Patrice Bergeron, who spent his entire 19-season career with the Boston Bruins, has decided to retire from hockey after months of public doubt about his playing status.
“It is with a full heart and a lot of gratitude that today I am announcing my retirement as a professional hockey player,” Bergeron said in a statement released by the team.
“As hard as it is to write, I also write it knowing how blessed and lucky I feel to have had the career that I have had, and that I have the opportunity to leave the game I love on my terms,” Bergeron’s statement continued.
“It wasn’t a decision that I came to lightly. But after listening to my body, and talking with my family, I know in my heart that this is the right time to step away from playing the game I love.”
Bergeron, who turned 38 on Monday, was selected in the second round of the 2003 draught and participated in 170 playoff games and 1,294 regular-season games, which ranks third all-time.
In the 2006–07 campaign, Bergeron started donning an A on his jumper. After longstanding captain Zdeno Chara left the team for free agency in 2021, Bergeron was named team captain.
In terms of regular-season games played, goals, assists, and plus/minus, Bergeron is third in Bruins history. He is also third in terms of goals. He is tied for second in playoff points and ranks second in postseason games played.
His greatest accomplishment came in 2011, when he and the Bruins ended a 39-year Stanley Cup drought in Boston. In 23 playoff games that year, Bergeron contributed with six goals and 14 assists. He also scored a shorthanded goal in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to give Boston a 3-0 lead over Vancouver late in the second period.
In 1,294 regular-season games, Bergeron finished his career with 427 goals and 613 assists for 1,040 points. He earned 128 points in 170 games during the playoffs on the strength of 50 goals and 78 assists.
Bergeron has been awarded the Frank J. Selke Trophy a record six times as the NHL’s best defensive forward. Bergeron won the award in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2017 before winning it after his final two seasons in 2022 and 2023.