Incredible: The Bruins acquired Patrice Bergeron thanks to a gifted draft pick
After 19 seasons in a Boston Bruins uniform, the time for retirement has come for Patrice Bergeron.
The Quebec-born forward made the announcement a few days ago and, barely retired, the Bruins organization has decided that his number 37 jersey will be retired during a ceremony to take place next season.
However, as reported by Habsolumentfan.com, the six-time Frank Selke Trophy winner could very well have never worn a Bruins uniform.
In the summer of 2002, the Bruins did not offer a new contract to Bill Guérin, who is now the general manager of the Minnesota Wild.
Thus, he became an unrestricted free agent and the Dallas Stars immediately offered him a veritable fortune, a five-year, $45 million contract. At nine million dollars per season, he became one of the highest-paid players in the NHL.
But so far, what is the link between Bill Guérin and Patrice Bergeron?
Well, at the time, when a team lost a player via the free agent market, it received a draft pick in compensation. This was a rule in effect in the NHL until 2005, as reported by Gord Miller of TSN.
A gift from the NHL to offset the loss of a free agent.
And believe it or not, the Bruins got the Stars' second-round pick in 2003, a pick that of course became Patrice Bergeron!
A dream compensation pick and an extremely profitable decision! They can really thank the Stars.
In the end, Bill Guérin only spent three seasons in Dallas before the Stars bought out the last year of his hefty contract in the summer of 2006, but three years later, he served as a mentor on the young Pittsburgh Penguins team and got his hands on the Stanley Cup.
You know the rest of the story.
| POLL | ||
Is Bergeron a Hall of Famer? | ||
| Yes | 115 | 94.3 % |
| No | 7 | 5.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
