From Foe to Friend: Foligno's Journey to 1,000 Games

BOSTON - Chris Kelly remembers Nick Foligno being a bit unusual.
Not in an odd or peculiar type of way, but in a way that separated him from all the other young players that Kelly had been around.
When Foligno debuted for the Ottawa Senators on October 3, 2007, he was just 19 years old and only a year and half removed from being the 28th overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. But his youth and inexperience didn't stop him from wanting to treat his teammates.
Kelly, who had been in the league with the Senators for roughly four seasons to that point, recalls being impressed by Foligno's generosity and the care he showed everyone around the Ottawa dressing room.

"One thing that I always remember, he was always trying to buy dinner," said Kelly. "It's funny, most guys avoid the check…finally we had to tell him, you don't have to pick up the bill every time. We enjoy your company. That was the one thing that stood out to me."
After meeting Foligno's father, Mike - who played 1,018 games across 15 seasons in the NHL - Kelly knew instantly where that kindness and consideration was coming from.
"Foligno is a well-known name in the NHL," said Kelly, who played for the Bruins from 2011-16 and is now an assistant coach with the club. "I've had the pleasure of meeting Nicky's dad, Mike - a tremendous man. Obviously, Nicky, you see where he gets it from. He came in right away. He'd been around the sport for some time. He knew how to conduct himself, especially as a 19-year-old.
"Not many know how to come into an NHL locker room and Nick did. I think he found it pretty easy to come into our locker room and we welcomed him with open arms."
While Foligno was beyond his years when it came to possessing leadership qualities, he also had the fortune of learning from a wealth of veteran leaders in Ottawa's dressing room, chiefly Daniel Alfredsson, Wade Redden, and Chris Phillips.
"We had a pretty veteran group, if I can recall, back then. He tried to soak up as much as he could," said Kelly. "Those types of guys that he could lean on and learn from. I think he did a good job of that."
He did, indeed. And on Tuesday night in Chicago, the lessons learned across those early years in Ottawa will be on display once more as Foligno suits up for his 1,000th career game when the Bruins visit the Blackhawks at United Center.
"He's obviously very generous and very team-oriented," said Kelly. "That has followed him his entire career. When you mention Nick's name throughout the league, that's obviously the first thing that comes to mind is he's a quality person with high character. That's exactly what Nick is."

A Franchise Icon

And it's exactly what Foligno brought with him to Columbus. When the Buffalo-born forward signed a three-year deal with the Blue Jackets on July 6, 2012 - just five days after being traded from Ottawa - he was committing to a team that had made the Stanley Cup Playoffs just once in its 11 years of existence and just a couple of weeks later was coping with the loss of franchise cornerstone Rick Nash via trade to the New York Rangers.
The Blue Jackets missed the postseason again in Foligno's first season - the lockout shortened 2012-13 campaign - and in three of his first four seasons with the club, but Columbus was building toward something. In addition to Foligno, the Blue Jackets were on the rise thanks to the emergence of young stars like goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, forwards Boone Jenner, Ryan Johansen, and Brandon Dubinsky, and defenseman Jack Johnson.
Ahead of the 2015-16 campaign, Foligno, then 28, was named the sixth captain in franchise history. And some seven games into that season, Columbus tabbed Stanley Cup-winning coach John Tortorella to take over the bench from Todd Richards.
The following year, Foligno ranked second on the team with 26 goals as the Blue Jackets began to make their move in the Eastern Conference, eventually securing their first of four consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"This team has been built off the back of guys like Fliggy," said former Bruin and current Columbus forward Sean Kuraly, who grew up as a Blue Jackets fan in Dublin, Ohio, and was playing his college hockey at Miami (Ohio) during Foligno's first four seasons with Columbus.
"He's a leader and you can just tell how the guys talk about him. I don't know him as well as they do but I know him as a player and obviously have gotten a chance to meet him over the years being in Columbus. But it's guys like him that I think have elevated this organization.
"It was a playoff team for years [with him as captain]…when I was growing up that wasn't the case, so it's a testament to a guy like him and his character and what a good hockey player he was for this city. I know around the city he's a local legend with what he did on the ice over the years and what he did in the community."
Foligno, who won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy (leadership, humanitarian contributions) and Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2016-17, became a pillar of the Columbus community - his impact on the city was made clear by the raucous ovation he received earlier this month during his first trip back to Nationwide Arena - and was the heart and soul behind the longest postseason run in Blue Jackets history.
With Foligno helping to lead the charge, Columbus burst onto the scene in 2018-19, earning the East's second Wild Card spot, as forwards Artemi Panarin (28), Cam Atkinson (41), Pierre-Luc Dubois (27), and Josh Anderson (27) all put up 25-plus goal campaigns.
On the back end, Seth Jones and Zach Werenski were blossoming into two of the league's best young blue liners, while Bobrovsky put together a Vezina Trophy-level performance as Columbus went on to sweep the league-leading Lightning in the first round, marking the first playoff series victory in Columbus history.
"He had been there for a while at that point, and they didn't have a ton of playoff success," said former Bruins defenseman and Boston's current Player Development Coordinator Adam McQuaid, who played 14 games with Columbus after being traded to the Blue Jackets from the New York Rangers at the 2019 trade deadline.
"They had some success in the regular season and played well in the playoffs, just got matched up against really good teams early on…they played Pittsburgh [in the first round] and Pittsburgh went on to win the Cup [in 2017]."
While McQuaid was injured just 14 games into his Blue Jackets tenure and did not play during that postseason, he was around the team enough to realize how much the victory against the Lightning meant to Foligno, who ranks third in Columbus history with 599 games played, fourth in goals with 142, and third in points with 334.
"I can just remember how excited he was to move on, to move into the second round and win that. He was solely happy for the organization and the city," said McQuaid. "I could really tell how invested he was in wanting to bring success to that organization and lead in the right way. I just remember how happy he was after that clinching Game 4 against Tampa."
Having spent the first nine-plus seasons of his career with the Bruins playing alongside captain Zdeno Chara and alternate captain Patrice Bergeron, McQuaid instantly noticed the similarities between them and Foligno when it came to commanding the dressing room.
"What made Nick a good leader, what makes him a good leader…similar qualities to the Bergys and Zees. They care about their teammates and truly care about them as people and want everyone to succeed and everyone to feel like they are an important part of the team succeeding," said McQuaid, who was also teammates with Foligno from 2004-07 with the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League.
"It's easy for people to say things, but if they're not actually out there leading by example, it can be harder to follow. The biggest thing is these guys all lead by example and wear their heart on their sleeve. That's what makes a great leader in my opinion."

