BOSTON-- Patrice Bergeron has not yet made any decisions on his future.
The Boston Bruins captain, stunned in the wake of the team's 4-3 overtime loss in Game 7 to the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference First Round, said he would have to speak to his family in the following days, as he determines whether he has played his final game in the NHL.
"I'm going to take some time, talk with the family, go from there," Bergeron said. "Right now, it's hard to process anything. Obviously we're shocked and disappointed and so that's it."
After the game was over at TD Garden on Sunday, Bergeron stood at the entrance to the tunnel and hugged each of his teammates, with tears in his eyes. The last and longest was reserved for Brad Marchand, the forward who has spent more than a decade by his side.
He finished by lifting his stick to the TD Garden crowd, thanking them for the support.
"It hurts right now, so I'm going to have to step back and give it some thought with my family," Bergeron said.
It hurt literally too.
Bergeron revealed that he has a herniated disk, which limited him to three games in the series against the Panthers. He missed the first four games before returning on Wednesday in Game 5.
"It's hard to tell right now," he said of his health. "After a series like that, obviously missing four games was disappointing, tried to hurry to come back. … I have a herniated disk in my back. That's why I missed the four games and tried to rush to come back.
"Obviously it's stiff. It's definitely not something I'm going to use as an excuse. It is what it is. Everyone battles with a lot of things during playoffs. It's just unfortunate the way that it happened on a fluke play."
Bergeron said he would not need surgery on his back.
The center is set to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season after signing a one-year contract worth $2.5 million with $2.5 million in performance-based incentives on Aug. 8, after his prior contract expired at the end of the 2021-22 season.
Asked how emotional it was with Bergeron, Marchand paused, "Yeah, it's emotional. You don't know about those guys' future. It's tough. We were hoping to make a good long run here all together. It's tough for everybody."
Bergeron, who succeeded Zdeno Chara as Bruins captain to start the 2020-21 season, has played all 19 seasons of his career in Boston after being selected No. 45 in the 2003 NHL Draft. He has played 1,294 games, with 1,040 points (427 goals, 613 assists) and has won the Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward in the game a record-setting five times, including last season. He is a favorite again this year.
In the playoffs, he has played 170 games, with 128 points (50 goals, 78 assists) and has now played in 14 Game 7s, tying Chara with the Game 7 on Sunday.
"Hopefully it's not, but that's up to him to make his decision and do what he decides to do moving forward," Marchand said. "But regardless of what he decides to do, whether he continues to play again or not, our bond will last a lifetime. It's not just something we built throughout here."
Bergeron is not the only long-time Bruins player who could be at the end of his career. David Krejci also signed a one-year deal on Aug. 8 and the center, who returned to the Bruins this season after a year playing in his native Czech Republic, is also a free agent after 16 seasons with the Bruins.
