Possible Bergeron retirement: Bruins will have to think about trading Marchand

We still don’t know what Patrice Bergeron will do next year. The Bruins captain has been thinking about retirement for at least two years, and the way he behaved following his team’s elimination doesn’t look good for the future.

Chances are he’ll decide to hang up his skates this summer. And that will have a major impact on the team’s future.

In reality, the Bruins will have to rebuild sooner rather than later. With Bergeron and possibly David Krejci not returning next year, that’s already two big pieces out of the team’s line-up…

And when you look at the list of players (especially at forward) who have just played the last year of their respective contracts, you’d think there’d be a lot of changes in Boston this summer.

In fact, the Boston team already has $72.9 million committed to its payroll for the 2023-2024 season… And you’ve seen just how many players will need to be re-signed this summer.

This makes me wonder if the Bruins wouldn’t be better off exploring the market for Brad Marchand, given that the club will soon be entering a rebuild.

At 34, the forward still has good value, and if he’s made available to the other 31 NHL teams, teams will be calling. This would be a great opportunity to add picks and prospects, especially after Don Sweeney paid top dollar to acquire certain players at the last trade deadline.

By doing so, Sweeney could rebuild around his star player in David Pastrnak, who signed a long-term contract a few months ago. The Czech forward is tied to the team until the end of the 2030-2031 season.

And let’s not forget that, at the moment, the Bruins don’t necessarily have the best bank of prospects in the NHL. We haven’t hesitated to trade a few youngsters to increase their chances of winning the Stanley Cup…

And now it’s starting to show, as the team’s key players begin to age.

It’s a little reminiscent of the Penguins, who… stubbornly stuck with Malkin, Crosby and Letang. The problem is that Pittsburgh doesn’t have a succession plan, and this could lead to several seasons of misery for the team when their star players leave…

And if the Bruins don’t want to find themselves in the same situation, it might be best to act this summer.

Breaking news

– This is normal.

– Simon Edvinsson underwent surgery.

– This should be quite a series.

– Top playoff scorers so far.

– Right. Another case.