Patrice Bergeron Says It's 'Too Early' To Make A Decision On Returning Or Retiring

After the Boston Bruins' shocking first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Florida Panthers, it was hard not to immediately wonder what was next for Patrice Bergeron.

Following the Bruins' Game 7 loss, Bergeron's teammates lined up to give their captain hugs, and before leaving the ice, the 47-year-old waved to the TD Garden crowd.

So, is that it for arguably (though it's tough to argue against him) the best two-way forward in NHL history?

Well, he says it's too early to make a decision.

"The emotions are still hard. The scars will be there for a while," Bergeron said, according to ESPN. "It's too early right now to even make a sound decision . I really want to make sure I make the right call. I don't know how long it's going to take."

Bergeron — who is nominated for the Selke Trophy this year for a record 12th time (he has won it 5 times) —also touched on his meeting with Bruins coach Jim Montgomery.

"After the fact, there's always a lot of questions," he said. "And a lot of questions are unanswered for now. Trying to put your head around everything. But it was a great conversation."

So, no decision yet, although, it's crazy to have expected Bergeron to have been ready to make a call so soon, especially when he probably expected to continue playing for another month and a half or so.

While he makes his decision, what do you say we speculate a little?

Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron hug it out after being eliminated by the Florida Panthers. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

This Year's Bruins Will Make Bergeron's Decision Difficult

If it was tough for Patrice Bergeron to decide whether or not to come back last summer, he'd better get ready. This year will be even more difficult.

The Bruins are in a better position to win now than was thought late last summer. Having gotten a taste of what the team can do might draw Bergeron back for one more bite at the apple. There's no denying that he can still play. His point production was down a little, but in other areas like faceoff wins and possession metrics, he was up.

That said, the Bruins will have to convince him that they can put together another formidable team like they had this year. GM Don Sweeney is going to have some work to do. The team's current roster features eight unrestricted free agents, including Bergeron.

It'll be a balancing act, but if Bergeron thinks the team can cut it again, I could see him taking something similar to the one-year, $2.5 million deal he signed for this season.

Of course, only he knows how he's feeling physically, but history has been kind to teams with record-setting regular seasons who failed to deliver in the postseason.

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