"No, not at all," Bergeron said in reply. "I feel like it's almost like I don't consider myself a part of that group. I think it's hard for me to believe that," he said of his own candidacy. "But also at the same time, I'm obviously here to support [Zdeno], but also [Duncan Keith] and [Joe] for their amazing careers. I'm just happy to be a part of this night."
And he was all shocked that I would prioritize him, I think. I hopped in the car and drove down to Long Island to meet him. At the time, he was the No. 6 defenseman on the Islanders, a throw-it-off-the-glass-and-out type, growing into his body still. So I drive down and we were supposed to have lunch. We ended up having lunch and dinner. I stayed all day and we talked all day.