Patrice Bergeron is widely considered the greatest defensive forward of the modern era. In fact, many people consider him one of the top five Boston Bruins players of all time.
Bergeron spent his entire career playing for the Boston Bruins, where he immediately established himself as a leader. He has won a record six Frank J. Selke Awards for being the best defensive forward in the game and was a finalist for the award 12 times. Additionally, he has won the King Clancy Award and the 2020/21 Mark Messier Leadership Award.
Bergeron was not just a defensive player, as he also had impressive scoring skills. He scored 1,040 points and famously scored the game-winning goal in Game 7 of the 2011 finals, helping the Bruins win the Stanley Cup.
Bergeron was so gifted that he only had one season with a negative Plus/Minus and was the league leader in 2011/12. Although he only finished in the top five in Hart voting once (fifth in 2013/14), his value to the Boston Bruins on every shift was immeasurable, and he proved to be a gem for the team throughout his career.