The Bruins captain has one season remaining on the eight-year, $52 million contract ($6.875 average annual value) he signed with the Bruins on July 12, 2013.
"Patrice and Kent Hughes, his representative, and I have had discussions about where Patrice is at," Sweeney said. "We'll keep those private as we do all the others and let him decide what path he wants to take. Obviously, it's a completely open door for how long Patrice wants to play the game for us, and we'll leave it at that."
Selected in the second round (No. 45) of the 2003 NHL Draft, the 36-year-old has scored 917 points (375 goals, 542 assists) in 1,143 games with the Bruins. He has scored 120 points (46 goals, 74 assists) in 160 Stanley Cup Playoff games and reached the Stanley Cup Final with the Bruins three times (2011, 2013, 2019), winning the Cup in 2011 when they defeated the Vancouver Canucks in seven games.
He has been a finalist for the Selke Trophy, awarded annually to the forward voted as the best to excel in the defensive aspects of the game, nine consecutive seasons and has won it four times (2011-12, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2016-17), tied with Bob Gainey of the Montreal Canadiens for the most in NHL history.
The futures of two other longtime Bruins, goalie Tuukka Rask and center David Krejci, are uncertain. Rask is an unrestricted free agent and is expected to miss the start of the season after having surgery for a torn labrum in his right hip. He is 306-163-66 with a 2.27 goals-against average. 921 save percentage and 52 shutouts in 560 games for the Bruins.
Krejci announced July 30 he would play this season in his native Czech Republic. He has scored 730 points (215 goals, 515 assists) in 962 regular-season games and 124 points (42 goals, 82 assists) in 156 postseason games.
Sweeney said there's a possibility Krejci could return.
"We'll see if somewhere down the road Krejci opens the door back up," Sweeney said. "But again, that's his own family decision and there's no timeline. We did have a heads up in that and where we were in the process of trying to fill in from a depth perspective in free agency."
