Bergeron Signs an Extension

With his three-year, $15 million contract extension signed and done, Patrice Bergeron can now focus solely on the business of playing hockey and of continuing to regain his pre-concussion form.

It's safe to say that the 25-year-old Québécois is "back" from his concussion, as he was tied for the team lead in points last year with 52 and added on an additional 11 points in 13 playoff games, good for second on the team (behind Big Money Wides, of course). Bergeron also played for Team Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics, albeit in a limited checking role. Bergeron has reestablished himself as one of the game's premier two-way players, a guy who can both make plays offensively and shut down opposing players on the defensive side of things.

So is his new $5 million cap hit worth it? I think so, especially when you look at some of the other players who are making at or around $5 million per year: Brian Rolston, Patrik Elias, Jason Pominville, Alex Kovalev, Mike Riebeiro, Ryan Smyth and Shane Doan, just to name a few. Bergeron's all-around game is at least comparable to, if not better than, pretty much everyone on that list, with the exception of maybe Shane Doan, who has been a rock for the Coyotes for years.

One can't help but wonder why the deal is only for three years, however. It seems like the Bruins wanted to keep Bergeron, and that he wanted to stay here as well. So why not make the deal longer? Are there lingering concerns about his long-term health, especially in light of Marc Savard's current condition? Is Bergeron holding out for one more big contract? Did the Bruins want to hold off on anything too long term so that they could see if his offensive numbers continue to improve?

I'd say that the last two are probably the closest to the truth, but there's something else worth considering: Tyler Seguin's entry level contract will be up in three years as well. Assuming the B's re-sign Zdeno Chara to a long-term (5-7 years) deal while also locking up Tuukka Rask to a long-term deal, the B's will have some figuring to do in regards to the cap.

Dennis Seidenberg, Milan Lucic, Nathan Horton, Marc Savard and Tim Thomas are all currently on the books through at least 2012-2013. Rask and David Krejci will be free-agents after the 2011-2012 season, and both look to be in line for big raises. While Marco Sturm's and Michael Ryder's salaries will (probably) be off the books after this season, that's still a lot of number crunching to do. Assuming Seguin pans out, he'll be looking for a big jump after 2012-2013 as well.

Another side to the Seguin coin: if he really pans out as well as people expect, and turns into a franchise player, he may force management to take a hard look at Bergeron's worth to this team (three years down the line, that is, not now). If Seguin develops into a bona fide playmaker, that would likely leave the B's with Savard, Krejci and Seguin as their top-three centers. Is $5 million worth it for someone who may not have as significant a role on this team in three years?

For now, however, most B's fans will be happy that Bergeron is locked up for three more years. If he continues to improve, he'll be a bargain at $5 million; two-way players of his caliber don't come along very often.

BHN gives this deal a Thumbs Up.