'Red jersey is over now'

Way to go media for keeping us updated on this guy. (sarcasm). Last I heard he was thinking about retiring, still having headaches....now hes gonna be back on the ice for the playoffs.

Matt you simply weren't paying attention. Fluto's blog has been a consistent source for Bergeron's progression.

Matt,

Where exactly was your bubble located since Bergeron went down??? There has been nothing but consistent updates on his condition. Where the heck did you hear that he was thinking about retiring?? That NEVER even came up. You must be thinking about Eric Lindros

Matt .... you are way off base here. Bergeron, the Bruins and the Doctors have been nothing but careful on his major injury. He never talked about retiring, he steadily built up his off ice conditioning and then only got on the ice after he was conditioned enough to do so. The doctors have also cleared him at various times to do so.

I think it is a great story if he can make it back and compete at the NHL Level but I will say I think he should wait until next year. We don't need any more players coming back to early and get another concussion i.e. (Lindros, Lafontaine, Stevens ... the list goes on)

This is a bad move for Patrice. I have suffered 4 concussions in my life. The last was as a result of a fall at the then "Fleet Center" It took me over 14 months to be back to near 100%. I am a driver and not taking shots on the ice from everyone either. Head injuries are not all cured quickly, and the opnly one who really knows is the player not the coach or Doctors.

Haha ... no doubt Jon ... at no point was Patrice considering retirement according to any source. There was speculation that it could be a career ending injury but Patrice never indicated that he thought so. And everytime there has been a significant change in his status its been well documented. There has been hope that he'd return for the playoffs since Christmas time.

I agree Jon, Fluto's done a pretty good job with the Bergeron updates however, why can't the B's take a page out of the Patriots book when it comes to injuries? Why even give the Canadiens any information re: Bergeron at all? If he plays and no one expected him to play, great for the B's and great us as fans..not so great for the Habs. I've been of the opinion all along that if the Bruins made the playoffs and if Patrice was medically cleared to play, he plays at some point during the series. I feel this was part of the reasoning in PC's lack of dealing at the deadline. Also, look at the opponent, while very, very good, the Habs aren't as physical as say the Flyers or even the Caps and this may be part of thought process in deciding whether he's cleared or not.

Absolutely... the Boston media, and especially via the Boston Globe Bruins blog and 'Notebook' articles, has done a great job making updates on Bergeron's status over the months since he was sidelined.

I agree. updates have been readily available

I have got to agree and Fluto has not been the only one tracking this. Every tim he has had a Doctor's appointment I have read about it in at least three places.

Unless you wanted daily updates when the status quo remained I don't know what the heck you are talking about.

Matt where have you been, that was a horrible post. I read this blog every day and i feel iam well informed about bergerons progress.

Go Bruins GO!!!

I agree with all you guys....except Matt. Updates have been good. And at NO time did Bergy or the media say he was going to retire.

Come on back Bud the B's need ya. Just loom over your shoulder when you go in the corners.

I hae watched the video over end over again and no matter what Cherry says, it was not your fault in any way.

Good luck B's....

Steve... two counterpoints... there is no guarantee Bergeron will play, only that he is now medically cleared to play by very smart and well-paid doctors who feel he is okay to play. He feels he is okay to play as far as the concussion symptoms are concerned so I fail to see where the mistake is. Also, this is his first recorded concussion... you said you have had four. Concussions get worse the more you get so it would only make sense that you required 14 months to recover from a fourth and Bergeron came back earlier. Also, I somehow doubt you were as young or in as good shape as Bergeron was when it happened and that will certainly speed up the process. I am sure both Bergeron, the team and the training staff have done their due diligence on the matter.

Can't wait to see Patrice on the ice. Go B's!

Good posts today. In all seriousness, Patrice was only just cleared for contact today. The B's will practice this week slowly integrating him into the offense. As we all know, playoff hockey is NOTHING like regular season...

It would be great to see him back on a power play unit though, so keep your fingers crossed!

The usual end of "season"...excuses..Bs pull this the Bear does not crap
in the woods..been Bs fan since '56....
5 & out vs Habs...HandyHenry

another point to add to Doh's list for Steve. I'm pretty sure the B's will make certain Bergeron's got the best equipment available to minimize the risk of another concussion in the future. I sustained a Grade 2 concussion this past summer, and my first purchase before I started playing again was a new helmet - one with gel cushioning, much better at preventing head injuries.

also, believe me, the headaches I got from working out before I was fully healed were incentive enough to take it easy - pulsing at the impact point, that sucked. If he's missed this much of the season already, I'd bet money that he's totally healed if he's looking to come back now.

Can you guys imagine how fans will tear the roof down when he steps on Garden ice ... during the playoffs .. against Montreal ?

Well, Matt took a whooping and rightfully so! The NHL concussion program is a solid program with preseason neuropsych testing. This same test gets repeated during the recovery process and players have to pass to get cleared to play. In addition, they have to pass physical tests as well and obtain clearance by MDs that specialize in concussion management. Although, there is always a strong desire to get your star players back on the ice, I doubt the Bruins, doctors or Patrice will be foolish enough to jump back in until he is truly ready.

We should be proud as hell that this heavily injured team ,that was predicted to finish dead last in the Eastern conference, made the playoffs. Strong work by the players and great coaching. Julien was a steal. PC has done fine job as GM thus far. He held down the fort and did not make any stupid moves with our youth at the
trade deadline.

PS- If I read another blog about Jacobs or Joe Thornton I am going to hurl. These idiots need to move on. The salary cap has eliminated the effect of JJ on the Bruins ...he has spent to the cap each season. Thornton has been just stellar in the playoffs ..hint sarcasm.

GO BRUINS- where the heck is NESN ...RDS/CBC... you must be kidding!

