BOSTON — It has been more than 20 years since the Boston Bruins entered the season without a captain. From Joe Thornton to Zdeno Chara to Patrice Bergeron to Brad Marchand, they’ve seen each season dawn with a fixture — and likely Hockey Hall of Famer — at the top of their leadership structure.
But not this season.
Even as captain’s practices begin, with many of the Bruins spending nearly two hours on the ice Tuesday, there was no actual captain in sight. Instead, they are expected to open the season with shared leadership, led by David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy, both of whom have long been alternate captains.
“Yeah, it’s different,” Pastrnak said. “But at the same time, if you look at the big picture, it’s the same. It’s always the leadership in this organization is not one guy; it’s been always a group decision, a group of leaders.”
And it seems that approach will be even more crucial this season.
“Maybe instead of the rinse-repeat of what it’s been for a long time, we have to try and build it back up,” McAvoy said. “It’s a completely different group, it’s different individuals so it’s going to look different, but mostly it’s just a great opportunity, really, more than anything, to have that thrust on us to be responsible for it.
“I think it’s something that we look at and we’re excited about. We’re not seeing it as more of a daunting task; it’s something that we’re just honored to be trusted with that.”
Boston is coming off a season that went awry almost from the start, one that saw the firing of coach Jim Montgomery, the trading of half a dozen key pieces prior to the NHL Trade Deadline, including a divorce from Marchand, who went on to win the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers.
The Bruins finished last in the Atlantic Division (33-39-10), tied for the fourth-fewest points in the NHL (76).
It was in that time at the end of the season when the Bruins knew they were not going to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, when they had been stripped down to a shell of themselves, when McAvoy was out because of an injury sustained at the 4 Nations Face-Off, when Pastrnak perhaps most proved himself.
The 29-year-old forward finished the season tied for third in the NHL with 106 points (43 goals, 63 assists), alongside Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl. It was all the more impressive given that the next-closest player on the Bruins was Morgan Geekie, who had a career-high 57 points (33 goals, 24 assists), thanks to a boost from Pastrnak.
No player had more points than Pastrnak from Jan. 1 on; he had 69 (30 goals, 39 assists) in his final 43 games of the season, with Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov second at 67 points in 46 games.
