Patrice Bergeron's decision about his future hangs over the Boston Bruins like a thick cloud as they began the offseason.
With the Bruins going through exit interviews this week, coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters Tuesday that he met with every player, including Bergeron, the previous day.
But the topic of what Bergeron will do wasn't exactly broached, according to Cassidy, as he's trying to give the Bruins captain some time to come to a decision after Boston's season came to end with a Game 7 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday.
"He needs his space, we all respect that," Cassidy said as seen in team-provided video. "That's just the way it is, and when he's ready to have a conversation, I'm sure he'll reach out to whoever he needs to. Right now, I think he needs time to decompress. That's a big decision and he needs to take all the time he needs."
With Bergeron's status up in the air, it puts Cassidy in an awkward position of thinking about the future without the center on the roster. Cassidy doesn't want to think too much about the possibility of Bergeron not suiting up in the black and gold yet, but he conceded it is something that needs to be not only in the back of his mind, but also of the Bruins' brass.
"That would be a conversation we would have to have upstairs, obviously, because you're going to need to fill it," Cassidy said. "I really haven't got that far along with it. Until Patrice makes a decision, it's not something we're right on top of now, but I imagine that we'll have to have that conversation just to be ahead of things. We're all hoping he comes back. I'm going to be an optimist on this one."
