Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron returning for 19th season

BOSTON — Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron is coming back for another season.

Almost three months after he left the ice without any certainty that he would return, the five-time Selke Trophy winner signed a one-year deal with the Bruins on Monday. It will pay him $2.5 million, with another possible $2.5 million in incentives.

Bergeron, 36, led the Bruins to the 2011 NHL championship and two other trips to the Stanley Cup Final during an 18-year career as the league's dominant two-way forward. Boston was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Carolina Hurricanes on May 14 and fired coach Bruce Cassidy three weeks later.

Jim Montgomery was hired to replace Cassidy, and the new coach said at his introductory news conference that Bergeron was his first call. Team CEO Charlie Jacobs said Bergeron was expected to return.

«So, fingers crossed,» he said in July.

It worked.

Bergeron has 400 goals and 582 assists — all with the Bruins, who selected him in the second round of the 2003 draft. Since then, he has established himself as one of the most respected players in the game.

When he does leave, the Bruins are expected to retire his No. 37, making him the 12th player so honored. He is a likely first-ballot inductee for the Hockey Hall of Fame as soon as he is eligible.

But now that won't be until at least 2026.

Bergeron is third in Bruins history with 1,216 games played, and fourth in goals, assists and points. He is second all-time for the Original Six franchise with 47 playoff goals and 123 points.

Bergeron's 11 straight seasons as a Selke finalist — including this year — is the longest streak of top three finishes for an NHL award, breaking Wayne Gretzky's record of 10 years in a row as an MVP finalist.