Patrice Bergeron is set to return Thursday night against the Islanders after missing the Bruins’ last three games with a head injury. He clarified to reporters on Wednesday that he did not suffer a concussion, but was instead dealing with a laceration that needed time to heal.
That’s a relief given Bergeron’s concussion history. He suffered four of them from 2007-2013, so any head injury naturally sets off some alarms bells.
Making his weekly appearance on The Greg Hill Show on Thursday, Mike Milbury said that if he were someone close to Bergeron, this injury scare, combined with Bergeron being 36, would be enough for him to nudge Bergeron towards retirement after the season.
Greg Hill made the comparison to Gisele Bundchen reportedly pushing Tom Brady towards retirement, and Milbury said he would be doing the same thing if he were Bergeron’s wife.
“She’s not doing her job if she’s not telling him there’s nothing left to prove,” Milbury said. “There isn’t. He’s had several serious head injuries. We don’t get any information to judge what this one’s all about. But he’s done what he needs to do in this league.
“He’s proven he can be as good a two-way center as we’ve ever seen, really. There’s not much left to prove. It’s tough to stop. It’s tough to put the game down and put it behind you, but for me, given the nature of his injuries and what we know about the nature of head injuries now, for his own safety I think it’s probably time to hang it up.
“…When you get to be 35, 36, whatever the heck he is now, every year is a re-evaluation process. What is this, year 19 for him? It’s a physical league, a taxing league. Certainly money’s not an issue for him anymore. I just think I would be worried about him if I were his agent. I’d be advising him this might be a good time to step back. But as I said, it’s hard to give it up.”
Listen to the full interview with Milbury below. He also once again reiterated his belief that the Bruins should consider selling this season and beginning their rebuild.
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