Danny Briere still contemplating hockey future

Danny Briere will be 38 in October. He’s currently an unrestricted free agent and coming off the worst offensive season of his nearly 20-year career (8 goals, 12 points, 57 games). Those facts have all the making of us having seen the last of him in the NHL; but a decision is still to be made by the veteran forward.

Speaking with ESPN.com’s Scott Burnside, Briere said he has yet to decide if he’s going to retire and plans to make a decision within the next few weeks. 

“That’s kind of the big question: Can I imagine committing to it?” he said. “If I decide to play, I have to commit to full out training. I’m working out and I’m staying in good shape as of right now. But if I decide to play, I’ve got about two months left to really take it to the next level to be ready for next season.”

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Weighing on Briere as he decides his hockey future is being away from his three teenage sons, who have seen many days already without their dad. “I think they’re kind of torn on it, too,” he said.

According to Burnside, if Briere chooses to play, he’d like to stay in the northeast, close to his boys. This past season in Colorado was pretty tough for he and his sons. 

Briere has played 973 NHL games in his career and has made a name for himself in the postseason where he’s recorded 116 points in 124 games, good enough for eighth among active players in points per game (0.935). Considering his decline over the past three seasons, you could say he’s done as a player, but it’s almost August and the decision to keep playing is still weighing on him.

This could end up with Briere getting a training camp invite with a team in the northeast, which would allow him to test that decision to commit for another grind of a hockey season.

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