Patrice Bergeron earned the respect of his Boston sports peers over the course of his illustrious NHL career.
The Boston Bruins captain officially announced his retirement Tuesday after 19 seasons, each of them spent with the B's. Shortly after the announcement, New England Patriots captains Matthew Slater and David Andrews shared their appreciation for the six-time Selke Trophy winner.
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"I think he should be celebrated as an icon for the city of Boston and Boston sports," Slater said during his press conference. "Consistency is a thing that stood out to me about him. I probably was about five or six years into my career before I really started looking at what those guys were doing, and obviously, he was a guy that just gave that organization and gave our city so much consistency, and I think that's something to celebrate.
"The other thing I appreciate is just the loyalty. With the way pro sports go nowadays, it's not uncommon for guys to move and go other places. But for him to do it here for as long as he did, I think is tremendous. So I think it's a bit of a sad day for Boston sports fans, but we should certainly celebrate everything he's done. I wish him the best. Congratulations on a tremendous career. One of the last old guys in this town, so I certainly appreciate what he did."
Andrews echoed Slater's sentiments.
"What an amazing career he's had, and how fortunate that he got to play for such a great organization," Andrews said. "A lot of respect for the way that he's carried himself. I can't really tell you the ins and outs of hockey, but I know he's a great player. And just the way he's carried himself in the community and led that team, I think it's been really impressive. I wish him all the best."
Bergeron, 38, finishes his career with a Stanley Cup title (2011), two Olympic gold medals, the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, and the Mark Messier Leadership Award among his many accolades. He totaled 1,040 points (427 goals, 613 assists) in 1,294 career regular season games, and tallied 128 points (50 goals, 78 assists) in 170 career playoff games.
With Bergeron hanging 'em up, Slater (Sept. 2008) is currently the longest-tenured Boston athlete. Bruins wingers Brad Marchand (Oct. 2009) and David Pastrnak (Nov. 2014) are next on the list with Andrews (Sept. 2015) after them.