Marc-André Bergeron
Born October 13, 1980 (age 31) in St-Louis-de-France, Quebec, Canada
Defenseman with the Tampa Bay Lightning
When I was shamelessly voting for Patrice Bergeron to get to the All-Star Game (maybe next year) via text, I’d always get a text back asking me to confirm whether I wanted Patrice or Marc-Andre. It amused me and then when I saw that we haven’t had so many Lightning players spotlighted here, he was an obvious choice. Bergeron started out playing in the QMJHL for five seasons with Baie-Comeau and Shawinigan. Undrafted, he signed as a free agent with Edmonton in 2001. He reminded some Oilers fans of Paul Coffey, has a great slap shot and endeared himself to some folks when he hip-checked Brendan Morrow during a 2003 playoff series against Dallas.
Action shot!
Bergeron was an Oiler before and after the lockout, reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 2006 and then parted ways with the team. First he headed for the New York Islanders, where he stayed for two years, followed by a very short sojourn with the Anaheim Ducks and time with the Minnesota Wild. In October 2009, after Andrei Markov sustained an injury, he signed for a year with Montreal. He did have his uses, but also struggled through a scoring drought and wasn’t re-signed by the Habs. Again a free agent, he signed with the Lightning and at first went up to their AHL team in Norfolk. Sent down to Florida on February 5, 2011, he spent the rest of the season as a member of the Lightning and went all the way to the Eastern Conference finals. He was re-signed last June in a two-way contract that seems to have him spending a lot of time as an Admiral; he plays infrequently as a Bolt.
Let's play catch!
-Emma
