After Patrice Bergeron’s retirement left the Bruins’ captaincy up for grabs, there always seemed like just one option: Brad Marchand.
The Bruins announced Wednesday Marchand will be wearing the “C” this season, his 15th with the team. Marchand follows in the footsteps of longtime teammates Bergeron and Zdeno Chara, who combined to serve as captain for the last 17 seasons, including Marchand’s entire tenure with the Bruins.
The Legacy Continues. ©️ pic.twitter.com/hBpDIvOrB0
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) September 20, 2023
Charlie McAvoy and David Pastrnak will serve as the Bruins’ alternate captains under Marchand. McAvoy is entering his seventh season with Boston, and Pastrnak is entering his 10th. Pastrnak scored 61 goals during the Bruins’ 2022-23 campaign, tied for fourth in franchise history in a single season. Only Phil Esposito has scored more in a season.
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The issue of the captaincy was floated throughout the offseason, and Marchand said in early September that regardless of who wears the letter, the team’s leadership will be a collective effort.
“Obviously, it’s a big honor to be in the leadership group in this organization and when you look at the guys that have been there before, we’ve always done it collectively as a group,” Marchand said. “So, regardless of who wears it, it’s a collective thing. And even guys without letters will step up a lot of times throughout the year. So again, when you lose Bergy and [longtime alternate captain David Krejci] and the leadership that comes with [them] it’s going to come from a group, not from one certain guy or a couple guys.”
Marchand has played 947 games for the Bruins, the eighth-most in franchise history, with 862 career points for the club.
Read more
- What does it take to be the Bruins captain?
- Bruce Cassidy believes Brad Marchand has what it takes to succeed Patrice Bergeron as Bruins’ captain
Amin Touri can be reached at amin.touri@globe.com.