A Nightmare Matchup

It was during that playoff run in 2019 that the Bruins truly came to understand how difficult a task it was to go to battle against Foligno on a nightly basis. Following the sweep of the Lightning, Columbus moved on to play Boston in the second round and gave the Black & Gold all they could handle over the first three games as they jumped out to a 2-1 series lead.
"It was hard. We lined up against his line a lot," said Bruins alternate captain Brad Marchand. "They just competed very hard. They were very determined that playoffs. They all really bought in, and he was leading the way. You could tell they had that excitement going and made it tough. Every time we were on the ice against him, he was very, very hard on us and tough to compete against us. He wants to win, proves that every night. That was a tough series."
Bergeron echoed his longtime linemate's recollections, while recalling the punishing nature of every shift played against Foligno, who had fellow heavyweight Josh Anderson on his right side that spring.
"I just remember that line being so hard to play against because of their forecheck, because of their compete level," said Bergeron. "They were finishing every chance they had. It gets tiring when you get hit every time you have the puck and make a pass. You've got to work for every inch. It's not easy.
"He was one of those guys that just played the right way, played hard, competed every shift, every game. You could see that leadership come out, the way that he handled himself and stepped up for his teammates, but also just played the right way.
"He had some moves, too. He has some great hands and silky hands as I like to say. He's just a smart player, always in position. Not an easy task to play against him and whoever was playing with him back then."
And while the Bruins ultimately prevailed, winning three straight games to overcome the 2-1 series deficit and close out the Blue Jackets in Game 6, in the midst of their run to the Stanley Cup Final, the series - and Foligno's part in it - left a lasting impact on the Black & Gold.
"He always wanted to play hard against us," said Marchand. "We knew it was gonna be a tough night every time we ended up against him…we knew we were in for a battle. And he absolutely blew me up one game, too. I'll always remember that."

