax, Nova Scotia. After the
2008–09 season began, on October 23, Bergeron scored his first goal since his concussion, in a 4–2 home loss to the
Toronto Maple Leafs. Two months later, in a game against the
Carolina Hurricanes on December 20, Bergeron collided with opposing defenceman (and future Bruin)
Dennis Seidenberg, suffering another concussion. He lay face down on the ice while being attended to by team trainers and eventually left the ice under his own power. He was released from the hospital the day after the collision and placed on
injured reserve. (Seidenberg and Bergeron later became teammates on the Bruins after a trade for
Byron Bitz to the Florida Panthers in 2010 to acquire Seidenberg.) Bergeron returned after being sidelined for one month and completed the season with 39 points in 64 games. In
2009–10, Bergeron scored 52 points (19 goals, 33 assists) and played in 73 games. During the
2010 playoffs, he scored four goals and added seven assists for 11 points in all 14 games as the Bruins upset the
Buffalo Sabres in the first round before being defeated in seven games by the Philadelphia Flyers (despite initially having a 3–0 series lead at one point). Halfway into the
2010–11 season, Bergeron scored his first career NHL
hat-trick in a Bruins 6–0 victory over the
Ottawa Senators on January 11, 2011. Bergeron took a hit from
Claude Giroux on May 6, in game four of the second round in the
2011 playoffs against the Philadelphia Flyers, causing a mild concussion that kept Bergeron out of the first two games of the third round against the
Tampa Bay Lightning before eventually returning to the lineup in game three to help the Bruins eventually defeat the fifth-seeded Lightning in seven games. On June 1, during game one on the
Stanley Cup Final against the
Presidents' Trophy-winning-
Vancouver Canucks, Canucks' forward
Alexandre Burrows allegedly bit Bergeron's finger during a scrum. No penalty was called and the NHL did not fine or suspend Burrows because the alleged bite was not supported by any evidence except a video of Burrows biting Bergeron's glove while his hand was still inside it and bite marks on Bergeron's finger. The Bruins lost games one, two, and five away by one goal, but won games three, four, and six at home in one sided fashions, tying the series at three games apiece. On June 15, Bergeron scored two goals in game seven of the series (including the game and series winner) against Canucks goaltender
Roberto Luongo in a 4–0 victory over a Canucks in the game and 4–3 victory in the series, as the Bruins captured their sixth Stanley Cup in franchise history and first since
1972 and overcoming a 3–2 series deficit in the process. Bergeron also became the 26th member of the
Triple Gold Club. He is engraved on the Stanley Cup using his birth name, Patrice Bergeron-Cleary. After the close of the
2012 playoffs, even with the defending Stanley Cup champion Bruins eliminated in the first round in seven games by the seventh-seeded
Washington Capitals, Bergeron's constant defensive efforts on the ice earned him the
Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward for the
2011–12 season for the first time in his career. After finishing second in Selke Trophy voting for the
lockout-shortened
2012–13 season (only behind
Chicago Blackhawks forward and captain
Jonathan Toews), Bergeron turned in a heroic playoff performance in the
2013 playoffs which included the tying- and game-winning goals against the fifth-seeded Toronto Maple Leafs in game seven of Round 1, and the overtime winner in game three of the Eastern Conference Final against the top-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins. Earlier, in the third round series against the Penguins in game one on June 1, 2013, he and
Evgeni Malkin fought at centre ice, leading to Malkin knocking off Bergeron's helmet before they both threw off their gloves to fight. The two continued to throw blows even while referees attempted to separate them. In the following
2013–14 season, Bergeron reached the 30-goal mark for the second time in his career, achieving a total of 30 goals and 32 assists, and was a major factor as the Bruins won the Presidents' Trophy as the regular season champions. For his performance in the regular season, Bergeron was awarded his second career Frank J. Selke Trophy, as well as the
NHL Foundation Player Award. He was named as the cover athlete for the
NHL 15 video game in the same ceremony. Towards the end of the
2014–15 season, on February 23, 2015, in a game against the Chicago Blackhawks, Bergeron scored his 200th career goal on Hawks' goaltender
Corey Crawford as the Bruins would clinch a 6–2 victory in the game. Bergeron, who has played his entire NHL career as a member of the Bruins since they drafted him in 2003 in the second round, became the 17th player in franchise history to score 200 or more career goals for the club. Despite the Bruins missing the
2015 playoffs by just two points in the league standings, Bergeron was awarded the Selke Trophy for the second straight season and third time altogether after being named a finalist for the fourth consecutive season and time in his career. Despite the Bruins narrowly missing the
playoffs again by having missed by just three points, Bergeron was named a finalist for the Selke Trophy for the fifth consecutive year after recording 32 goals, 36 assists and 68 points although the Selke Trophy would get awarded
Los Angeles Kings forward
Anže Kopitar. Bergeron's play during the
2016–17 season was hampered by a
sports hernia that occurred at some time early in the season, but which was only revealed on April 25, 2017, after the Bruins were defeated in the first round of the
2017 playoffs in six games by the Ottawa Senators. Bergeron's sports hernia was operated on May 8, and he was expected to be ready for the Bruins' training camp before the
2017–18 season began. Bergeron played 79 games with 21 goals, 32 assists and 53 points in the season with first line of him,
Brad Marchand and
