Report: Still No Timeline For Patrice Bergeron’s Decision

The Boston Bruins are just over a month into their 2023 offseason, and they still don’t know, and aren’t any closer to knowing if their captain Patrice Bergeron will retire or return for another season.

According to TSN and Athletic NHL insider Pierre LeBrun, there is still no timeline for a Bergeron decision and the Boston Bruins, as they were last offseason when Bergeron also pondered retirement, are fine with that.

“I checked into that situation today,” LeBrun said on the most recent edition of TSN Insider Trading. “It’s still undecided where that matter is at. Listen, the Bruins are putting zero pressure on their captain. They’ve got all the time in the world to wait for him to make a decision. Listen, Patrice Bergeron, by the way, and his wife are expecting their fourth child next month – so, there are more important things in their life than hockey. But at some point, he needs to make a decision.”

“Last year he didn’t sign with the Bruins until August, although he told the team in July that [he] intended to come back. So, that might give you a bit of a timeline. But as someone close to it said to me today, there is no timeline. Everyone is waiting patiently for Patrice Bergeron to decide his future.”

While that may be true, one does have to wonder if Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney has or will remind the 37-year-old future hall of famer of his dire salary cap situation this offseason, and try and get an answer before the NHL Draft June 28-29 in Nashville, or by the time unrestricted free agency kicks off on July 1. Sweeney has seven other unrestricted free agents (including veteran center David Krejci), and three restricted free agents (including goalie Jeremy Swayman), to address, and will also be paying $4.2 million in cap overage from Bergeron’s and Krejci’s 2022-23 bonuses.