Patrice Bergeron’s game was built on detail, poise and control, so the idea of him spending part of his career throwing punches still feels a little off-script.
But there it was Monday on Spittin’ Chiclets, with Bergeron looking back on the rare times he dropped the gloves. The Bruins great said he had three fights during his playing days, then named Josh Gorges, Tyler Myers and former teammate Blake Wheeler. There was actually one more - his 2013 dustup with Evgeni Malkin in the Eastern Conference Final - though it slipped his mind in the moment.
Bergeron also said he has taken boxing lessons since retiring.
“I did some boxing lessons afterwards, just to kind of, like, try different things, and I did go boxing…” Bergeron said on Spittin’ Chiclets. “Now, [Shawn Thornton] says that I’m a jujitsu guy and I can fight and whatnot, but maybe I should have done that during my career. That would’ve been more helpful.”
His first fight came in April 2009 against Montreal’s Josh Gorges, and it came in the playoffs against Boston’s biggest rival. The Bruins were already rolling, up 5-1 and on their way to a 2-0 series lead in the first round.
Bergeron took a high hit, got a gloved jab to the face, and then the gloves came off. The exchange was brief, but Bergeron landed four punches and put Gorges on the ice.
The Bruins swept the Canadiens before falling to Carolina in Round 2.
Jack Edwards put the moment in his own unforgettable way: “Sights you never thought you’d see. Five for fighting for Bergeron, the victor in that one.”
Four years later, Bergeron’s second fight came in June 2013 against Evgeni Malkin. This one happened late in the second period of Game 1, when a scrum broke out between the Bruins and Penguins.
Sidney Crosby tried to get under Tuukka Rask’s skin, which drew a response from Zdeno Chara, and behind that mess Bergeron and Malkin got tangled up and started swinging. Malkin, who has four inches on Bergeron, got the better of it with a quick takedown and kept Bergeron pinned as the scrum continued.
Boston still swept Pittsburgh and reached the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in three years.
Bergeron’s first regular-season fight arrived six months later, in December 2013, against Tyler Myers. The Bruins center was trying to get to the crease for a Reilly Smith redirect when Myers made life difficult, and the two kept wrestling after the play. Bergeron ended up being the one to challenge Myers, and he said later on Spittin’ Chiclets that it was “random.”
It was also a steep physical ask, given that Myers stands 6-foot-8. Bergeron landed a good shot late, but Myers got the takedown.
Andy Brickley’s take fit the pattern: “it takes a lot to get under Bergeron’s skin. The times that he actually drops the gloves, it’s for good reason.”
The last one was against Wheeler in February 2016, and it had a different feel because the two had been teammates in Boston. Wheeler played for the Bruins from 2008 until he was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers in 2011, overlapping with Bergeron for three seasons.
During the game, the two were scrapping in front of the net, and Wheeler reportedly told Bergeron, ‘Anytime you want me, Bergy, I’m ready.’ Bergeron said that stuck with him for the rest of the game.
“I mean, that was kind of like a random thing,” Bergeron said on Spittin’ Chiclets. “During the game, we were in this scrum in front of the net, and he kind of said, like, ‘Anytime you want me, Bergy, I’m ready.’
So then I kinda had it in my head the whole game, like I’m gonna have to go. He just called me out.”
“Obviously, a lot of respect for him, and there was really nothing behind it. It just kind of happened.”
Wheeler had four inches and 30 pounds on Bergeron, and he also knew he was facing a southpaw. That helped tilt the fight in Wheeler’s favor.
Bergeron said he only reached three fights in his own count, but the Malkin bout makes it four in all. However you tally it up, it’s still a reminder that even the most composed Bruins captain of his era had a few unexpected moments in him.
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