A deflection by Bergeron
Captain says loss ‘too fresh’ to discuss future
Everyone knows Patrice Bergeron’s situation. The 36-year-old Bruins captain has not yet signed a contract for next season, and despite the fact that management, coaches and teammates would gladly welcome him back, he’s not sure if he wants to continue playing.
And after the B’s tough loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 7 on Saturday, he wasn’t ready to discuss what his future plans will be or how he’d go about making his decision.
But as he spoke with reporters after the 3-2 defeat, his voice seemed thick with emotion. Whether that had to do with the end of another season or the possible end of his Hall of Fame career is anyone’s guess.
“It’s too early right now,” said Bergeron. “It’s too fresh right now. It still stings from a hard-fought series and we came up short. So obviously I’m going to have to think about it, but I’m not there right now.”
When the prospect of Bergeron retiring was brought up to Brad Marchand, the captain’s long-time winger spoke haltingly so as not to give into the emotion he was clearly feeling.
“He’s the backbone of our team,” said Marchand. “Obviously, yeah, we want him to come back. But whatever happens, he’s earned the right to make whatever decision he wants and take the time that he needs. So I guess time will tell.”
Bergeron laid out the situation before the season began. He would make a decision on his playing future after he’s been through the 82-game grind, plus playoffs, and see how both he and his family felt about it all. As the season wound down, he deflected any questions about it, keeping his focus on the business as hand. Marchand knew enough not to push the matter.
“That’s a personal thing that him and his family are going to decide,” said Marchand. “Obviously, I’ve pushed my case on him to come back. But again, if he ever wanted to open up and talk about it, then that’s up to him. But I wasn’t going to press him.”
Count Bruce Cassidy among those who’d like to see No. 37 on Garden ice again before it goes up to the rafters.
“He means so much to this franchise that we all want him back but only he can answer that,” said Cassidy. “And I have no inkling. I have not addressed that with him. It’s not my place in the middle of the season. He’ll make that decision going forward.”
As he does after every game, Bergeron greeted all his teammates as they came off the ice after the defeat.
“Obviously, it’s always tough when it ends like that,” he said. “It was more to share with them and thanking them for battling together every day basically. It stings and it’s not the feeling that you want. But that being said, we did it together.”
Do the losses sting more as the years go on?
“Of course,” said Bergeron. “Yeah, they do.”
But Bergeron felt his
teammates should hold their heads high.
“It’s always hard to say that when you come up short, but it’s something to be proud of, the way that we battled. I think it’s something we’ve done all year to be honest with you,” said Bergeron. “We started off a little slow this year and this series was kind of the same. We battled our way back and played the type of hockey we needed to play advance, but tonight we came up short and obviously we needed a little more.”
Bergeron has also seemed to relish being a mentor to young players.
“That’s something I was taught early on in my career, and it needs to be a cycle,” said Bergeron. “When it’s your turn, you’ve got to give it back. We’ve got some great young players that our open to listening and learning. You see the growth in those guys, (Charlie) McAvoy, (Brandon) Carlo, (David Pastrnak). It’s impressive. It’s great to see.”
This and that
The Bruins did not get
their first power-play on Saturday until there was 6:27 left in the third when the Hurricanes took a delay of game penalty. The Canes killed it off without much of a threat.
The refs missed a Brendan Smith elbow to the head of David Pastrnak early in the third period.
“We killed the first three power plays. I think that happens every time in here,” said Cassidy. “We did a good job with it. They shot one in the crowd, so that have to call that one late. But we didn’t take advantage of it.
It’s a power-play opportunity and we didn’t execute well enough to get back in the game to give ourselves a late push.” …
Veteran Craig Smith had a rough series. He did not register a point and did not land a shot on net in Game 7.