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Boston Bruins: Why you should vote Marner or Stamkos over Bergeron

By Luke Ryan |
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 23: Patrice Bergeron #37 of the Boston Bruins skates against Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game Six of the Eastern Conference First Round in the 2018 Stanley Cup Play-offs at the Air Canada Centre on April 23, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Bruins 3-1.(Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 23: Patrice Bergeron #37 of the Boston Bruins skates against Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game Six of the Eastern Conference First Round in the 2018 Stanley Cup Play-offs at the Air Canada Centre on April 23, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Bruins 3-1.(Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

Boston Bruins fans could make a very clever choice in voting for Mitch Marner or Steven Stamkos to attend the NHL All-Star Game and risk injury instead of Patrice Bergeron.

While it would be great to have a third Boston Bruins representative at the 2020 NHL All-Star Game; keeping Patrice Bergeron away from it could prove a smarter decision, given he has already missed a reasonable amount of time this season due to injury.

Doubling down on that, sending Toronto Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner or Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos, both of whom have had injury concerns in the past (in Marner’s case, this season), would be wiser.

It may go against every being in a Boston Bruins fan’s body to vote for a Maple Leafs player, but given how close the Atlantic Division race for top spot is starting to become; why would we want to risk injury to one of our stars. Why not risk our rival’s guys instead?!

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Not only that, by not voting for Patrice Bergeron, we might also send a message to the NHL that Brad Marchand was wrongfully ignored and that we as Boston Bruins fans aren’t happy about this.

Patrice Bergeron is a four-time Selke Trophy winner and two-time NHL All-Star; he doesn’t need further recognition, nor does he need to spend what would otherwise be some well-deserved time off to rest and recuperate, toying around in silly skills contests and a meaningless 3-on-3 tournament.

He’s missed 9 games already for the Boston Bruins this year, some that appear to have been the team taking advantage of their depth and form at the time to rest a key player early in the year.

However, fact is that Bergeron is now 34 years old and played last post-season injured. He doesn’t need to have any extra workload, especially work that can be avoided.

Steven Stamkos most recently missed nearly the whole 2016-17 season due to a severe knee injury, while Mitch Marner missed 4 weeks due to an ankle issue in November. Both obviously have had their health concerns in the past and while it may sound cynical, Boston Bruins fans should target them.

Who would you rather miss time in the Atlantic Division race; Patrice Bergeron, Mitch Marner or Steven Stamkos?

In fact, ignoring the injury risk of playing in another game (albeit a meaningless one), who would you rather reach the end of the regular season with an extra game tallied against them?

Simple answer once more; not Patrice Bergeron – the more we can limit his time now, the more we can rely on stronger form in the post season.

dark. Next. Are Heinen or Bjork tradeable assets?

It may sound like an absurd idea to vote for our rival’s players, but in fact it’s a very clever idea to protect our guy and put another game on their legs. It can only benefit us in the long run!

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