The Boston Bruins have named Brad Marchand the 27th captain in franchise history. He succeeds longtime linemate Patrice Bergeron in the role. Marchand has worn an "A" for the club since the 2018-19 campaign, when Zdeno Chara was still captain.
And maybe because of that long-running assistant captain role, Brad Marchand felt like the obvious choice to wear the "C" next. That’s despite all Marchand did to put off the topic, previously saying that the captaincy was one of the last things he wanted to focus on. He also said that, regardless of who the captain ended up being, this Bruins lineup was going to have to lift themselves up as a unit if they wanted to be successful.
That certainly makes sense when you look at the Boston roster. The team is coming off a historic 2022-23 campaign where they went 65-12-5. But they’ve experienced major turnover in the summer since, losing Bergeron and David Krejci to retirement from the NHL. They also suffered significant losses in Dmitry Orlov, Taylor Hall, Tyler Bertuzzi and Nick Foligno. While the sextet had varying roles with last year’s Boston lineup, each of them left a big hole to be filled.
Marchand will look to lead the new-look Bruins this season – his 14th with the club. The winger has spent his entire career with the Bruins after they drafted him in the Third Round of the 2006 NHL Draft. And despite finding success on the scoresheet, Marchand has struggled with riding out a full season, failing to appear in 80 or more games since 2016-17. With a new letter on his chest, and a new lineup looking up to him, Marchand’s surely hoping newfound responsibility brings better luck.
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