After playoff exit, Bruins await captain Bergeron's decision

BOSTON (AP) — Patrice Bergeron led the Boston Bruins through the end-of-series handshake line, wishing the Carolina Hurricanes luck in the conference semifinals.

Then he waited around to give each of his own teammates a hug as well as they left the ice — perhaps saying goodbye for the final time.

The Bruins captain, who will turn 37 this summer, is unsigned for next season and has declined to say whether he plans to come back for a 19th season — in Boston or elsewhere.

“That’s why this one probably hurts more, the unknown for next year with him,” Boston forward Brad Marchand said after the 3-2, Game 7 loss to the Hurricanes on Saturday ended the Bruins’ season and sent Bergeron into limbo.

“He’s done so much for this group and sacrificed so much,” said Marchand, the second-longest tenured player on the roster. “It would have been nice to make a good run for him. So, it’s disappointing.”

A four-time Selke Trophy winner as the league’s top two-way forward, Bergeron is third in the history of the Original Six franchise with 1,216 games played, and fourth with 400 goals, 582 assists and 982 points. He is second in Bruins history with 47 playoff goals and 123 points, helping the team win the 2011 Stanley Cup and return to the Final two other times.

If he retires, he can expect his No. 37 to be retired by the Bruins, and the Hockey Hall of Fame to come calling.

After saying all year that he didn’t want to think about the future until the season is over, Bergeron said after the game “It’s too early” to make a decision.

“It’s too fresh right now,” he said in Raleigh, North Carolina. “It still stings from a hard-fought series. Obviously I’m going to have to think about it. I’m not there right now.”

If it were up to the team,