In addition to being arguably the best two-way centre in the league, Patrice Bergeron just seems like a really nice guy. When asked recently about players who were cut from the Boston Bruins' roster before the start of the regular season, the 34-year-old revealed he gives each of them his cellphone number and tells them to call him if they need someone to talk to.
It has also recently come to light that Bergeron was instrumental in helping Gemel Smith, who became depressed after hitting waivers twice last season. After being picked up by Boston, Smith played just three games with the team before hitting the waiver wire again and having to go to Providence of the AHL.
"I made myself go to a sunken place," said Smith to the Athletic. "I couldn't sleep for a month. I felt very alone. I isolated myself from everyone else because I'm a guy that keeps to myself. That's where I went wrong [when] I should have talked to somebody [who could] help me through it."
Bergeron noticed the 25-year-old was introverted and that something didn't seem right with him.
"I thought something was going on and I just reached out to let him know I was there if he needed to talk," said Bergeron. "We had a little talk and I just told him to maybe talk about it [more]. There's a saying ‘Do not suffer alone.' And it's the biggest thing in life and also in hockey. Sometimes in sports there are a lot of things involved with the game that can be hard to handle, and his situation wasn't easy. It's hard on anyone. That's all I did. I just said a few words to try and make him feel better, and it made a difference. I was just trying to be there for him. I really don't deserve that much credit, but I'm really happy that he's doing better."
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