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Bergeron’s agent defends clients’ decision to play significantly injured

Patrice Bergeron

If anyone doubted Boston Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron’s toughness before, they don’t now. He played in Game 6 with a broken rib, torn rib cartilage and a separated shoulder. If that wasn’t enough, it was later revealed that he had a small puncture in his lung.

He was consequently hospitalized after the Bruins were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Final. That’s after he was forced to leave Game 5 to go to the hospital.

So yeah, his toughness isn’t in question, but what some people are asking is if he should have played through those types of injuries. His agent, Kent Hughes, thinks Bergeron was very comfortable with his decision and wouldn’t have played if he was subjecting himself to unreasonable health risks.

“One thing I know for sure is that Bergy’s a pretty thoughtful person,” Hughes told the Boston Globe. “He’s well thought out, not emotional at all, when it comes to this sort of stuff. For example, he didn’t talk through [the decision to play] with me that day, and that tells me he was confident in how he felt about it.

“He’s bright. He’d ask all the questions, like, ‘How much more could I be hurt, if . . . ?’ So, obviously, I can’t speak for him, but I’d be very surprised if he looked back and think or wish that he’d done anything differently. He’s not stupid brave.”

Hughes also said that Bergeron left the hospital on Wednesday and should be fine after the fatigue and pain fade.