Back spasms hit Bergeron
Center takes it easy at camp’s start
Patrice Bergeron was the first Bruin to greet reporters yesterday morning at Warrior Ice Arena and his tone was as positive as it’s usually been since he broke into the NHL 15 years ago.
However, his news wasn’t very cheery.
Bergeron, who underwent groin surgery over the summer, came down with back spasms and will not be on the ice when training camp begins today.
The belief is that this is a minor setback and the B’s top center will get in a couple of exhibition games and be ready for the Oct. 3 season opener in Washington. And that may very well be the case. Still, bad backs are not the easiest injuries to predict.
“A little bit of a setback that way, but still shooting for the same schedule for the end of the camp and the start of the season,” said Bergeron. “I’ve been told that sometimes that it does happen from people who’ve dealt with groin and hip injuries, they’ve dealt with some back injuries as well. A little bit of a setback but otherwise looking forward to being done with it and feeling better next week.”
The back issue doesn’t necessarily set Bergeron back any further than expected in his recovery from the groin surgery. He had been skating but wasn’t sure he’d have been a full-go even if the back spasms did not crop up.
“I can still do the rehab for my groin, but I’m definitely limited in the gym for the last few days and I need to make sure that clears up before I can go back to increasing the workload,” he said. “We’re trying to make sure it’s short term and don’t let that linger for too long.”
This is the third straight season Bergeron will miss time to start the season. Two years ago, ankle and groin injuries cost him the first three games of the season. Last year, his groin injury cropped up and he missed the first five games. And now the back spasms.
Bergeron hopes to be back in a matter of days.
“It’s a first for me,” he said of the spasms, “so I don’t really have an answer for that. I’ve never really dealt with that. But that being said, I’m hopeful that we’re going to do the right thing and make sure it’s behind me and look forward. That’s all I can really tell you. But that being said, I’m not happy about it at all. I would have liked to be on the ice. I didn’t know if I was actually going to be with the group (today). There was a chance I’d be on my own. But I still would have been happy to be on the ice, now I’m not. But it should be a matter of days, which is good news.”
At 33 years old and 963 career games, is Bergeron resigned to the fact he’s going to deal with these issues on a regular basis?
“I hope not,” he said with a chuckle. “Yeah, I’m getting older as a hockey player, but I still feel as though many guys (have gone through this) and I feel like I’m taking care of my body the right way. It’s frustrating and I’m not happy that it’s happening. But that being said, I’ve got to make sure I’m being smart with it and not trying to rush things and make it worse.”
The good news is that when he does get on the ice he’s still pretty good. Two years ago, when he played 79 games, he went through a bit of an offensive rough patch but won his record-tying fourth Selke Trophy. Last year he was limited to 64 games — he missed a month with broken foot — and may have been in the Hart Trophy discussion had he not gotten hurt again. His line with Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak was arguably the league’s best.
And, thankfully, the Bruins had already made the fortuitous decision not to send him to China.
“It’s a good thing I wasn’t on that (14-hour) flight or I’d be out for a while,” Bergeron said.