(Boston) The last season certainly did not end as he would have liked. The club’s management tried to convince him to play another campaign. Despite family logistics complicated by the recent arrival of a fourth child, a final return would have been possible, he says.
However, in the simplest way in the world, the heart was no longer there. Patrice Bergeron therefore made the only decision that seemed logical to him, that of hanging up his skates.
After having published a long letter the day before in which he thanked the people who helped him to know the career he had known, the Quebecer clarified the reasons which led him to retire while he is still among the best center players in the NHL – he has just won the Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward on the circuit.
In front of a few dozen journalists gathered in the depths of Boston’s TD Garden, Bergeron was true to himself. Patient, calm, measured in his interventions, both in English and in French. And generous with his time, which he will now have in abundance.
Already, by signing a one-year contract last August, he was preparing for 2022-2023 to be his last lap. The idea made its way from week to week, month to month, through discussions with family members, friends, teammates. “They listened to me, they sometimes tried to play devil’s advocate and weigh the pros and cons,” Bergeron said at a press briefing. I think it is this support that has guided me the most and guided me since the beginning. The more you talk about it, sometimes, the more the answer comes by itself. That’s kind of what happened. »
Throughout these conversations, one theme kept coming up: “You have to know when to leave.” And pay attention to the signs that announce the end.
Anyone who has never missed a day in the gym or on the ice suddenly no longer wanted to get back to work with so much intensity. The need to reconnect with the training he felt last summer never arose this time. He waited “for the motivation to come back.” She didn’t come back.
When he gets up in the morning, his body reminds him harshly of the physical abuse suffered during a 20-year professional career. The clues were piling up.
So he says he’s more ready than ever to become his family’s “Uber driver.” Despite all the gratitude he feels for the sport he’s loved since childhood, he knows the past two decades have robbed him of a lot of time with those who matter most to him. “I have a lot of catching up to do at home,” he sums up.
His plans are not yet established. Even if the organization would like to keep him in the entourage of the club, the new retiree has no plans in this direction. He does not see himself becoming a coach in the medium or long term either.
Since his two oldest are already enrolled in school, a potential move to Quebec, where Bergeron and his spouse are from, is not planned for the next year. However, it could follow. “We’ll see,” he breathes.
He leaves with the feeling of accomplishment, without any regrets. With the impression of having “given everything”, “left everything on the ice”. Above all, he does not let the failure of the last series overshadow everything he has experienced before.
“Time allowed me to see the bigger picture of what I had been able to accomplish for 20 years. I am so grateful for all that I have been able to experience in terms of emotion, experiences, challenges, that the last part, I cannot give it so much importance. There were too many good things. »
