For nearly two decades, former Montreal Canadiens captain Bob Gainey has marveled at the complete package that is Patrice Bergeron, the captain of the Boston Bruins.
Any thick cloth left when Gainey's Montreal Canadiens uniform was cut in the 1970s might well have been used for the tailoring of the black and gold of Bergeron, each player a rugged, durable forward with similar leadership style.
The two have won the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL's best defensive forward nine times -- Gainey from 1978-81, the first four years it was awarded, Bergeron on five occasions between 2012-22.
On Sunday, Gainey was tuned to the Bruins' stunning elimination from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, losing in seventh game overtime against the visiting Florida Panthers in the first round.
The 1992 Hall of Famer watched Bergeron's slow, emotional hug of every member of the Bruins as they left TD Garden ice for the final time in 2022-23, perhaps Bergeron's final game.
Patrice Bergeron in action during Game 6 of the first round against the Florida Panthers, and in a pose at the 2003 NHL Draft in Nashville. Joel Auerbach; Robert Laberge, Getty Images
"He has been a complete player," Gainey said of Bergeron, the 37-year-old native of L'Ancienne-Lorette, Quebec who broke into the NHL with the Bruins in 2003, having been selected by Boston in the second round (No. 45) of the 2003 NHL Draft.
"Patrice hasn't ignored any part of the game, whether it's been offense, defense, difficult play, playing from behind or ahead. I think he's inspired that same kind of commitment to a complete game among the other players on his team. He has brought quiet, forceful, very articulate leadership.
"There are very few adjectives that you can't put down on the list that he wouldn't qualify for as a player or as a person. He checks all of those boxes with a big X and that's why we're talking about him.
"Patrice has almost 20 years with the same team. Maybe that was the norm 25 years ago but you don't see that very often today."
Gainey was general manager of the Canadiens in 2003, he and his scouting department selecting forward Andrei Kostitsyn in the first round (No. 10) and forward Cory Urquhart in the second (No. 40); five selections after Urquhart, Bruins GM Mike O'Connell selected Bergeron.
It was not the first time, nor the last, that a team has missed a superb talent.
Patrice Bergeron takes a face-off during the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Buffalo Sabres. Bill Wippert, NHLI via Getty Images
"In some ways, it has been great to watch Patrice play because of the brilliance of his play - not only his physical skills but his character and his mentality and his intelligence," Gainey said.
"In another way, it's been painful to watch him play because he slipped through our hands (in Montreal) and went right into the NHL at the age of 18 as an effective player."
Like many, Gainey has watched the wild first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the only thing seemingly predictable about it being its unpredictability. The 69-year-old five-time Stanley Cup champion saw the Bruins, with an NHL-record 65 regular-season victories, bounced by the Panthers, the second wild-card in the Eastern Conference with 43 fewer points than Boston.
Gainey watched Game 7, considering its overtime and how many say that sudden-death in a series-clinching game is what a player dreams of. He played five Game 7s between 1979-87, winning three and losing two, three games decided in overtime.
"No, you think of winning four in a row and getting the (heck) out," he said, laughing.
Bob Gainey in action during the 1984 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum. Paul Bereswill/Hockey Hall of Fame
Gainey spoke of several teams arriving at the postseason "under the radar" because of spotty regular-season performance but finding their form late in the schedule, injured players healing at the right time.
He looked at the Bruins surrendering 26 goals in their seven-game series against the Panthers, something that he said was "way out of whack" for this team.
Indeed, the most goals the Bruins gave up over any seven-game stretch during 2022-23 was 22, from Feb. 28 through March 14.
The Bruins' Game 2 loss surprised him, the teams tied 2-2 at the end of the second period before the Panthers scored four in a 6-3 victory.
"That was so uncharacteristic of Boston over the last six months," he said.
The Panthers have advanced to meet Toronto in the second round, the Maple Leafs having pushed through the first round for the first time since 2004, defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.
Game 1 is Tuesday in Toronto (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, CBC, SN, TVAS).
Former Canadiens captain Bob Gainey at Montreal's Bell Centre on April 29, 2022. Minas Panagiotakis, Getty Images
"Canadian fans like to see Canadian teams in the playoffs," said Gainey, a native of Peterborough, Ontario. "Now we have two, one in the East and the Edmonton Oilers in the West, and that's great. We're avid NHL fans. Both are good teams, their front-line players are as good as any in the League."
The Oilers face the Vegas Golden Knights in the Second Round beginning Wednesday.
Gainey will keep an eye on the Dallas Stars, who will play the Seattle Kraken in the second round with Game 1 set for Tuesday in Dallas (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC).
He was coach and GM of the Minnesota North Stars when the team moved to begin the 1993-94 season as the Dallas Stars. He built the team into a Stanley Cup contender, taking it to the championship in 1999.
"I have two teams, one in the East (the Canadiens), one in the West (the Stars)," Gainey said. "They're not going to meet in the Finals this year (the Canadiens having failed to qualify for the playoffs) but the one in the West is still alive. I follow the Stars a little bit closer and I usually get to Dallas once a year to see a game or two. I think they're a deserving team also. I'd like them to be completely healthy so they can put their team game in front of their opponent."
Top photo: Patrice Bergeron with the 2017 Frank J. Selke Trophy and Bob Gainey (right) with Selke, accepting the trophy in 1981, Gainey's fourth consecutive win. Brian Babineau, Getty Images; Miles Nadal/Hockey Hall of Fame
