Patrice Bergeron officially announces retirement after 19-season career with Boston Bruins

BOSTON -- The captain is hanging up his skates.

After months of public uncertainty about his playing status, Patrice Bergeron has decided to retire from the sport of hockey after a 19-season career spent entirely with the Boston Bruins.

"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 lengthy 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 years old on Monday, was drafted in the second round of the 2003 draft and played in 1,294 regular-season games (third-most all time) and 170 playoff games (second-most all time). 

Bergeron began wearing an A on his sweater in the 2006-07 season, and he became the captain of the team in 2021, after the free-agent departure of longtime captain Zdeno Chara.

Bergeron ranks third in Bruins history in games played, third in goals, fourth in assists and sixth in plus-minus in the regular season. In terms of postseason ranks, he's second in games played and is tied for second in playoff points.

His crowning achievement came in 2011, when he and the Bruins won the Stanley Cup, ending a 39-year drought in Boston. Bergeron scored six goals and added 14 helpers in 23 playoff games that year, including a short-handed goal in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final to give Boston a 3-0 lead over Vancouver late in the second period.

While already cemented in Boston as an all-time Bruin, Bergeron further elevated his status in 2013, when he played in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final with a broken rib and a punctured lung.

In total, Bergeron finishes his career with 427 goals and 613 assists for 1,040 points in 1,294 regular-season games. In the playoffs, he scored 50 goals with 78 assists for 128 points in 170 games.

Additionally, 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.

After suffering a herniated disc in the regular-season finale this past April, Bergeron sat out the first four playoff games. He returned to play Games 5-7 vs. Florida, with Boston losing all three games. The Bruins gave him time and space to decide on his future, though he said after the season that he'd likely make a decision around the start of free agency.

Bruins president Cam Neely said that the team was operating this offseason as if Bergeron wouldn't be back, though general manager Don Sweeney said that Bergeron would be afforded as much time as needed to make his decision.

Now, Bergeron won't be returning to the ice, though it's only a matter of time before his No. 37 will be raised to the rafters to take its permanent place in Bruins history.

"As I step away today, I have no regrets. I have only gratitude that I lived my dream, and excitement for what is next for my family and I," Bergeron wrote Tuesday. "I left everything out there and I'm humbled and honored it was representing this incredible city and for the Boston Bruins fans."