Patrice Bergeron gave Bruins fans a fresh dose of nostalgia this week, and he did it in a long-form setting worth the time. The former Boston center appeared on Spittin’ Chiclets with Ryan Whitney, Keith Yandle, and Paul Bissonnette, in an interview that had been taped earlier but released yesterday.
The conversation runs about 100 minutes and covers a wide stretch of Bergeron’s career, from juniors to his years in black and gold. He talks about what he’s doing now, the 2011 Stanley Cup run, his road to the NHL, Bruce Cassidy, Brad Marchand, and plenty more. It’s available on Spotify or Apple, and can also be watched on Netflix.
Around the league, the offseason has stayed mostly quiet in August, which is no surprise. There is still a lot of extension chatter hanging over the NHL, though, especially with two of the game’s top defensemen now a month into eligibility without new deals.
Cale Makar has been extension eligible since July 1, and there’s been no movement. Quinn Hughes is in the same boat, although the situation is different because Bill Guerin is actively negotiating. New Jersey Hockey Now’s James Nichols dug into Hughes’ pending extension, the Devils’ cap situation, and a few other examples of stalled deals.
The goalie market has also cooled off. Daily Faceoff looks at the top five veteran netminders still available, with several free agents now in wait-and-see mode until a team comes calling.
Elsewhere, Sportsnet’s Ryan Dixon continued his offseason grade series by breaking down all eight teams in the Atlantic Division.
There’s also a closer look at Alex DeBrincat, who has three 40-plus goal seasons but still didn’t get nods from the US Olympic team or the NHL Network’s top-20 winger rankings. Kevin Allen writes that his respect should come with a big payday.
In San Jose, Lincoln native Collin Graf has signed a 3x$4.25M deal and said he knows he beat the odds to get here. He’s not finished, either. After a 21-goal sophomore season, he’s looking to build on it, and Sheng Peng has more on how he celebrated the contract.
And then there’s Auston Matthews. TSN revisits the memory of his 69-goal season and suggests that, after injury trouble, the Leafs moving on from Mitch Marner, and some added wing help along with a new coaching staff, the setup may be right for Matthews to catch fire again.
The Athletic also took on the league’s “mushy middle,” asking which seven teams are in danger of being stuck in purgatory - not strong enough to contend, not weak enough to land elite future talent. The Bruins were not on the list, but did get an honorable mention.
In Other News...
Bruins Camp Battle Could Bring In The Scorer This Lineup Needs
The Bruins head into 2026-27 with a roster that looks a little different than the one that finished last season, especially with a revamped right side on defense and a youth movement beginning to take shape up front. Boston also had to replace Viktor Arvidsson after his departure in free agency, while the addition of JJ Peterka gives the lineup a new layer of speed and skill as the club tries to keep pace in a tightening Eastern Conference race.
What makes the next phase of camp especially intriguing is the possibility that Boston could use a professional tryout to audit a player with real finishing punch, the kind of swing the roster has not always had enough of in recent seasons. For a team trying to find more dependable scoring without disrupting the rest of the mix, that search could turn into one of the more closely watched subplots in camp as the Bruins look for a proven way to add offense. [Read more 🡒]
James Hagens Is Suddenly At Center Of A Bruins Camp Battle
James Hagens has already moved quickly from Boston College to the Bruins' orbit, and now his first full pro camp is shaping up as one of the more interesting rookie storylines on the roster. The 2025 first-round pick signed after his sophomore season and even got a taste of NHL action, including the playoffs, giving Boston a early look at how his game might translate when the pace rises and the margins shrink.
For a team looking for answers from its young talent, Hagens is suddenly in the middle of a camp battle that matters. He is among the top rookie prospects in the Atlantic Division heading into the season, and his push to earn a job has put him in the same conversation as other high-end newcomers around the division, even as the Bruins sort out who is ready for real NHL minutes and who still needs more runway. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Fans Still Havent Forgotten Don Sweeneys Defining Coaching Decision
When the Bruins moved on from Bruce Cassidy after the 2022 offseason began, it was one of those front-office decisions that immediately felt bigger than a routine coaching change. Don Sweeney made the call as general manager, Cassidy landed in Vegas almost right away, and the Golden Knights would go on to win the Stanley Cup, turning the whole sequence into a painful reference point for Boston fans who still remember how sharply the split played out.
Sweeneys next hire, Jim Montgomery, looked like a home run for most of the regular season and helped push Boston to an NHL record for wins and points. But the season ended with a first-round playoff loss after the Bruins had taken a 3-1 lead, and Montgomery was fired not long after. For Bruins fans, the two coaching moves have become tangled together, a reminder that one bold decision led to immediate success elsewhere and the next only deepened the scrutiny back home. [Read more 🡒]