Patrice Bergeron tasted winning once, which is more than some other Bruins

At least Patrice Bergeron will always have Vancouver.

He will always have that night in June of 2011, when the Bruins finished off the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 and then skated around Rogers Arena. They took delivery of the Stanley Cup at center ice, handed it first to Zdeno Chara, and then in a manifestation of hockey’s seniority system, on to Bergeron.

He’ll have the memory of hoisting the Cup that night, and the duck boat parade days later in Boston, and all the private celebrations with his teammates, where the brotherhood was permanently cemented.

But as Bergeron announced his retirement Tuesday, ending his 19-year Bruins career, there was the inescapable feeling that there should have been more. That’s not Bergeron’s fault; it’s part of the problem with the Bruins for the past 50-plus years.

When a franchise wins just one Cup - the one referenced in 2011 - since 1972, a lot of great players go home with a feeling of emptiness.

Brad Park and Jean Ratelle never won a Cup with the Bruins. Neither did Rick Middleton, or Cam Neely. Ray Bourque, famously, grew so frustrated at the team’s inability to win a championship that, toward the end of his Hall of Fame career, he asked for a trade elsewhere. The Bruins granted him his wish, and the following year, Bourque realized his lifelong goal with Colorado.

Visit BetMGM.com for Terms and Conditions. 21 years of age or older to wager. MA Only. New Customer Offer. All promotions are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Rewards issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets. Bonus bets expire 7 days from issuance. In Partnership with MGM Springfield. Play it smart from the start with GameSense. GameSenseMA.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org.

In many ways, Bourque’s parole to Denver - and the subsequent celebration for him at CIty Hall the following summer - may have represented a low point in modern Bruins history. The Bruins were so predictably mediocre that they had to trade away a legend in order for make his dream come true.

• Mobile sports betting is live in Massachusetts on BetMGM. Get started with a $1,000 first-bet offer

At least Bergeron had some other close calls. Two years after their Cup season, the Bruins made it back to the Stanley Cup Final, only to lose to Chicago, on home ice.

In 2019, they lost Game 7 at TD Garden to the St. Louis Blues. And, more recently, the Bruins followed up the greatest regular season in hockey history with a horrific face plant in the first round, eliminated by the upstart Florida Panthers in April.

In that shocking upset, Bergeron missed the first four games of the series, having been injured in the final regular season game in Montreal. When he returned, not close to 100 percent, his play was shoddy -- he scored once over the final three games while earning a minus-6 in those contests.

• Massachusetts online sports betting is live. Learn more about the top sportsbook operators in Mass. such as FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM to find the best offers available.

How sad that those three games - each of them a bitter loss - will be remembered as the final three games of Bergeron’s illustrious career. He deserved better than to go out like that.

Bergeron’s quest for a second Cup became a recurring storyline the last handful of seasons in Boston. With each postseason elimination, cameras would focus on Bergeron. Did he take an extra long look around before finally leaving the life? Were the hugs with teammates in commiseration, or were they really goodbyes?

In each of the last two summers, the will-he-or-won’t-he speculation began as soon as the ice was removed at TD Garden. After Bergeron decided to come back last year - a call he didn’t make until well into the summer, and conspicuously, not until the Bruins had a made a coaching change - it was widely speculated that this would likely be his final year.

Turns out, that was correct. His mere presence seemed to serve as inspiration for the rest of the Bruins, who spoke about their desire to win one for their captain. But as was the case in all but one of Bergeron’s 19 seasons, it wasn’t to be.

The success of the Patriots and Red Sox since 2002 has changed the dynamic in Boston. It’s title or bust now, and nothing less than a parade is acceptable, and some will cite a lone championship in a nearly two-decade span as plainly insufficient for a player of Bergeron’s caliber.

But again, blame that on the franchise, not the player. Park, Ratelle and Neely might qualify as three of the 20 greatest players to ever play in the NHL and not win a Cup.

For the longest time, the Bruins didn’t spend enough to compete for a championship. For the last 20 years, with the introduction of the salary cap, that hasn’t been the case. Still, there’s always something missing - not enough grit, not enough depth, or not enough scoring in the dirty area.

Hockey is the most fickle of sports in the postseason. A bad bounce or a missed call here or there can mean the difference between a deep playoff run and an early tee time.

But when a franchise wins only once in a half century, perhaps there are bigger problems.

Fortunately for Bergeron, he did not join Park, Ratelle, Neely and Middleton as all-time Bruins who retired empty-handed. He leaves with a legacy as a complete player, a ferocious competitor and as the ultimate teammate.

And, of course, he’ll always have Vancouver.