WATCH: Patrice Bergeron hugs Bruins teammates one-by-one after Game 7
Patrice Bergeron gives the entire roster hugs as they make their way off the ice. pic.twitter.com/dN6qOwSP11
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) May 14, 2022
Did Patrice Bergeron just play his final game? That will be the biggest question to emerge from the end of the Boston Bruins’ season, which ended Sunday at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 7.
The Bruins may have been greeting Bergeron as a teammate for the last time. Watch in the above video, via Patrice Bergeron gives the entire roster hugs as they make their way off the ice. pic.twitter.com/dN6qOwSP11
Sports Hub Underground | Bruins Postgame: End of the Season…and Possibly More
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Bergeron is on track to become an unrestricted free agent. At age 36, he has played long enough and endured a heavy-enough toll to consider retirement from professional hockey. At the very least, it looks like he’s going year-to-year.
If this is it for No. 37, he would finish his NHL career with 982 points in 1,216 career NHL games in the regular season, in addition to 126 playoff points in 166 career games. He’s played his entire career as a Bruin. He hoisted the Stanley Cup with the champion Bruins in 2011, and also played seven games each in the Stanley Cup Final in 2013 and 2019.
To this point in his career, Bergeron is also a four-time winner of the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward, and is considered a candidate for the award again in 2022. He’s long-established as one of the best two-way players in league history. One of the most respected of his generation, Bergeron is also a likely candidate for eventual enshrinement in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Bergeron is a lock to have his jersey number 37 retired to the TD Garden rafters, whenever the time comes that his career is over. The postgame sights out of Raleigh suggest that this could be the end for a living Bruins legend.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @realmattdolloff. You can also email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
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