Patrice Bergeron reveals true reason for retirement

The official end of an era was announced late last month, as longtime Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron hung up the skates after deciding to give it one last go in 2022-23. While the regular season proved to be a record-breaking 65 victory campaign, the Bruins were shockingly eliminated in 7 games by the eventual Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers in Round 1. 

The image of an absolutely bewildered Bergeron embracing his teammates and saluting the stunned fans that remained behind at TD Garden after the ceremonial postgame handshake line is going to burn in the memories of not only Bruins but hockey fans everywhere, as it closed the chapter on what was one of the classiest and defensively responsible forwards in recent NHL history. 

And Bergeron himself recently revealed during an interview in his native Quebec that it was indeed his body telling him that he needed to call it a career: 

(Translated from French)

Patrice Bergeron listened to the opinion of many of those close to him but, in the end, it was his body that confirmed to him that it was time to retire from professional hockey after enduring the rigors of the NHL for 19 seasons. 

"I've spoken with a lot of people over the past year, I've had several very good conversations with people who had different opinions. What always came back was: "You will know when it's the right time to retire." I've always been someone who listens to their intuition and heart and I felt it was time to move on. Sometimes, the body sends us messages."

"My motivation was waning this summer and I felt like I was listening to the signs my body was sending me. I did not miss my workouts and when it had been a while since I had set foot on an ice rink, I did not miss it either. I was waiting to see if the motivation would come back, but it never did."

Bergeron will almost certainly have his jersey No. 37 retired by the Bruins, likely as soon as sometime next season. 

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