BOSTON

On those precious moments away from the hockey rink when he can cuddle his three-month-old son Zack in his arms, a sense of perspective comes over Patrice Bergeron.

Less than a decade ago, the Boston Bruins forward was forced to sit in a dark room, unable to do simple everyday tasks such as watching TV or getting up and walking into the kitchen. As such, cradling a baby would have been unimaginable, the scars of being an NHL player who had suffered a head injury making it impossible.

For Bergeron, that fateful day of Oct. 27, 2007 seems like a lifetime ago, one in which he was crushed head-first into the TD Garden boards by Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Randy Jones and carted off on a stretcher.

But Bergeron is one of the lucky ones. He has managed to fully recover from that potential life-altering concussion, going on to win two Olympic gold medals for Canada (2010 and ‘14) and a Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins (2011). Off the ice, he has a young family that includes a wee boy who maybe, just maybe, will follow in dad’s skates one day.

Should that happen, however, Bergeron admits the risks involved, especially head injuries, will cause him to look at the sport quite differently.

“if he wants to play, I want him to play,” Bergeron said during a recent one-on-one sitdown. “But I’ll be a dad so I’ll wrap him in bubble wrap for (safety) reasons.”

Bubble wrap? A suit of armour might be more practical.

Truth be told, with the concussion issue being front and centre in both the NHL and NFL these days — and rightly so — Bergeron feels advances have been made in the way the league is handling such injuries, especially in the past half decade.

“In the past, say, five years, I think it’s probably improved in that way,” Bergeron said. “The awareness of the players when they feel a symptom or what not. And the doctors and trainers are doing a better job about things that are symptomatic.

“But I do think there are a few hits that can be avoided. There’s definitely that part of the game. It’s definitely a fast game. We’re all guilty of it. There’s still work to be done but I think it’s getting better,”

With 19 goals in 49 games entering Tuesday’s matchup against the Leafs in Boston, Bergeron is on pace to eclipse his career high of 31 set in 2005-06. Through it all, in a league where many players continue to suffer from the after-effects of being concussed, his former Bruins teammate Marc Savard among them, Bergeron understands how fortunate he is to have dodged such a situation.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen (Marc),” Bergeron said. “I saw him the first few years but not lately. It’s one of those things where it seems it’s up and down for him. I definitely feel for what he’s going through and hopefully he’ll feel better.

“The lesson that you learn is that there is life after hockey. You want to enjoy it. I’m just starting a family. I have a son now. It puts things into perspective.

“I don’t necessarily think about what happened to me. I’ve tried to move on and move forward with it. I think I’ve learned to appreciate the game more and to be more cautious when you’re on the ice at all times.”

Interestingly, for a guy whose career was once threatened by a head injury, he does feel there is a place for fighting in the game, even after seeing Brian McGrattan’s head bounce off the ice during a recent bout in the AHL.

“It’s a tough question to answer,” he said. “I feel there is a place for it because it keeps guys in check a little bit. If you know someone is there for that, you don’t go running at someone. You have to have that in the back of your head. At the same time, we know more about concussions now.

“You can see what happened to Brian (McGrattan). It’s scary to watch. It’s one of those things where when you know the effects, when you’ve been through it, it’s tough to see guys go through it especially in a fight like that.”

Bergeron was asked about the lawsuit launched by former players against the league for not having more awareness of concussions.

“I can understand where they are coming from but I don’t know all about it,” Bergeron said. “I didn’t play in those days where by the sounds of it you were almost forced to get out there. It’s one of those things where guys wanted to stay in the lineup and things like that. There wasn’t the awareness that there is now about concussions.

“I know where they’re coming from but I don’t want to take any sides because I don’t know enough about the subject. “

The interview over, Bergeron politely says goodbye and disappears down the TD Garden hallway.

Maybe he’ll stop to pick up some bubble wrap for young Zack on the way home.

mike.zeisberger@sunmedia.ca

twitter.com/zeisberger