Sorry Bruins fans, Patrice Bergeron is not walking through that door.

Let’s back track for a bit. The popular hockey podcast Spittin’ Chiclets dropped a tantalizing nugget for Bruins fans on Wednesday. Two of the hosts, former NHLers Ryan Whitney and Paul Bissonnette, who is also a TNT analyst, discussed a rumor that B’s former captain Patrice Bergeron might be attempting a comeback.

“I’m hearing that ‘El Capitan’ might be making a comeback,” said Bissonnette.

While the hosts were having fun with the idea and labeled it as a “rumor,” it naturally set B’s fans hearts’ a fluttering.

Sorry to throw cold water on that idea but, unless the future Hall of Famer has a 180 degree change of heart, it is not happening.

Reached via text on Thursday, Bergeron was as unequivocal as he could be.

“I am NOT making a comeback,” wrote Bergeron succinctly.

Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

If you closed your eyes and crossed your fingers, you could convince yourself that it makes sense. Considering he won the Selke Award last season and, even at the age of 38, he keeps himself in good shape, one would still think he could contribute to this team.

The basis of the rumor, apparently, was the fact that he’s been skating locally. Whitney said he’d heard that was to stay in shape, which Bissonnette playfully chose not to buy. At the very least, Bergeron could help in the faceoff circle, where the B’s have had their ups and downs. He would also be a cost-effective second half add for the B’s, who don’t have much draft capital to use, having traded away their first-round picks for the next two seasons.

But when Bergeron announced his retirement on social media and then at Legends, he seemed very much a man at peace with his decision. Apparently, that’s still the case.

Wotherspoon praised

The Bruins have their share of first-rounders. A total of 11 such players players grace the roster. But Parker Wotherspoon isn’t one of them. Not only was Wotherspoon taken in the fourth round, a pedigree that guarantees him not even a sniff of the NHL, the 26-year-old Wotherspoon has put in 324 AHL games, mostly with Bridgeport in the Islanders organization, to get to this opportunity with the Bruins.

It’s a road that those in the B’s dressing room appreciate.

“Some guys have that journey, some guys don’t,” said Kevin Shattenkirk, himself a first-rounder. “But more than anything I think when you have guys come up like that, with a fresh attitude and knowing maybe he’ll be up for a week or two weeks or maybe he’ll be up for the rest of the season, he just takes every day, I think, gratefully and really cherishes the moment. You see obviously when he goes into games how prepared he is and I think the last few games he’s really come into his own. He’s gotten more confident with the puck and not just worrying about defending. And his game is really starting to blossom.”

Wotherspoon’s versatility has thus far made him a keeper.

“The thing I was most impressed with is he had to come in and play on his off side. It’s never easy to do and he handled that really well,” said Shattenkirk. “And I think he showed the coaches that they had that flexibility with him, so again, I think he built his confidence in his first few games and really just started to run with it from there. He’s constantly asking guys questions and talking about plays and making sure that he’s again as prepared as possible in games and making sure he’s carrying his weight.”

Winging it

Matt Poitras, working his way back in the lineup after suffering a shoulder injury, is still a candidate to get a look at wing at some point.

“That’s been bantered about among the coaching staff and my conversations with (GM Don Sweeney). It’s just that he’s really good through the middle of the ice so right now it’s just been about putting him in those situations where he’s comfortable. We’ll see how that progresses,” said coach Jim Montgomery.

As it is, the staff has done its best to shelter the rookie from some of the heavy lifting asked of the centermen.

“We usually pair him someone else who can play low and take draws, so it’s really the first guy who’s back that plays low in our D-zone,” said Montgomery.

Loose pucks

The coach admitted earlier this week that this year’s All-Star nomination was a little more special than last year’s.

“I congratulated the staff. I get nominated for the All-Star bid but first it’s the players and then my staff that has done an incredible work this year, to be honest. And I feel that we’re giving the players more consistent video and one-on-one line/D combination feedback,” said Montgomery. “Last year, I joked that I could have fallen asleep behind the bench and I would have been the All-Star coach. And this year we’ve had to grind. It’s just because that’s the nature of the business. So this year I feel it’s more rewarding for the staff because of the work we’ve had to do. But also it’s rewarding to see the player and the team develop like we have. We were a well-oiled machine eight games in last year. And I feel like we’re starting to develop a well-oiled machine now, understanding how we need to play, how we have to get there. We’re a lot simpler of a team. In a lot of ways easier to coach, but a lot of ways harder to coach.”…

Linus Ullmark, out of the lineup since suffering a lower body injury in Arizona on Jan. 9, was set to be back in uniform backing up Jeremy Swayman.