Patrice Bergeron undecided on future after Bruins' season ends - ESPN

BOSTON — Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron said he's uncertain about his NHL future after their crushing Game 7 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers on Sunday night.

Bergeron, 37, is an unrestricted free agent this summer. Bruins players had talked openly about sending off Bergeron and fellow veteran center David Krejci, also 37, with a Stanley Cup win. Bergeron is in his 19th season. Krejci, who is also a free agent, has played 16 seasons.

«It hurts. You compete hard and battle all year for that, so it's hard,» Bergeron said. «I'm going to take some time and talk with my family and then go from there. Right now, it's hard to process anything. We're shocked and disappointed.»

That might be an understatement. The 2022-23 Bruins were the most successful regular-season team in NHL history, setting league records for wins (65) and points (135) in a single season. They were favored to defeat the Panthers, a wild-card team, and at one point held a 3-1 series lead. But the Panthers rallied to force a Game 7, rallied to tie the game with a minute left in regulation and then eliminated the Bruins on an overtime goal by winger Carter Verhaeghe.

Bergeron missed the first four games of the series. Initially, the Bruins said he was suffering from an illness that had swept through their locker room. But eventually, his absence was clarified as being due to injury. After Game 7, Bergeron revealed he has been playing with a herniated disk in his back and said he was unsure about offseason treatment for it.

The Panthers won all three games Bergeron played in the series, including Game 5 and 7 overtime wins in Boston.

After Boston was eliminated Sunday night, Bergeron stood at the bench with his teammates, motionless, processing what had