Respected captain Bergeron returns to Bruins on 1-year deal loaded with incentives

The Boston Bruins are getting the gang back together, signing captain Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci — two members of their 2011 Stanley Cup championship team — to one-year deals on Monday.

Almost three months after he left the ice without any certainty that he would return, Bergeron signed a one-year deal with the Bruins. A few hours later, the team announced that Krejci, who played last season in his native Czechia, will also be back in 2022-23.

Bergeron got a $2.5 million deal with $2.5 million in incentives and Krejci gets $1 million with the potential for $2 million more. Bergeron is fourth on the Bruins' all-time scoring list with 982 points, and Krejci is ninth with 730.

Bergeron, 37, and Krejci, 36, led the Bruins to the 2011 NHL championship and two other trips to the Stanley Cup final. 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 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 honoured. 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 regular-season games played, and fourth in goals,