Lionel:
The only thing Patrice will do is drop the ceremonial "puck" starting (0-2)
game 3. This is a "ploy" as Insp.Cluseau says (not sure of spelling/Pink-Panther Fan)
re: Jacobs & Son, to sell Bs fans hope & tickets.
HandyHenry

Doh...good point. One more thing to add...because of all the great updates from Fluto, we know that it isn't so much about the concussion at this point. His medical clearance shows that he is fit for contact. The main issue is his durability on the ice. He is 10 lbs light and he isn't in game shape. You don't want to jeopardize this kid's career to get him in a game...even a playoff game. Hopefully, he can return, but at this point I hope to see him for many years more than in this series.

I don't beleive Bergeron should come back this playoffs because any chemistry this team has mustered all seaon long would be in a scrambled mess. think about it where would he go? not the first or second line, thats savards and krejcis.
and then we've got Metro and sabot or (Noke, kessel)

It's well known that when players take the preseason "benchmark" neuropsych test, they intentionally give some wrong answers. That way, if they ever find themselves in Bergeron's position, it's easier to show "improvement" and therefore be cleared to play faster. I'm told that is what happened with Simon Gagne in Philly this year, and we all saw what happened to him when he came back.

It's in their nature to do what they love, play hockey, and not always what's smartest. So it really does come down to the integrity, maturity, and the intelligence of the player. Fortunately, Bergeron, although still very young, seems to be mature enough to play this wisely, so if he does make it back on the ice this year, then I'm sure he will be fully capable of being there, and not rushing back in. But he has said in the past that he would need a minimum of 10 full contact practices before he is game ready, so who knows how far along in the playoffs that will bring us before we see him, if we even do

I have read a Patrice Bergeron update in the Bruins Notebook everyday for the last 2 weeks to say that the globe or boston.com has not been keeping tabs is ridiculous

If he was to come back I wouldn't be surprised to see him with Kessel on the wing. There is no way he would consider (or the Bruins for that matter) him coming back if he wasn't 100% ready to. and when you look at how cautionary they have been, I was really impressed with the NHLPA, Bruins, and Bergeron for being off until now. In Australia right now, so please, please Bruins fans who attend the home game he returns to: BLOW THE ROOF OFF the place when he returns! Be nice to see a loud crowd in there this year.

Beware of a hungry bear in the spring...

Bergy's gonna be back for, I'd say, game 3 or 4 in Boston. It' also depends how well the Bruins are doing in the series. If Montreal blows them out in the first two, I say they'll probably skip bringing Bergy back in. But if Boston can steal a game in Montreal (Timmy, you listening?) then expect to see him in the lineup.

He should not play this year. The risk is to great. He's only 22 years old. He should sit out at least one year. The Bruins won't beat the Canadians, it's not worth it....

Oh ye of little faith. Boston matches up well against Montreal in many ways. We are tougher, more physical, have better goaltending, a shut-down defense, and have battled adversity all year. The Bruins have been playing playoff hockey for half the season and are much more disciplined than Montreal. We also have the kind of gritty character players that successful teams in recent years have won with. Things are seemingly too good for the Habs right now. No one is expecting the Bruins to win and that just might be their advantage. If the B's can steal the first game, they have a shot.

Hey Bruins Maniac,

sorry but we have better goaltending, and allowing 39 goals in 8 games against us is not what I call shut-down defense. You guys might be more disciplined, but you better watch out if the Bruins use their so called toughness in a wrong way against us (i.e. taking penalties), we'll hurt you big time with our power play. And having a 78.6 % pen. kill efficiency is what I call a flaw.

I think the Bruins would be making a big mistake by letting Bergeron back for the playoffs, especially round one. It sounds like they're rushing him, and there's really nothing to rush back to. No one expects the team to go anywhere this year, and that's fine. They've made the playoffs for the first time since 2004, they had a huge improvement over last season, and that's enough of an accomplishment. No one, Bergeron included, should be putting Patrice's entire career at risk for a handful of games. He can have the entire offseason to continue to recover and get back into game shape. There's nothing to rush back to.

He should not come back. We need him in full shape next year, and for years after that, rather than under weight, not in game shape, and still recovering now. Not worth the risk.

For what it's worth, I was at the game when he went down; they wheeled him right by me, and he looked dead. He was green. He was out for a lot more than 45 seconds, too. He may want to play now, but it isn't worth the risk. Not only would a hit to the head be dangerous, but he'll find a playoff game exhausting.

Next year. We need him for the future.

Habsy, I challenge you to demonstrate that Price is better than Thomas. Timmy finished with the 4th best save percentage in the whole league, was in the all-star game, and has bailed out his team more times than Price has. One of the reasons why Montreal has the same goals allowed as Boston is because their forwards had the puck all the time. And you might as well throw the regular season record out the window. We all know it's meaningless come playoff time. Sure, Price is a great young goalie, but don't think that the Montreal karma of having a rookie goalie take them to the Cup is gonna happen every time. I'll take Timmy and his experience any day. As for the Bruin's fans in here who are nay-saying and calling for Bergy not to bother coming back because they can't win, what kind of attitude is that?.

What kind of attitude is that? Well, it's a realistic attitude when you're 0-8 against a team this year, they're #1 in your conference/division, they kicked you out of the playoffs last time, and your team just squeaked into the postseason and will still be struggling with injuries. It's especially the right attitude to have when you're talking about the entire career of arguably the most important player for the future of the Bruins. Of course I have faith in the Bruins, I'm a huge fan, but I've also had my heart broken so many times that I'm just pleased to see them in the postseason, I don't expect much more from them. That doesn't mean I won't be ecstatic if they win, I just wouldn't bet on it.... But the risk is not worth the reward right now for Bergeron and the B's.