Matthew Slater and David Andrews react to Patrice Bergeron’s announcement that he is retiring after 19 seasons with the Bruins and praise him as an icon of Boston sports.
The longest-tenured player in Boston sports called it a career on Tuesday.
Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron announced his retirement after 19 NHL seasons, each of them spent in Boston. He debuted with the team on Oct. 1, 2003, vs. the New Jersey Devils.
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Here are the current longest-tenured Boston athletes following Bergeron's retirement, along with when they made their debuts:
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- Matthew Slater, New England Patriots (Sept. 2008)
- Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins (Oct. 2009)
- David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins (Nov. 2014)
- (tie) David Andrews and Joe Cardona, New England Patriots (Sept. 2015)
- Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics (Oct. 2016)
- Brandon Carlo, Boston Bruins (Oct. 2016)
- Matt Grzelcyk, Boston Bruins (Dec. 2016)
- Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox (Apr. 2017)
- Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins (Apr. 2017)
- Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox (July 2017)
Here are the top five longest-tenured Boston athletes by team:
Bruins
- Brad Marchand
- David Pastrnak
- Matt Grzelcyk
- Brandon Carlo
- Charlie McAvoy
Marchand becomes the longest-tenured Bruin after Bergeron's departure. Pastrnak is next on the list and isn't going anywhere any time soon as he inked an eight-year extension in March.
If David Krejci re-signs with the Bruins this offseason, it's up for debate whether he should leapfrog Marchand for the top spot. Krejci has only played for the Bruins since entering the NHL in 2006, but he left Boston to play in his native Czech Republic in 2021.
Celtics
- Jaylen Brown
- Jayson Tatum
- Robert Williams
- Payton Pritchard
- Al Horford
The young Jays are now the grizzled vets on the C's roster. Horford would have earned a higher spot on the list had it not been for his brief stints in Philadelphia and Oklahoma City.
Red Sox
- Chris Sale
- Rafael Devers
- Alex Verdugo
- Christian Arroyo
- Nick Pivetta
Sale and Devers are the only players from the 2018 World Series team left on the Red Sox roster. Reliever Matt Barnes was the longest-tenured Red Sox player prior to being traded to the Miami Marlins in the offseason. Verdugo was acquired in the infamous Mookie Betts trade before the 2020 season. Both Arroyo and Pivetta were added during the COVID-shortened '20 campaign.
Patriots
- Matthew Slater
- (tie) David Andrews and Joe Cardona
- (tie) Deatrich Wise and Lawrence Guy
- James Ferentz
- Jonathan Jones
Slater is returning for his 16th NFL season. Devin McCourty was No. 2 on this list prior to his retirement announcement this offseason.
