After memories of the Boston Bruins losing the Stanley Cup in six games to the Blackhawks last season nagged him more than the rib, shoulder and lung injuries that limited him in the finals, center Patrice Bergeron knows that it's time to move on.
Bergeron has announced himself ready for training camp, and recently told The Boston Globe that it's time for him to move on from the painful memories of losing the NHL's most prestigious trophy last June.
"After a while, it doesn't do any good to keep thinking about it," Bergeron said per The Boston Globe. "After a while, you have to turn the page and get ready for the next season."
Bergeron has done just that, and spent the last three days in Calgary, skating with Team Canada in preparation for this year's Winter Olympics in Sochi. After the injuries limited him in the Stanley Cup Finals, Bergeron went through a rigorous rehabilitation program in order to take the ice for the Bruins at the start of camp. The regular-season for Boston opens up Oct. 3 at their home arena of the TD Bank Garden.
"I'm pretty sure I'll be fine," Bergeron told The Globe. "I'm hoping I'll be fine. I'm feeling good. It took me longer to start my workout program and all that, but I had to take the time to heal and be ready."
A video of Bergeron discussing the injury and losing the Cup can be seen below:
Bergeron, 27, who led the Bruins in postseason goals during their run to the Cup Finals, signed an 8-year $52 million dollar extension with Boston this past July.
Bergeron took part in Team Canada off-ice drills due to insurance issues this week. Bergeron's teammate Milan Lucic said he was "shocked" that his teammate played through so much pain last season and says he believes Bergeron is "99 percent" healthy. Bergeron, who took four-to-five weeks following the Cup Finals to resume working out and has skated for the last two or three weeks, says he's aiming to be 100 percent by the time training camp opens up in two weeks, and that he still feels a bit of pain in his rib cage area.
Bergeron played in 42 games last season during the NHL's 48-game lockout-shortened season, netting 10 goals and 22 assists for 32 points. The Bruins went 28-14-6 last season for 62 points. The team finished second in the Northeast Division and was the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
After snatching victory away from the Toronto Maple Leafs in a monumental Game 7 comeback in the first round, the Bruins disposed of the New York Rangers in five games and then swept the mighty Pittsburgh Penguins before eventually falling to the Blackhawks in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Though Bergeron has won the gold medal with Canada in 2010 and the Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011, he still isn't satisfied and wants to repeat both of those feats again this season and hopes to erase the painful memories of what happened last year.
"I ended up with a bitter feeling," Bergeron told The Globe. "It's hard to swallow, but at the same time we've definitely accomplished some great things as a team. But when you finish second, it's obviously not what you want. It's even tougher than not making the playoffs or losing in the first round because you're so close to the goal.
"That being said, we have to look at this year, learn from what happened, but also try to press the reset button and be ready for a new fresh start and make sure we're ready for a long season."
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