A fair trade

The last time the Boston Bruins were in town, we were fortunate enough to get a picture of Patrice Bergeron and Colin together outside the team’s hotel in Tampa. Since then, the picture has sat, in a frame, on a dresser in Colin’s room. And instead of gathering dust, it was simply waiting for the right time.

That time, I believe, was earlier today.

Just before tonight’s game, Colin’s gave Patrice that picture, even taking the time to autograph it for the Bruins star.

"Is that for me?" Patrice asked.

"Yes," Colin replied. "I even autographed it to you for you."

"Thanks, buddy," Patrice said.

The deal got even better, as Colin gave him three hand-drawn pictures – one showing Patrice getting high-fives from the bench after scoring a goal, one of the Bruins locker room where Patrice’s jersey hung in a stall and one of two Zambonis clearing the TDBanknorth Garden ice.

It was hard to tell who had the biggest smile – Patrice, Colin or myself.

In return, Patrice signed a couple cards for Colin, including one (shown above) with a piece of game-used jersey. As you can imagine, that’ll soon be in a screwdown case. It’s my guess, too, that’ll end up on Colin’s dresser.