Flipping the Script

Those memories were no doubt on Bergeron's mind last summer when he picked up the phone to pitch Foligno - who was a free agent after spending the end of the 2020-21 season with the Toronto Maple Leafs following a trade from Columbus at the deadline - on coming to Boston. The two did not know each other all that well, having only met away from the ice at the 2015 All-Star Game in Columbus where, funny enough, Bergeron was also lobbying Foligno - that time to be drafted by Foligno, who was captaining one of the teams at the annual midseason showcase.
Despite not having much of a relationship with Foligno, Boston's captain knew more than enough about what the veteran forward stood for and could bring to the Bruins - both on and off the ice - to make the call.
"There was always mutual respect on both sides," said Bergeron. "Those are the types of players you win with, the character - there's an on-ice but also off-ice intangibles that he brings. I thought it could be useful for us. I guess I just trusted my instincts on what I thought he could bring based on what I knew and playing against him."
Bergeron's pitch was successful as Foligno ultimately chose to sign a two-year deal in Boston, a place that he and his family hold dear after his daughter, Milana, underwent heart surgery at Boston Children's Hospital in 2018. And though he has only played 42 games in the Spoked-B, his impact on the club has been sizable.
"It's been great. Obviously heard a lot of great things about him as a teammate and a leader but to have him on this team, I love not having to play against him and compete like that every night," said Marchand. "Just the way that he brings so much energy to the room and his leadership qualities that he has, it's something that's really valued in our room and our organization.
"He's fit in so well since Day 1, knows how to come in and get to know guys well and create bonds and relationships. He's like glue, he just brings guys together. We're very lucky to have him."
While Bergeron has long been considered one of the league's elite leaders - he was Boston's alternate captain for 14 seasons before taking over the 'C' for the 2020-21 campaign - he has found himself leaning on Foligno, the Blue Jackets' captain from 2015-21, for counsel on numerous occasions so far this season.
"He's been awesome. One of those guys that always finds a way to connect with everyone. He's obviously a good leader, he talks, he's always very vocal. It's always great to have that on the bench. He brings the energy every day," said Bergeron.
"There's things that I like to talk to him about because of what he's been through. It's definitely been helpful having him and being able to bounce ideas off of him and see what he thinks."
Foligno has also been an invaluable resource for Boston's emerging group of young leaders. Brandon Carlo, who along with Charlie McAvoy and David Pastrnak has donned the 'A' as one of Boston's alternate captains on a regular rotating basis this season, remembers battling against Foligno during his NHL debut in Columbus on October 13, 2016.
"He's obviously the captain, the first captain I'm facing on any other team," Carlo recalled. "Just the way that he plays the game, super honest player, but plays hard. When you're going back on a puck and you see him coming down on the forecheck, you knew that you were gonna take a body and he was gonna come right through you. You definitely had to be aware of him on the ice and I was my very first game, for sure."
Some five-plus years later, Carlo is delighted to now have Foligno on his side, helping him to keep things in perspective.
"I've had a lot of good conversations with him in the aspect of when maybe you feel like things aren't going as great as you'd like them to be, to just stay even-keeled, keep doing the right things, rather than focusing on doing extra work. Just keep it simple and continue to do your thing," said Carlo.
"He's had a lot of poise in that regard with just coming to the rink every day, having a good positivity around him and knowing that each day is a new day, knowing that he doesn't carry the game yesterday into the next day.
"And he does a really good job of setting that example to not being negative around the rink. I really appreciate that from him."

Finding His Place

While Foligno struggled to find his footing early this season as injuries wreaked havoc on his ability to stay in the lineup - he suffered an upper-body injury in just his second game with the Bruins - the 15-year NHL veteran was still making an impact on the B's dressing room.
"The second that he got here, just awesome," said Carlo. "He fit into the group so well, felt like I'd known him for my whole time here. It's like one of those guys who automatically inserts himself into the group and is just awesome right away. Feels like you don't remember life without him almost. He's been amazing."
And now, after missing 17 of Boston's first 43 games, Foligno has played in 16 straight contests, while solidifying himself as a valuable member of the B's fourth line alongside Tomas Nosek and Curtis Lazar. As he settles into the lineup, Foligno's offensive contributions have also ticked up as he's notched four points (goal, three assists) in his last six games.
"We're starting to see it now with the line he's on where there's a little more offense created on that line by simple meat and potatoes, low to high, get it to the net, recover pucks, wear down the D down low," said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. "Those are some goals that come in handy in the playoffs. Without getting ahead of ourselves, yes, I could definitely see him being a more valuable player for us then when the game changes a little bit.
"Against the Islanders last year, we had some trouble getting inside to score some goals against their big [defensemen]. That's where a guy like Nick could help. We were looking down the road as well when we signed him. We're not judging him every day on his regular season stats."
For now, Foligno's intangibles are the focus, namely his ability to take the leadership load off of Bergeron and Marchand.
"His leadership is excellent. Guys like Bergy and March are our natural leaders, but they're playing 20 minutes a night, right? Every situation," said Cassidy. "They've got to look after themselves and get their game in order in between shifts and get their breath back. So that's where you need a guy that's vocal on the bench.
"That's where Nick's been second to none for us in that regard. He's willing to say stuff in the room, say stuff on the bench, where those guys need a break that maybe we missed a little of last year."

Hitting His Mark

Foligno will be fixated on that very task on Tuesday night at United Center. But he'll also be soaking in a moment 15 seasons in the making as years of dedication, grit, and commitment pay off as he becomes just the 364th skater to suit up for 1,000 NHL games. Foligno and his father, Mike, will also become just the second father-son combination in league history to hit the 1,000-game mark, joining Bobby and Brett Hull.
And there's little doubt that when he takes the ice against the Blackhawks Foligno will be thinking of his dad - and all the other people who have impacted him along the way.
"I think what I'm most proud of is I've been able to be in this league and be impactful for that long," said Foligno. "The person that I think of every time I think of 1,000 games is my dad. He played 1,018. I remember seeing his silver stick in our house and you'd lift it and how heavy it was. To me, it's a sign of the impact you've had on this game for a long time. I'm proud of that.
"You think about all the people, too, that you've come across that helped you get to that point as well. I'm looking forward to that milestone because it's one I think I'll share with a lot of people and be really thankful for more than anything - just knowing how fortunate I am to be in that many games and hopefully a few more down the road."