David Pastrňák labeled as "The Perfection Line" by the media. Bergeron was awarded his fourth career Selke Trophy after being named a finalist for the sixth consecutive season and sixth time in his career altogether. Near the halfway point of the 2017–18 season, on January 6, 2018, in a 7–1 home win for the Bruins over the
Carolina Hurricanes, Bergeron scored four goals, including Bergeron's first-ever NHL
natural hat trick, bringing his scoring-point total (goals/assists combined) to 702 in his NHL career. Five games later, on January 18, Bergeron recorded the third hat-trick of his career (and second of the season) in a 5–2 win over the
New York Islanders. After blocking an opposition shot with his right foot on February 24 against the hosting Toronto Maple Leafs, Bergeron discovered two days later he had broken a bone in his foot and would remain out of action for two weeks pending further evaluation of his foot fracture. By March 19, Bergeron had been able to start practicing his skating with the team. Bergeron was cleared to play in the Bruins road game against the
Minnesota Wild on March 25, recording assists on each of the goals scored in the Bruins' 2–1 overtime win. Bergeron ended the season with 30 goals, 33 assists for 63 points in 64 games played and was named a finalist for the Selke Trophy for the seventh consecutive time in his career and seventh time altogether, which eventually went to Anže Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings. The
2018–19 season for the Bruins saw Bergeron achieve some impressive milestones in his NHL career: on December 22, 2018, Bergeron scored his 300th goal in a 5–2 win over the
Nashville Predators on Predators goaltender
Pekka Rinne. On February 5, 2019, Bergeron played in his 1,000th NHL game, all with the Bruins, scoring two goals in a 3–1 home ice win against the visiting New York Islanders By the late-season games of the 2018–19 season, Bergeron was set to break the 800-point milestone in his NHL career, which was achieved on March 16, with a goal that tied the game in the first period, leading to a 2–1 home-ice overtime Bruins win over the visiting
Columbus Blue Jackets. On April 17, Bergeron was nominated for the Selke Trophy for an NHL-record eighth straight season which was eventually given to
Ryan O'Reilly of the
St. Louis Blues. Bergeron and the Bruins would eventually go on to the
2019 Stanley Cup Final in which the Bruins lost in seven games to the St. Louis Blues, one win short from winning a second Stanley Cup. On July 20, 2020, Bergeron was named a Selke finalist for a 9th consecutive season after helping the Bruins clinch the Presidents' Trophy as the best regular season team but the trophy ultimately went to
Sean Couturier of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Final years and captaincy (2020–2023) On January 7, 2021, Bergeron was named the
captain of the Boston Bruins.
Zdeno Chára, who had been the team's captain since 2006–07, signed with the
Washington Capitals two weeks earlier in December 2020. At the end of the
pandemic-shortened
2020–21 season, Bergeron ranked fourth on the Boston Bruins all-time scoring list with 917 total points (375 goals and 542 assists). At the time, he trailed only Ray Bourque, Johnny Bucyk and Phil Esposito. Just days before the June 9 elimination of the Bruins from the
2021 playoffs by the
New York Islanders in six games in the second round, Bergeron was nominated as a candidate for the
Frank J. Selke Trophy for the tenth straight season but the trophy was eventually given to
Florida Panthers forward and captain
Aleksander Barkov - However, Bergeron would instead win the
Mark Messier Leadership Award for the 2020–21 season; for strong team leadership, and contributions to the general society. It was not until the eighth game of the
2021–22 season on November 4, 2021, that Bergeron would register his first Bruins goal of the season. On that day, in a
home game against the visiting
Detroit Red Wings, Patrice scored only his second natural hat trick - and seventh hat trick overall - of his NHL career, as the foundation for a four-goal game by the Bruins team captain in a 5–1 defeat of the Red Wings. On April 28, 2022, against the
Buffalo Sabres, Bergeron scored a hat trick for his 400th career goal. He became the fourth Bruins player ever to score 400 goals for one team, joining
Johnny Bucyk (545),
Phil Esposito (459), and
Rick Middleton (402). The Bruins were eliminated in the first round of the
2022 playoffs by the
Carolina Hurricanes. With the season marking the end of Bergeron's contract, and in light of his age and history of injuries, there was considerable uncertainty as to whether he would continue with the team. He ruled out playing for any other team, saying he would either re-sign or retire. Bergeron was once again nominated for the Selke Trophy for the eleventh time, and it was announced on June 5, that he had won the award for the record-setting fifth time. On August 8, 2022, Bergeron signed a one-year contract to return to the Bruins for his nineteenth season. Bergeron scored his 1,000th point in his NHL career on November 21, with an assist on a goal by longtime linemate
Brad Marchand, in a 5–3 win over the
Tampa Bay Lightning. In 2023, Bergeron beat his own record with a sixth Selke trophy win after being named a top three finalist for the twelfth time in his career and twelfth consecutive season. Bergeron helped the Bruins win the
Presidents' Trophy as the best regular season team for
2022–23 before being defeated in 7 games in the first round of the
2023 playoffs by the eighth-seeded Florida Panthers after initially leading the series 3–1. Bergeron announced his retirement from hockey on July 25, 2023, a day after his 38th birthday, having played nineteen seasons in the NHL.
Post retirement During the
2024-25 season Bergeron alongside
Tuukka Rask and
Andrew Raycroft started
Unobstructed Views a Bruins themed alternate live telecast series which airs on the
NESN. In 2025 Bergeron won a
Regional Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Interview/Discussion. ==International play==