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Patrice Bergeron wants to stay a Boston Bruin

Buffalo Sabres v Boston Bruins - Game Four

of the Buffalo Sabres of the Boston Bruins in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden on April 21, 2010 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Elsa

Now that this Bruins off-season is settled after hearing that they won’t be trying to trade Marc Savard, the Bruins are trying to make sure that next off-season won’t be quite so dramatic. With key players Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara set to become unrestricted free agents at the end of the season, it’s possible the Bruins might run into some issues.

What makes things a little less stressful is when one of those players declares that they want to stay with the team. CSN New England’s Joe Haggerty finds out that Patrice Bergeron wants to make Boston his home for a little while longer.

Bergeron said he already informed Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli during his exit interview at the end of last season that his first priority is remaining in Boston for the foreseeable future.

“I want to stay a Bruin. That’s something that I’ve made very clear to Peter,” said Bergeron, who bounced back from concussion issues for 52 points last season. “It’s obviously up to him. I’ve done my part and said that I obviously would like to stay in Boston.

“I really like it here. We’ll go from there, but right now I’m worrying about training camp and the season. From there we’ll see.”

Chiarelli and Bergeron’s agent Kent Hughes have both confirmed that “preliminary talks” have been underway this summer on a contract extension for the two-way center, and it’s in the best interest of both sides to keep him the longest-tenured member of the B’s. Bergeron took over that distinction for the Bruins once P.J. Axelsson returned to Sweden after the 2008-09 season.

It’s a smart move for the Bruins to keep a guy that both the team and the fans have stood by so strongly throughout his career in Boston. Getting him and Chara both re-signed are things the Bruins haven’t been able to get really going, but expect things to make progress as the year goes along. The Bruins aren’t really set up to have salary cap problems after the season, so money won’t be an issue unless either Chara or Bergeron are looking to cash in on being Boston loyalists.

(Photo: Elsa - Getty Images)