Bergeron noncommittal on playing future: 'It's too early' to decide

Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron isn't making any decisions on his playing future just yet.

"No, it's too early right now. It's too fresh right now," Bergeron said Saturday after losing Game 7 to the Carolina Hurricanes, per the Boston Globe's Matt Porter. "It still stings honestly from a hard-fought series, and we came up short. So obviously, I'm gonna have to think about it, but I'm not there right now."

The 36-year-old is set to become a free agent this summer. He's spent all 18 seasons of his career with the Bruins.

Bergeron hugged all of his teammates before they left the ice following the playoff exit.

Bergeron explained the rationale behind his gesture.

"It's always tough when it ends like that, right? So it was more to just share it with them and thanking them for battling at the end of every day basically," Bergeron said. "It stings. It's not the feeling that you want. With that being said, we did it together."

Longtime teammate Brad Marchand was emotional when discussing the possibility of that game being Bergeron's last with the Bruins.

"That's why this one probably hurts more, is the unknown for next year with him," Marchand said, according to The Athletic's Fluto Shinzawa. "He's done so much for this group and sacrificed so much that it would have been nice to make a good run for him. So it's disappointing."

Bergeron has played the third-most games in Bruins history (1,216) and ranks fourth all time in points (982).