Bergeron, Krejci remain unsure of futures with Bruins

BOSTON -- When Patrice Bergeron left TD Garden on Sunday, long after Game 7 had ended, long after the Boston Bruins had lost and he had hugged teammates with tears in his eyes and answered questions, after the team had stayed and sat in the locker room in disbelief that their season was over, he did not stop to take it all in. He did not take a moment.

Bergeron does not know yet if there will be another game for him in a Bruins sweater, after the team lost to the Florida Panthers in stunning fashion in the Eastern Conference First Round after a record-setting regular season that saw the Bruins win the most games (65) in NHL history and earn the most points (135).

For that matter, neither does David Krejci, the other long-time Bruins stalwart. The two centers had seen their seasons ended long before they had anticipated and the answer to their futures was still a question.

"If it is [the end], I left everything out there is all I can really say," Bergeron said, when asked about the team he will have left behind if he does retire. "I'm thankful and grateful. But we're not there yet. We'll see."

Krejci, it seems, is closer to making a call.

"Obviously this is not something that I just started thinking about [in] the last day," he said. "It's been on my mind a lot. So honestly, I kind of know, but I need to sleep on it, make sure this is the right decision."

He has already experienced leaving the Bruins behind -- spending 2021-22 in his native Czech Republic before returning this season. He spent this season alone, his wife and two children in South Carolina, which he admitted was extremely difficult.

"I think it was one of the best years, but also one of the worst years," Krejci said. "It was a rollercoaster. There were a few times this year there was a point where if we were not doing good, I'd just pack it up, go back. From that standpoint, that was tough. But then coming here every day, seeing the guys, it just made it worth it."

For both Bergeron and Krejci, there are only two options for next season: return to the Bruins or retire. Neither will play for another team and, for Krejci, that includes both teams in the NHL or in the Czech League.

The 37-year-old centers have spent their entirety of their careers with the Bruins, Bergeron for 19 seasons, Krejci for 16, winning the 2011 Stanley Cup together and returning to the Cup Final in 2013 and 2019.

Bergeron has played 1,294 games, with 1,040 points (427 goals, 613 assists). He has won the Frank J. Selke Trophy a record five times and is a finalist this season, his 12th consecutive nod. Krejci has played 1,032 games, with 786 points (231 goals, 555 assists) and led the playoffs in scoring in both 2011 and 2013.

The questions that are swirling for both players are physical and mental, are about family and want and desire.

"Not yet," said Bergeron, who added that he didn't know if he would have retired had the Bruins won the Cup again. "It's too early right now to even make a sound decision. So I really want to make sure I make the right call and we make the right call as a family. I don't know, I guess, how long it's going to take."

Last season, when he also contemplated retirement, Bergeron said he told general manager Don Sweeney that he would return before the opening of free agency.

"Physically, mentally, trying to make sure you're invested and you're all there and you're ready for another go at it," said Bergeron, whose wife is expecting their fourth child in June. "It's the same mindset as last year."

For Krejci, the way the playoffs went for him may impact his decision. He wasn't 100 percent, which caused him to miss Games 3, 4 and 5 against the Panthers, though he declined to specify how he was injured. He would not need surgery this summer.

"I don't want to let the team down and I felt like maybe I did a little bit in the playoffs," Krejci said. "I was supposed to be playing seven games, not four. If you can't help the team, it's tough."

Bergeron said that physically this season had gone better than expected -- right up until game No. 82. He defended, once again, the decision to play in that game, despite the herniated disk he sustained in the first period of the game against the Montreal Canadiens. He said he will not need surgery to heal, only time.

"You want to make sure you do have it and you do want it and you can still help, on and off the ice, physically, mentally at your best and performing," Bergeron said. "That's also part of it."

Asked if Krejci's decision impacted his, Bergeron said, "That's a good question. I haven't thought about that. We'll see. Everything's going to unfold. I'm going to let everything come back down a bit before I can really even say that."

Krejci said, for his part, his decision was independent of Bergeron's.

Both were still raw, still hurting on Tuesday, less than 48 hours after their season-ending loss.

"This one I would put right next to 2019," Krejci said. "So this one's gonna hurt. Then you have another thing, that could have been my last game. There's lots of emotions."

While Bergeron had revealed his herniated disk on Sunday after the game, there were more revelations on Tuesday. Forward David Pastrnak said he hurt his shoulder "first game, first shift" of the series, but that he would have been healthy to start the second round.

Linus Ullmark was more evasive about his health. Asked specifically about his injury, Ullmark said, "With the respect of everybody around … I decided not to clarify that whole thing."

He noted that he hadn't yet had his physical when he was questioned about whether he would need surgery.

"It's pretty evident that I didn't play the way I wanted to," Ullmark said. "I wasn't as good as I wanted to be, unfortunately at the worst time possible. That's something that I have to live with."